George A. Romero's Resident Evil is a 2023 documentary (placed in recent circulation), directed by Brian Salisbury, who cowrote with Robbie McGregor. It explores the Pittsburgh filmmaker's rejected vision for a theatrical adaptation of the video-game franchise, inspired in large part by his original, Dead trilogy.
Romero did, in fact, direct a commercial for the sequel game to Capcom's Resident Evil, known in Japan as Biohazard, which led his consideration for a film version of the Umbrella Corporation's heedless horrors, though we learn that Romero had reservations on taking the directorial reins for the feature, stating that, while making the commercial, he felt he was plagiarizing his own material.
The documentary opens with a rundown of Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, followed by a retrospective on Resident Evil/Biohazard's genesis and its obvious nods to Romero's trilogy. Such demonstrates that there wouldn't be a Resident Evil if not for Romero (and John Russo)'s zombie mythology.
Astute fans and contributors associated with both franchises share explicated details, including actor Norman England, actor Christian Stavrakis, actor Jim Krut (Dawn of the Dead's helicopter zombie), actor Pat Jenkiewcz (a Resident Evil, commercial zombie), reviewer James D. Rolfe, Romero archivist Ben Rubin, producer/editor Michael Felsher, director/Romero protege Dick Demick and Resident Evil designer Kenichi Iwao. Their reflections are linked by narrator Pablo Kuntz, who voiced the original, Resident Evil game.
Problems with Romero's intended adaptation occurred when the owners of Resident's movie rights, Constantin Film (known for its involvement in Wolfgang Peterson's The NeverEnding Story and Das Boot, as well as Oley Sassone's "unreleased" The Fantastic Four) balked at the carnage contained in Romero's script (despite such existing in the games). As a result of desiring something more restrained, Romero's contract was terminated and Paul W. S. Anderson's loose but stylized version was greenlit, which proved violent in its own right, even if geared in the action-movie vein.
A substantial sum of the documentary covers Romero's faithful-to-the-source script, but also Resident Evil's many intricacies. Depending on one's appreciation or hunger for Resident Evil, the latter may either delight or frustrate, considering that Romero wasn't a direct participant in such, beyond his works' outside influence. Nevertheless, for the sake of historical bridging, the approach is sensible, thorough and essential.
The documentary ends with Romero's passing, handled with great pathos by its on-screen commentators. A few of Romero's other unfinished projects are referenced during the conclusion, but the Resident Evil hiccup remains his most profound, came-close-but-never-was. Who knows? Romero's adaptation may very well exist in an alternate reality, laden not only by his deft conceptualization, but with stand-out additives from Berni Wrightson, Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero.
George A. Romero's Resident Evil dangles this prospect to the point that one can almost taste it, and because of this, Salisbury and McGregor's effort deserves high marks for its scrupulous and impassioned rumination.
For the full film, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZejDDfFAIvc
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