RESIDENT EVIL:  APOCALYPSE - PREVIEW 

Resident Evil - Apocalypse (2004)

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, et al.
Director: Alexander Witt
Rated: Unrated
Opening Date: September 10, 2004

 

Notice lately how zombies have suddenly become part of the Hollywood mainstream? That is after being relegated to the horror cheapo subgenre ever since the modern zombie genre was invented in Night of the Living Dead as far back as the late 1960s. George Romero must be spinning in his grave!

Ever since the 2002 Resident Evil (based on the popular computer game of the same name) the zombie has undergone a facelift with the popular British zombie flick 28 Days Later (also in 2002) and in the Dawn of the Dead remake earlier this year. Today’s zombie is a faster breed, likely to outrun you, unlike those slow, awkwardly shuffling absurdly around living dead of yesteryear. (Okay, so the zombies in 28 Days Later were “infected” by a disease and not the walking dead, but we know better than that, eh?)

Is the zombie market becoming saturated? (Anyone remember the fad for vampires that lasted almost the entire mid- to late-1990s?) Well, the makers of the Resident Evil - Apocalypse sequel are betting it isn't. Or at least that they didn’t get enough of Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element) in combat boots the previous time around . . .

So come September, expect more of the same even though this sequel isn’t directed by the director of the first movie, Paul W.S. Anderson. Anderson, although he wrote the screenplay for Resident Evil - Apocalypse opted to direct the highly anticipated Alien vs. Predator instead. . .

Note: Thanks to everybody who e-mailed saying "But George Romero is still alive!" Yes, I knew that, and I meant it as a joke - like something Homer Simpson would have said . . .
 

Plot Summary for Resident Evil - Apocalypse (2004):

The nightmare isn't over, General Cain ordered The Hive to be reopened, and in doing so contaminated all of Raccoon City, a city of the dead, with Alice stuck right in the middle. Now, along with other survivors, Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliviera and his Captain, Nicholai, they must fight to survive, to escape the nightmare that has plagued Raccoon City. But now there is a new threat: Matt Addison has fully mutated into a seemingly unstoppable creature, code named Nemesis, who will stop at nothing until everything around it is dead, but it also has another agenda...

— Amazon.com

Trivia about Resident Evil - Apocalypse:

• Natasha Henstridge was asked to play the role of Jill Valentine, but could not accept due to other work commitments.
• "Nemesis" is the subtitle of the third game in the Resident Evil videogame series.
• Was originally entitled "Resident Evil: Nemesis" after the third game in the Resident Evil videogame series of the same name, which also had a similar plot. The title was changed to Resident Evil: Apocalypse after the release (and subsequent failure) of Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
• Jason Isaacs was set to play Doctor Birkin but left the project.
• Emily Bergl was set to play Claire Redfield, but reportedly bailed out.
  
   

— Amazon.com

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