Netflix has been hard at work attempting to keep subscribers happy. But with all the recent account changes, price hikes, series cancellations, and more, that seems harder to do. With only their original content as a driving force to stay relevant in a sea of streaming competitors, Netflix turns to the world of survival horror in an all-new live-action series set in the universe of Resident Evil.
Take a look at the official trailer.
Netflix, we just want to see a live-action version of the games. Not your vision that will ultimately leave every fan disappointed.
As a huge Resident Evil fan, I can say with certainty that this show is missing the point completely. Resident Evil isn’t all about “the end of the world”. It never has been. What makes Resident Evil interesting is the containment of a small town or village and the evil forces of Umbrella attempting to cover it up. When you abandon that, all you have left is just another generic zombie apocalypse medium which is what this series seems to be.
Don’t get me wrong, I love zombies and will take it in almost any form it comes in. What I don’t like, is when Netflix demonstrates that no one over there making this series has ever played the games by showcasing a complete abandonment of anything resembling Resident Evil aside from some slimy monsters and some familiar names. And the fans leaving comments on YouTube seem to feel very similar.
“here’s the problem with this show. The scariest part of all the resident evil games (excluding 6) was that the zombies or whatever other horrific enemies you were fighting were in a secluded area that you couldn’t leave. When you make the zombies “take over the world”, it becomes a universal problem that you’re no longer alone in, a much less scarier plot.” –Hudzun
“When can we have people that actually played the game make these shows/movies?” –Player2
“Looks more like a Day of the Dead film with added monsters than anything to do with Resident Evil.” –Mark Turner
“Considering that Capcom has finally put the Resident Evil series back in its rightful place as a beloved franchise, with the reinvention of the games starting with VII, and the stellar remakes of earlier games, it’s a real shame that live action adaptions continue to fail so spectacularly. How difficult is it to give us a show set entirely in the Spencer Mansion, that somewhat follows the storyline of the original game? I’m sure it’d be cheaper, too. Even an adaption of VII or Village would be preferable to whatever this is meant to be. Really makes me dread what Netflix is going to do to Bioshock.” –Miles Quartermass
“Netflix seems to be so desperate to virtue signal and showcase how inclusive they are, that they seem to forget that they should try and stay at least somewhat close to the source material. Unfortunately, to the powers that be over at Netflix, using the same names as characters from the franchise their content is based on is all that they care to remain faithful to.” –Halov1
After the disaster that was Welcome to Raccoon City, I have no doubts that this show will be terrible. The cast does not reflect any of their videogame counterparts, the plot looks absurdly generic and doesn’t even vaguely resemble anything from the Resident Evil universe. If anything, they should have just removed any relation to Resident Evil so that they could try to world build something fresh and new. Unfortunately, what we have heard and seen so far is anything but.
Let’s be real. There is probably no reason to invest in this series since Netflix will probably cancel it at the end of the second or third season leaving the show on a massive cliffhanger that sees no resolve. Or better yet, they will get wise and cancel it after the first season like Cowboy Bebop since the only thing this show has going for it is Lance Riddick (eyes up, Guardian).
Resident Evil comes to Netflix exclusively on July 14th.
