Resident Semi-evil
by Morgan Shelton

Previews did no justice to this movie. Resident Evil left its audience laughing not screaming, disgusted not scared. This “horror” flick, based on a video game of the same name, is a traditional zombie movie with a modern technology-is-evil twist. If it were not for the eerie feeling that such an incident could actually occur, I would have no respect for this film.
I was confused for the first 15 minutes until the main character, Alice, played by Milla Jovovich, asked the questions that I was pondering. This made me wonder why the characters were as clueless as the audience as we munched on popcorn. Through question and answer sessions we learn the plot and Alice’s history.
The movie is centered around Umbrella Corporation, a company that makes household products consumed by 90 percent of homes . But it also has a hidden agenda: the development of an underground city, The Hive, generated by an automated computer system. Scientists in this complex have created a virus and antibiotic, and the plot sets into motion when one of the virus coils is accidentally dropped. The disease is released, workers are killed, and investigators, including Alice, are sent to investigate.
As she remembers her past, in flashbacks, certain gaps in the plot close up. What is never made clear, however, is the nature of the mutated monster in the complex. Why it is only revealed halfway through the movie when it serves such a large purpose at the end? It is as though director and writer Paul Anderson realized that the over-dramatized zombies might not have the same effect on a 21st century audience as it did during the ’70s. His solution: Add some big scary thing to grab attention as the zombies lose it.
But it wasn’t all bad. A memorable moment is when the investigators enter a hallway of the underground city. They get locked inside and sliced and diced by a laser defense system.
So if you want to see a non-scary movie that has some corny concepts, a decent plot, and will make you laugh, break out the piggy bank. Take a study break and see it when it comes to the Apollo. This movie is an addition to the pile of wanna-be horror films and makes us wonder, yet again, when we will ever see a real screamer.

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