The Warning Every Gamer Gives New Fans About The Resident Evil Movies

From the 2006 release of "Silent Hill" to the 2022 film "Uncharted," it isn't uncommon for successful video games to be made into high-grossing movies, which is precisely what happened with "Resident Evil." The survival horror video game that first came out in 1996 has spawned well over a dozen games since, as well as a long-running film franchise.

Movies based on video games open the doors of opportunity to a much larger fanbase. After all, even if someone doesn't play video games, they may still be into the tone and storyline of the franchise. With moviegoers and gamers meeting in the middle because of common interests, fanbases become larger and more loyal than ever before, inspiring creative cosplays as fan-favorite characters like Lady Dimitrescu that make the community visible at real-world events.

Fans of "Resident Evil" do have one unequivocal warning about the movies, though — particularly for those who are brand new to the franchise.

U/Maxelino kicked off a conversation amongst the Reddit community by asking whether or not they should watch the "Resident Evil" movies before playing the games. Specifically, they asked, "Is the gaming experience depending on watching the movie first?" 

The majority of users came to the thread to say that watching the movies isn't necessary. U/Shinyier gives a bit more context by writing, "Please don't it will put you off some of my greatest gaming moments. Go straight in." In agreeance with the majority, u/kornflakes1989 wrote, "Nope. Just act like the movies don't exist."

So the "Resident Evil" movies get a lot about the games wrong. But why? Movie Web shared details from a New York Comic-Con panel event where "Resident Evil" director Paul W. S. Anderson described why changes were made from the games. The most notable difference is the main character, Alice (Milla Jovovich). Anderson explained, "While the Alice character is not in the game, the archetype certainly is ... By having a completely fresh character and telling a prequel story to the world of the video games, it gave us some more dramatic license that we wouldn't have had if we had just done a straight adaptation of any one of the games."

Not having to watch the movies before playing the game might make for a better overall experience, as there's less pressure to put all the pieces together — if those pieces even exist. Alice can be a strong lead that makes the movies amazing in a separate way, while the games still hold their ground in their own right.