Top 10 Worst Resident Evil Movies and Shows

Top 10 Worst Resident Evil Movies and Shows

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 worst “Resident Evil” movies and shows.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most disappointing entries in the “Resident Evil” filmography.

Did these movies and shows measure up to your expectations? Let us know in the comments below!

#10: “Resident Evil” (2002)

The first “Resident Evil” movie is arguably the best. It’s certainly the scariest, as it places an emphasis on fear and tension instead of over-the-top action. It’s a guilty pleasure for many, and it contains some iconic sequences (laser hallway, anyone?). But it still has its problems. It’s a little cheesy, containing bad dialogue, poor acting, and some embarrassing CGI. It also shares little in common with the game, which tended to disappoint some viewers. Of course, this would become an even bigger problem as the series progressed. For what it is, “Resident Evil” is decent fun, and it makes for a relatively solid video game movie.

#9: “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” (2016)

The “Resident Evil” franchise is quite unique, as the first and last entries are the strongest. They certainly make for solid bookends! “The Final Chapter” contains some impressive visual effects, and returning to The Hive was a ton of fun. It also closes out the overarching storyline in satisfying fashion. However, we were shocked at the exclusion of Jill, Leon and Ada, who made for great additions to the middle chapters. The film also takes itself a little too seriously, and the rapid-fire editing is enough to give viewers a serious headache. While its flaws were many, “The Final Chapter” is at least a somewhat satisfying conclusion.

#8: “Biohazard 4D-Executer” (2000)

This is perhaps the most unique entry in the “Resident Evil” filmography. It runs just twenty minutes and was mostly shown at theme park movie theaters. However, it also debuted at the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival. Furthermore, the movie can also be viewed in special chairs that offer an immersive 4D experience, hence the name. Unfortunately, the short film isn’t great, and it relies almost entirely on the 4D experience. The dated animation is quite shoddy, and the story is almost non-existent. It also offers nothing interesting in terms of series lore. It’s a decent way to pass twenty minutes at a theme park, but it certainly doesn’t hold up on its own terms.

#7: “Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness” (2021)

Released on Netflix in the summer of 2021, “Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness” is a CGI anime starring franchise legends Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. There’s not much to the series, as it only consists of four episodes running about half an hour each. It’s over before you know it, and it’ll leave you asking, “Is that it?” Yes, sadly, that is it. The story is not only badly paced and derivative, but rather pointless as well. It also feels quite cheap, with some low quality voice acting and flawed animation. And yes, the horrible writing that made “Resident Evil” so famous is certainly present and accounted for! It was fun seeing Netflix delve into the popular franchise, but this ain’t it.

#6: “Resident Evil: Vendetta” (2017)

Following both “Degeneration” and “Damnation,” “Vendetta” was an enormous disappointment. This is the third CG “Resident Evil” film, with the main characters being Leon, Chris Redfield, and Rebecca Chambers. This movie feels even cheaper than “Infinite Darkness,” which is a shame considering the quality of its predecessors. The writing is typically terrible, and the voice acting is questionable at best. Then again, even the most talented actors in the world couldn’t make this dialogue sound good. The animation is nice though, but it’s let down by an inconsequential story that is completely forgettable and filled with boring characters and cliché tropes. Talk about a bummer.

#5: “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” (2021)

This reboot offered a lot. All the fan favorite characters are here, and its story was far more in keeping with the game than Paul W.S. Anderson’s franchise. The police station. The mansion. Even great nods to the original game, like the zombie slowly turning its head to reveal its grotesque face. This should have been a fan’s dream come true, but it really wasn’t. They ruined everything that is beloved about the games, including the characterizations and stories. The film is also horribly paced, with excessive downtime and some sloppy editing between storylines. It’s just a mess of a movie that fails to take advantage of the classic source material.

#4: “Resident Evil: Extinction” (2007)

This is when Anderson’s series really started taking on a life of its own. While the first two movies bore at least a passing resemblance to the source material, “Extinction” took the story to a whole new direction. The desert visuals and action sequences are admittedly first-rate, but the movie seriously falters when characters aren’t shooting zombies. This is when the silly plot really starts to unravel, and it heralds even worse things to come from the waning franchise. Nothing makes sense, and it seems like everything is in service of the increasingly mindless action. “Extinction” is a little better than its predecessor, but then again, that’s not a very high bar.

#3: “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” (2004)

The second entry in Anderson’s series takes much of its inspiration from the second and third “Resident Evil” games, with the fearsome Nemesis making his screen debut. There are some things to like here. The scope is admirable, with a zombie war raging in the streets of Raccoon City. The Nemesis is also quite effective. However, the movie’s potential was let down by some third-rate filmmaking. The action sequences are poorly filmed and not especially creative. The writing and acting are also underwhelming, and even great actors like Jared Harris were wasted on paper-thin characters. “Apocalypse” looks like a cheap Uwe Boll film, and some regard it as one of the worst video game movies of all time.

#2: “Resident Evil: Retribution” (2012)

About the only thing going for this movie are the action sequences. Even when the franchise was at an all-time low, Paul W.S. Anderson knew how to entertain. By this point, all semblance of realism and logic has been thrown out the window. As a result, “Retribution” is a very messy movie, and none of it makes much sense. And while the action is admittedly entertaining, the series had completely abandoned its horror roots in favor of outrageous science fiction shenanigans. By this point, you had either abandoned the franchise entirely or you were fully on board with the craziness.

#1: “Resident Evil: Afterlife” (2010)

Even the bottom tier “Resident Evil” movies have some things going for them. “Afterlife” has very few, if any. This was certainly a franchise low point, and it contains far too many flaws that can’t easily be ignored. The action is badly staged, containing an abundance of slow motion and some bewildering editing. The 3D was unimpressive and did nothing to enhance the movie-going experience. The writing and acting were very tacky, with Shawn Roberts’s Albert Wesker earning particular ire from the fanbase. Finally, the story went completely off the rails and descended into baffling senselessness. Claire and Chris Redfield are here, but this is not “Resident Evil,” it’s something else entirely.