Editorials
Happy 20th Anniversary to ‘Resident Evil!’
On March 22, 1996, Capcom’s survival horror video game Resident Evil was unleashed upon the world. Originally intended to be a remake of Capcom’s 1989 psychological horror game Sweet Home, which was itself based on the Japanese horror film of the same name, Resident Evil eventually broke off into its own property under the eyes of developer Shinji Mikami, who would go on to revamp the franchise with a new identity with Resident Evil 4. While it borrowed plenty of elements from Sweet Home (the mansion setting, the puzzles, the limited inventory, the “door” loading screen), Resident Evil took on its own identity with an original story and added elements homaging Alone in the Dark and The Shining. It’s not a perfect game, but it’s damn fun. After all, there’s a reason it’s credited with defining the survival horror genre.
Notable for it’s cringe-worthy, yet absolutely hilarious dialogue, sometimes obscenely difficult puzzles, and multiple endings, Resident Evil had its fair share of scary moments as well (the franchise wouldn’t have gone on as long as it has if it didn’t). There are tons of jump-out-of-your-seat moments that the series is known for, even if they were sandwiched between moments of epic cheesiness.
And who could forget the live-action cut-scenes, which were so masterfully acted by an extremely talented cast:
Resident Evil introduced us to some classic characters. From Jill “the master of unlocking” Valentine to Chris “we got to the root of the problem” Redfield, Capcom’s survival horror game also gave us Albert Wesker, one of the most formidable villains in video game history (even if he did end up going out like a tool 13 years later).
One can’t discuss Resident Evil without talking about its horrific yet iconic tank controls (which you can try out again with the HD remasters). Looking back, they are absolutely atrocious. The remaster at least gave you the option to switch to a slightly less bothersome control scheme, but honestly, if you’re going to play Resident Evil you might as well play it the way it was meant to be played. The tank controls add to the incredible difficulty of the game (and make no mistake, it is very difficult), not to mention its charm.
It’s usually Resident Evil 2 or 4 that is brought up when discussing the high quality of the franchise (and Resident Evil 6 when discussing the low), but the first entry in the seminal franchise is usually forgotten. Well, maybe forgotten is the wrong word, but it’s certainly mentioned less. It’s not mentioned as little as Code Veronica, mind you, but the first one still doesn’t get enough love. After all, it does provide one of the greatest jump scares in video game history, and that should never be taken for granted.
It’s one of the many frightening things to take place in a game littered with them. Do you remember the first time you faced a hunter? Or when the tyrant busted out of this chamber? Personally, Yawn was always my favorite reveal, but that’s just because I like snakes. Anyway, I’m curious to know what your first experience with Resident Evil was. When did you first enter the mansion, and what was your experience like?
Unfortunately, I was just seven years old when RE came out, and I was a Nintendo kid so I was all about the Nintendo 64. The only thing I knew about RE was that it had scary cover art. Oddly enough, I actually thought that Resident Evil and The Evil Dead were the same thing for the longest time because the cover art for Evil Dead 2 was similar to the cover art for the Director’s Cut of RE, but I digress. My introduction to RE officially came in 2002 with the release of the GameCube remake (which to this day is one of my favorite video games of all time).
Actually, I just lied to you. My first exposure to RE was the it’s-really-not-that-bad 2002 film adaptation directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich (it’s a fine movie, it’s just a terrible Resident Evil movie). That motivated me to ask for the GameCube REmake for Christmas, and boy was I not prepared for that. Once that was done I quickly snatched up the GameCube ports of 2 and 3 before 4 was finally released in 2004. I was forced to get a PlayStation 3 and make the conversion away from the Wii when RE 5 was announced to be released solely on the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360, and the rest is history. Needless to say, I’m sort of a Resident Evil nut now, so I’m planning on playing my copy of the Resident Evil Origins Collection tonight to celebrate!
What are your first Resident Evil memories? What do you want for Resident Evil 7? Let me know in the comments below or feel free to shoot me a Tweet, and while you do that, listen to this video containing some of Resident Evil’s spectacular dialogue!
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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