(Photo by Screen Gems/courtesy Everett Collection. RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALPYSE.)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse celebrates its 20th anniversary!
When Resident Evil launched for the PlayStation in 1996, it turned survival horror into a household name, defined by the Capcom game’s use of dynamic and cinematic camera angles, a mysterious and increasingly ludicrous plot, and relentless dread punctuated by exploding zombie heads from a judiciously angled shotgun blast. No wonder it had gamers and Hollywood execs alike seeing stars. Godfather of the undead George A. Romero famously wrote a script, and neared pre-production. Ultimately, the Resident Evil adaptation would fall into the hands of Paul W.S. Anderson, who had freaked audiences earlier in the ’90s with the Dead Space-inspiring Event Horizon.
If you want to watch the Resident Evil movies in order, check out the list below. Anderson directed most of them and cast his wife Milla Jovovich as original lead character Alice, with the rest of the game cast appearing even if they bore little resemblance from the source, including Jill Valentine, Chris and Clare Redfield, Leon Kennedy, Ada Wong, and Albert Wesker. Sinister megacorp Umbrella and their virus experimenting shenanigans also make up the story’s backbone. And while you couldn’t argue Anderson’s movies matches the measured mood and atmosphere that made the first few games such landmark terrifiers, once Capcom released Resident Evil 4 in 2004 and shifted their own material towards big-time action, it became moot anyways.
The Resident Evil movies in order, from the 2002 original to the so-far accurately titled Final Chapter:
36% Resident Evil (2002)
18% Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
24% Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
21% Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
28% Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
But wait, there’s more! First, let’s acknowledge there was a movie reboot called Welcome to Raccoon City, and also that Netflix series. Okay, done. Now, let’s dive into Capcom’s own computer-animated movie series, which are set in the same continuity of the games. That means bask well in Leon’s himbo one-liners, and witness Chris transformation from S.T.A.R.S. errand mule to jacked boulder-punching asshole. All of these CG movies, and the series Infinite Darkness, are set between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 7. The most recent, Death Island, gets the whole gang together for the first time, especially rewarding for long-time fans since Jill hadn’t been part of the story since the 2009 Resident Evil 5 game.
67% Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
50% Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness
100% Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
43% Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
71% Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)
Below, you can see all the Resident Evil movies, both live-action and animated, all by release order.
#1
Resident Evil (2002)
36%
#1
Adjusted Score: 40131%
Critics Consensus: Like other video game adapations, Resident Evil is loud, violent, formulaic, and cheesy.
Synopsis: Based on the popular video game, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez star as the leaders of a commando team who... [More]
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, Ryan McCluskey
Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson
#2
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
18%
#2
Adjusted Score: 21998%
Critics Consensus: Resident Evil: Apocalypse has lots of action, but not much in terms of plot or creativity.
Synopsis: A deadly virus from a secret Umbrella Corporation laboratory underneath Raccoon City is exposed to the world. Umbrella seals off... [More]
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Thomas Kretschmann
Directed By: Alexander Witt
#3
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
24%
#3
Adjusted Score: 27546%
Critics Consensus: Resident Evil: Extinction is more of the same; its few impressive action sequences unable to compensate for the pedestrian plot.
Synopsis: Captured by the Umbrella Corp., Alice (Milla Jovovich) receives genetic alterations that leave her with superhuman abilities. Hiding out in... [More]
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter, Iain Glen
Directed By: Russell Mulcahy
#4
Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
67%
#4
Adjusted Score: 18068%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Two soldiers (Alyson Court, Paul Mercier) battle a mutated monster while trying to eradicate a deadly virus.... [More]
Starring: Alyson Court, Paul Mercier, Laura Bailey, Roger Craig Smith
Directed By: Makoto Kamiya
#5
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
21%
#5
Adjusted Score: 24840%
Critics Consensus: As dim-witted and lifeless as its undead antagonists, Resident Evil: Afterlife is a wholly unnecessary addition to the franchise.
Synopsis: In a world overrun with the walking dead, Alice (Milla Jovovich) continues her battle against Umbrella Corp., rounding up survivors... [More]
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts
Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson
#6
Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
100%
#6
Adjusted Score: 26055%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Leon S. Kennedy (Matthew Mercer) sneaks into a former Soviet state to investigate rumors that bio-organic weapons are being used... [More]
Starring: Matthew Mercer, Courtenay Taylor, Carolyn Lawrence, Salli Saffioti
Directed By: Makoto Kamiya
#7
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
28%
#7
Adjusted Score: 30856%
Critics Consensus: Resident Evil: Retribution offers everything one might reasonably expect from the fifth installment in a heavily action-dependent franchise -- which means very little beyond stylishly hollow CGI-enhanced set pieces.
Synopsis: As Umbrella Corp.'s deadly T-virus continues to turn the world's population into legions of flesh-eating zombies, Alice (Milla Jovovich), the... [More]
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Kevin Durand, Sienna Guillory
Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson
#8
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
38%
#8
Adjusted Score: 42240%
Critics Consensus: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter may prove mind-numbingly chaotic for the unconverted, but for fans of the venerable franchise, it offers a fittingly kinetic conclusion to its violent post-apocalyptic saga.
Synopsis: The T-virus unleashed by the evil Umbrella Corp. has spread to every corner of the globe, infesting the planet with... [More]
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts
Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson
#9
Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
43%
#9
Adjusted Score: 17745%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Soldiers battle hordes of zombies while trying to prevent a madman from unleashing a deadly virus in New York.... [More]
Starring: Matthew Mercer, Kevin Dorman, Erin Cahill, John DeMita
Directed By: Takanori Tsujimoto
#10
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
30%
#10
Adjusted Score: 33885%
Critics Consensus: Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is an affectionately faithful adaptation that further proves its source material is ill-suited to the big screen.
Synopsis: Returning to the origins of the massively popular RESIDENT EVIL franchise, fan and filmmaker Johannes Roberts brings the games to... [More]
Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper
Directed By: Johannes Roberts
#11
Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)
71%
#11
Adjusted Score: 29908%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A t-virus outbreak in San Francisco leads to Alcatraz Island, where a new evil has taken residence.... [More]
Starring: Matthew Mercer, Stephanie Panisello, Kevin Dorman, Nicole Tompkins
Directed By: Eiichiro Hasumi
