Time: 107 Minutes
Cast:
Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield
Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine
Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield
Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker
Avan Jogia as Leon Kennedy
Donal Logue as Chief Irons
Neal McDonough as William Birkin
Director: Johannes Roberts

I enjoy many of the Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil films, despite them not being very accurate to the video games they are based on. That said, I was looking forward to Welcome to Raccoon City, which is helmed by different people and would be a reboot which aimed to be closer in spirit to the games. I enjoyed it despite the negative reviews, but was disappointed considering the potential it had.

Welcome to Raccoon City aims to combine the stories of the first two Resident Evil games. I should mention that I mainly know about Resident Evil 2 from playing the remake and only know vague details about the first game. The actual build up in the first act works quite well, and at times the stripped back approach makes it feel almost John Carpenter-esque (specifically storyline taking place in the police station). It also comes to life in the tense horror set pieces. However, the thing that significantly kneecaps the movie is the attempt at combining both stories into one movie, the end results are a mixed bag. Both stories feel very rushed and not cohesive with far too much going on. It easily could’ve been a 90-minute movie just based on the first game. If you are new to Resident Evil, I’m not exactly sure what your experience might be with this, because I can imagine that some people might feel like they are missing something. Welcome to Raccoon City feels like a fan film in some ways, with plenty of callbacks and references. Yes, it’s more accurate to the games than the prior live action movies, but the references and fan service almost felt like they were working through the checklist. If anything, the attempts at being closer to the games makes the random deviations even more stark and out of place. Having played the RE2 remake, I can say that key aspects of the game have been cut in ways that change the story in significant ways, and there are some weird character and story choices made. Again, I blame the blending of two storylines for this, with both stories suffering as a result. Putting aside the issue of accuracy from the games, I don’t think Welcome to Raccoon City even works on a standalone level. The writing is very messy and convoluted, and feels especially rushed in its last act.

The cast are definitely trying their best in their parts. It’s a bit hard for the characters’ personalities to really shine through; they seem very similar to each other, another consequence of having many characters in one movie. Some castings and performances really work and stand out like Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, and Donal Logue. Some other actors like Tom Hopper as Wesker are a bit more out of place.

The direction from Johannes Roberts is solid and one of the best parts of the movie. The cinematography is great, and the production designs and sets are good and are pretty accurate to the games. While the movie never really gets to the level of being scary, it has some good tension, definitely having more of a horror approach compared to the previous live action movies, and does well at creating a moody atmosphere. That said, you do feel the budget limitations at points, especially with the very hit or miss CGI.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is a very flawed video game adaptation with issues including the lower budget and questionable story and character choices, but was still a fun and well directed B-level horror flick.