George A. Romero's Resident Evil

No pun intended - anyone who was lucky enough to have met the man, can and will tell you (like me), that he was the sweetest human being out there. And so humble - I don't think he ever really was able to grasp how many lives he changed! Directly or through his movies - which I reckon is also kind of directly.

So I knew most of the stuff already that is being rolled up and off at the beginning, but you have to get to a point where everyone is on the same level of information. And that starts with background on the game Resident Evil - with enough players (actually producers) to give us insights.

Yes Romero was a major influence ... if there is a disc version of this documentary, I do hope they include the ads (trailers) he did for Biohazard 2 (the Japanese name of the Resident Evil games) ... generally speaking I hope there is more on an disc version.

A lot of players are missing (Tom Savini to name just one of his greatest collaborators). So while this is mainly focused (or supposed to) on Resident Evil ... there are personal touches on his life too. And the foundation his wife brought to ... well life after his death.

One documentary is not enough to do the man justice of course - and the reading of the script (or the scenes within) that never was made ... but probably would have been at least as good as the one they eventually did ... well it is heartbreaking ... but it is what it is ... the German production company decided to go the commercial route ... I reckon you can't blame them - but you can still hate them ... a nice little documentary with some insights and new information I reckon for those interested.

.::. English is not my native language, please take this into consideration when reading the following review .::.

As a zombie fan and content creator for zombie themes, the "George A. Romero's Resident Evil" documentary was an absolute must-have. I pre-ordered the DVD and, of course, watched it immediately upon receipt, publishing a review on my channel.

.::. Content Focus .::.

• Romero's life's work and his influence on the zombie genre.

• His dark vision for the "Resident Evil" film and the reasons for his departure.

• The role of Konstantin Film and their rejection of Romero's approach.

• The work of the "George A. Romero Foundation" and the living legacy of Romero.

.::. Strengths .::.

• Detailed portrayal of Romero's creative vision.

• Atmospheric implementation: The documentary transports the viewer directly into the world of the first "Resident Evil" games with elements such as the DVD menu and the quote overlays. I often felt transported back to the first minutes of playing Resident Evil, with those doors in mind.

• It's simply grandiose that they managed to get Pablo Kuntz - the voice of Albert Wesker - to guide us through a documentary about a possible Resident Evil film by Romero that unfortunately never happened. (Yes, I'm serious, it's truly grandiose.) How ironic is it that none other than the voice of Albert Wesker leads us through this unrealized story?

• Interesting insights into the genesis of the project.

.::. Weaknesses .::.

• Avoids a critical examination of Romero. I would have liked more of that.

• One-sided portrayal of Konstantin Film and Paul W. S. Anderson.

• Critical comments about Romero's screenplay are interpreted as attacks, or rather, it comes across that way.

!! - Little new information for Romero and "Resident Evil" experts. !!

.::. Conclusion .::.

The documentary is still a must-see for fans who want to learn more about the lost project. It offers exciting insights but avoids a comprehensive critical analysis. Romero's passion for the project is evident. And whoever gets the physical version does not have a dust catcher but a documentary that definitely gets a place in the collection.

This overreaching documentary is clearly a passion project for an ill equipped director, who mistakenly makes a great deal of a mundane, standard industry tale.

A company may reach out to several third parties, talk about a license being obtained, where third parties will iterate on the idea over a set period of time, and then the production ceases to move forward for one of a thousand potential reasons. It happens hundreds and thousands of times. It is not a conspiracy or a tragedy. It is not Roger Ebert and Rex Reed slandering Warren Beatty or Faye Dunaway in public media spaces at the request of various executives for several decades.

A standard process is all there is to the story, and no amount of irrelevant talking heads should convince you otherwise. Well, if you're media literate.

If you are media literate, you'll already be aware of the value of Romero's work outside of this incredibly small part of his five decade movie career. Resident Evil matters zilch to Romero or his legacy.

George A Romero remains an incredibly important figure in both independent films and horror films. What he did with his budgets, approach, and societal critiques are indellible and inspirational, with NIght of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead remaining incredible achievements that are still spoken of by the majority of critics, fans, and creatives.

On top of the problems with the concept, the director isn't particularly well equipped to put together an adequate puff piece. Fair play, they have tried to add enough fluffy somewhat flaky presentation (I may have been baking a few minutes ago) to fill out the run time, but this isn't exactly Jodorowsky's Dune. Plus, even that better but also lacking documentary overstates the potential impact of a film which was never made, and only matters to a particularly niche section of a group of obsessives. And I'll restate that I don't need a barrage of irritating talking heads who have no formal links to Romero, Constantin Films, Capcom, talking broad stroke vagueries.

The worst of it all can be found in the break down of the draft against reenacted scenes from the video game. It is very much a first year video essay at college effort. The script is so plain in its references that it's clear as day as is. The visual side of the film is derivative of numerous documentary TV shows, with the reenactments reminiscent of the TV pro-wrestling pseudo-documentary series Dark Side of the Ring.

Neither Romero's script, nor Resident Evil, are a bastion for subtlety or depths of meaningful layers. The project was never going to be in the spirit of Romero's Dead films, which actually do a great deal regarding class, racism, capitalism, and more.

Romero's last version of the Resident Evil script is true to Resident Evil, and Resident Evil isn't nuanced or complicated. If it was, "4 itchy Tasty" and a closet door opening might be a comment on the bonds between cannibalism and repressed sexuality. But it's not. It's someone eating someone as a raw snack and then hiding in a cupboard.

To put it plainer, Romero's advertisement for the Japanese release of Resident Evil 2 speaks to what Resident Evil was to him, and that actually got made! He didn't focus on the anti-corporation & anti-corruption angle of the notes of Resident Evil. His Resi efforts focused on a Fulci like admiration for the creatures and blood.

As a positive note, the massively available Romero script is fun pulp for fans of the original Resident Evil video game. It is a theme park haunted house approach to creatures and monsters you will already know as a fan of the video game.

Watch one of Romero's less known films instead if you want to have a good time. Monkey Shines is a particularly underrated little gem outside of the usual ____ of the Dead suggestions. Plus, it's pulpy and campy as anything, just like the old Resident Evils.

It was a beautiful humane story of George Romero's stance; his core values outweighs what could've been. A fun directorate role from Brandon Salisbury, takes a re-watchable trip through not only memory lanes but unexplored areas. This is absolutely a much watch. As a fan of the original Biohazard/Resident Evil, it's insanely nice to see something relevant about the movie ideas from that 1996 masterpiece.

For those who don't know, this movie stars Norman England (author of Behind the Kaiju Curtain) and James Rolfe makes a cameo as well. I appreciate the modern day influences taking place on this movie.

Truth be told I have never played a Resident Evil game, but have seen bits and pieces along with watching others play. However, I feel like this documentary isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. In my personal opinion the title should of at least been a bit closer to tell people that this film is about George A. Romero's legacy and not only about Capcom and their videogames. A lot of care was put into the documentary with references to the Resident Evil franchise. I felt like it was very informative and well structured. Again I have not known the Resident Evil franchise long enough as most die-hard fans so possibly if you are already well informed on the information regarding the Resident Evil films then possibly you might not enjoy it as much because it would be a rehash of the same information. Again I enjoyed it because I didn't know much about the Resident Evil films that were in production.

Also I do not understand where people are getting the idea that this film was made for profit when it is obviously stated the film is clearly for George A. Romero's legacy and his foundation to promote new filmmakers.