What Would George Romero’s Resident Evil Movie Have Looked Like?

The Big Picture

• George Romero was hired to write and direct a
  Resident Evil
  film adaptation in 1998 but was later fired for producing a script that wasn’t considered good enough.
• Romero’s take on
  Resident Evil
  would have been more faithful to the game, emphasizing tension and character-building over constant zombie action.
• Paul W.S. Anderson was brought in to direct
  Resident Evil
  instead, resulting in a glossy action film more reminiscent of
  Mortal Kombat
  than the game itself.

In 1968, George A. Romero created the modern zombie with his film Night of the Living Dead. He followed this up with 1978’s Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead in 1985. Romero was also in the director’s chair for classic horror films like Martin and Creepshow, but no matter what else he did during his life, it was his zombie creations that he would be most remembered for. Zombies became a popular part of culture over the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st, making the jump from movies to video games. In 1996, Capcom published the PlayStation game Resident Evil, which saw characters Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as Special Tactics and Rescue Service officers in the fictional Raccoon City, where the T-Virus has been released by the Umbrella Corporation, turning anyone in its way into zombies. The game was terrifying and so successful that it launched a franchise that still continues to this day. With as big as the games were becoming, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling for a film adaption, and who was more qualified to write and direct it than the man himself, George Romero?

George Romero Was Hired to Write and Direct ‘Resident Evil’

In 1998, George Romero was hired by Capcom to bring Resident Evil to life on the big screen. He told GameSpot about his idea for what the adaptation would look like, saying:

“I’m hoping that it can just be dark and chilling like the game – good zombies, good makeup, good effects. I’ve had the advantage, doing my zombie films, of not having to have them rated. I think for the US release it’s going to have to fall within an ‘R’ because it’s going to be an expensive film, and nobody’s going to take the chance of letting it go unrated.”

Romero already had experience with Resident Evil, having directed a 30-second commercial for Capcom to promote the release of Resident Evil 2 in Japan. The commercial starred actors Brad Renfro and Adrienne Frantz, and later Frantz would tell Variety about Romero’s dedication to making sure specific images from the game were recreated perfectly. Romero spent six weeks on the script, but the movie never happened. Finally, in 1999, GameSpot asked Capcom what was going on with Resident Evil. Capcom producer Yoshiki Okamoto was blunt in getting to the point, saying, “His script wasn’t good, so Romero was fired.” Ouch.

George Romero’s Take on ‘Resident Evil’ Would Have Been More Faithful to the Game

George Romero may have been a horror movie maestro, but a gamer he was not. In the same Variety article, Jamie Russell, who wrote Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema, explained how Romero got himself more acquainted with Resident Evil when it was something he had never played. Russell said: “To familiarize himself, he watched a videotape of an assistant playing through it.” Romero respected what Resident Evil was and sought to make it closer to the video game. In his script, which can be found online, he sought to emulate the game’s tension, which took a slower approach, letting the suspense build, rather than simply having wave after wave of zombies appearing on-screen to shoot.

Just as the game does, Romero’s screenplay made Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine the stars. As for those wild scenes of plants that eat people, massive snakes, and mutant sharks, he was faithful and included those as well. Though those insane moments are there, Romero also spent a lot of time character-building (a specialty of his) before throwing in massive amounts of violence. There were a few small differences from the game, however, which might not have gone over well with hardcore fans had they made it to the screen. For example, one of our main heroes, Chris Redfield, is turned into a Native American farmer, and Raccoon City becomes part of Pennsylvania, a state where Romero frequently made and set his films.

Romero did get his script mostly right by trying to make the movie like the game. So much of that first game takes place in a creepy abandoned mansion, which adds a lot of atmosphere to the story. Romero’s screenplay did the same but also made sure that the Umbrella Corporation’s T-Virus was the focus of the outbreak and made Tyrant, a mutant bioweapon, the final boss. On top of that, the Red Queen computer is nowhere to be found. Romero’s unmade movie reads a lot like Aliens, with a dozen or more soldiers working together to shoot down the hordes of zombies. While not a perfect first attempt, the building blocks to something good are there. Most importantly, it’s something a fan of the Resident Evil games could watch and appreciate.

Paul W.S. Anderson Was Brought in to Make the ‘Resident Evil’ Film

It’s mind-boggling that Capcom would fire George Romero from Resident Evil. His script may have needed work, but it was salvageable. What’s even more confusing is the direction they went in instead. Capcom ended up hiring Paul W.S. Anderson to write and direct the adaptation, which they may have felt made sense, as Anderson had made another popular film based on a widely known video game, 1995’s Mortal Kombat. Resident Evil and Mortal Kombat, while both famous video games, are not the same type of game. Mortal Kombat is simple, with people fighting to the death in an action-packed and fast-paced story, while Resident Evil is slower and more intricate. So it should be no surprise that Anderson’s Resident Evil movie felt like Mortal Kombat with guns mixed with a spoof of The Matrix.

Resident Evil was divisive among critics and fans for being a glossy action film rather than a horror movie. It’s nothing but pretty people shooting zombies over and over and over, with all the character-building and suspense stripped away. Chris and Jill aren’t even part of it, but rather it’s Milla Jovovich as Alice who is our main star. If you wanted Resident Evil the game, this wasn’t it. It made for a decent mindless popcorn flick, but nothing more. Still, the film did well enough at the box office, making $40 million, which led to a sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, in 2006, and when that did even better, a franchise followed.

That renewed interest in zombies resulted in a comeback for Romero, who directed Land of the Dead in 2005, a flawed film in its own right, but one that is way better and scarier than anything Resident Evil ever did. It’s a shame that George Romero wasn’t able to make his vision for Resident Evil, but at least he was still around to show those who fired him how it’s done.

Resident Evil is available to stream on Netflix.

WATCH ON NETFLIX