How to Watch All the ‘Resident Evil’ Movies in Order
Let’s revisit the campy series that produced seven films—and reminiscence about how kick-ass the 2000s were.
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The early aughts were an absolute fever dream. We had boy bands singing songs written by Swedes, frosted tips, and personalized ringtones. Some even call the ’00s the last era of real pop culture—before the Internet and social media stole our creativity. Something to think about!
Let’s get to why we’re really here: The aughts also gave us some kick-ass zombie flicks in the form of Resident Evil. Milla Jovovich punched and kicked her way through the silver screen into the hearts of millions. The 2002 film, which is loosely based on the popular video game of the same name, was a box-office smash. Jovovich is Alice, a sleeper agent, rebel, and assassin who exclusively wears bodysuits. She leads a revolution in a dystopian future plagued by a virus that turns people into cannibalistic monsters. Time to revisit the campy series that produced seven films—and reminiscence about how bitchin’ the 2000s were.
Resident Evil
Kick your Resident Evil marathon off right with the film that launched the franchise. Die-hard fans of the movies and video games claim that this is the best of the lot. We’re introduced to Alice (Milla Jovovich), who kicks so much ass. In fact, she runs out of zombie ass to kick, so she kicks zombie hell-hound ass. Alice may wake up at the start of the film with no memory of her life, but she does remember how to serve looks while tearing apart enemies. And that’s the most important thing at the end of the day.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Taking place directly after the events of the first film, Resident Evil: Apocalypse poses the question What if you woke up naked in a zombie-run town called Raccoon City? Luckily, Jovovich is back as Alice to show us exactly what would happen. The city is quarantined and threatened by nuclear destruction—and giant zombie abominations are on the loose. But they’re no match for Alice. Riding a motorbike, she blasts through the stained-glass windows of a church to save a band of plucky survivors. They all live to fight another day. This sequel may not be as well paced as the first, but it did make a jackpot of money at the box office.
Resident Evil: Extinction
Jovovich returns again in a follow-up to Apocalypse, but this time, there are two of her. Not a twin but a clone that’s been created in the same lab responsible for the deadly zombie virus. No, wait! There’s not just one clone but dozens—hundreds, even. Alice doesn’t have time for a family reunion with them, since she’s busy leading her band of survivors to a possibly zombie-free safe haven in Alaska. Oh, and did I mention that she has telekinetic superpowers because her genes were mutated by the virus? Is any of this making sense anymore? The truth is that no one cares when there are this many slo-mo scenes of Jovovich flying through the air and slicing through zombies.
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Alice is back...with about a hundred of her clones in tow. Welcome to the fourth installment of the Resident Evil series. The franchise was losing steam by this point, barely breaking even on its budget at the U.S. box office. But did Jovovich take that lying down? Hell no! She somehow found brown hair dye during an apocalypse and marched into the next sequel more badass than ever—flying planes, swimming with zombies, and pulling off physically demanding stunts in terrible CGI environments. And the plot grows even more convoluted. Afterlife explains conspiracies, only to be retconned with more conspiracies. But hey! Here comes another slo-mo shot of Jovovich dodging zombie dogs to distract us.
Resident Evil: Retribution
This is the point in the franchise where you simply let go and let Jesus take the wheel. There’s no point in keeping track of plot points or even characters anymore. Is the Umbrella Corporation omnipotent? Why does it keep capturing Alice and putting her in a two-sided hospital gown that makes her look like she fell asleep on giant Post-it Notes? No need to fret, my fellow Raccoon City prisoners, because Alice zips up her giant, knee-high, zombie-kicking boots and gets to doing what she does best: dodging laser grids and zombies in slow motion.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Fourteen years of Resident Evil movies have taught us many things: Plot continuity doesn’t matter, Alice can survive any kind of super-powered smackdown, and clones fill every plot hole you can think of. In the final installment of the original series, Alice goes after the anti-virus that Umbrella has been hiding until all of humanity is wiped out. After more dizzying camera shots and more slo-mo scenes, we finally get what the six convoluted movies have been building up to: a vaguely satisfying ending and more than $1 billion in box-office gross for the franchise. In The Final Chapter, more backstories are retconned and Alice pulls a Harry Potter by giving up half her soul to release the anti-virus and save humankind.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
This reboot—meant to be a more faithful adaptation of the video-game series—sends us right back to the infamous Raccoon City, aka ground zero for the zombie virus created by Umbrella. This is the first Resident Evil film without Jovovich. Instead, it’s fronted expertly by Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield. Set in the nineties, Claire leads her brother and a gang of survivors as they try to survive the first zombie outbreak. Welcome to Raccoon City trades slo-mo, Matrix-inspired gunfire and high-flying Chuck Norris kicks for horror-movie atmosphere and suspense. The CGI has grown exponentially better, but the reboot keeps the franchise’s classic confusing plotlines.
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