This is way better than I expected! In fact, this horror movie actually had a message (be still, my heart.) Resident Evil reminds me of several films from the 1970's where there was an anti-corporate theme. (In the '70's all people in authority and big business were bad.)

The film starts out very mysteriously. We roam through a mansion. No one says anything. We get the feeling that the people are wondering where they are. This goes on for 10 or 15 minutes before some action occurs. Finally, the actors stop running around so some one can tell everyone else what is happening. Not my favorite way to start a film.

So there's this big corporation that has its hands in everything. Deep below Raccoon City they have a secret R and D lab. The computer which runs the lab, killed everyone inside. Our heroes need to go inside and figure out what happened.

Zombies happened. Zombie people, zombie dogs. Strange mutant creatures escape holding cells. It's Invasion of the Body Snatchers all over again. All of this suffering has occurred because a corporation wanted to build a super biological weapon. In fact, they have many bio-weapons in development.

Most horror flicks these days have no real substance to them. They are cheap thrills designed to titillate and scare. This isn't your normal teenager exploitation horror flick. Resident Evil does a great job of wrapping its anti-corporation, anti-gene manipulation message in a blood bath sure to be a hit with the teenagers but at the same time, people with brains will also like it.

The message this film presents is complete to the end, which is a downer. A happy ending would have meant some one chickened out. Resident Evil doesn't tie up in a nice pretty package. It's grim to the last.

If you're into horror, or you like a science fiction yarn, and can deal with the blood and guts, Resident Evil is for you.