Not great, but not awful. Watch with your brain switched to "off"

Rating: 5/10 (7 March 2005)

I thoroughly enjoyed this zombie horror film that sets the scene for the hit Resident Evil computer game series.
The sinister Umbrella Corporation runs a vast underground genetic research facility, known as The Hive, in which a viral outbreak occurs. A state of the art supercomputer, called the Red Queen, monitors the complex and responds by killing all within. The few survivors, including soldier with a conscience, Alice (Jovovich), suffer from memory loss as a result of the Queens gas attack. An Umbrella Commando team, who aims to shut down the computer and find out what has happened, soon joins them.
From the opening scenes the tension is set on high as the all seeing, godlike Queen systematically eliminates the employees. The gory details are often left to the imagination, which is often far worse, particularly the decapitation scene.
Fans of the game will know that the T-Virus will bring these people back from the dead as blood crazed zombies. Anderson keeps us waiting on the edge of our seats for that moment to finally happen. In the mean time he freaks us out with The Queen, who is spookily given the voice, and holographic image, of an English eight-year old girl. This works wonderfully, especially when she states "I have been a very, very bad girl".
Jovovich is superb and wears a gorgeous red dress and mini skirt contraption, along with big black boots that show off her stunning legs that seem to lead all the way to the Promised Land. She is also kept soaking wet for much of the film.
The suspense is top notch, with inventive camera angles and direction that will have you transfixed to the screen before hitting you with jump in your seat shocks. Marilyn Mansons soundtrack is ideally suited and adds to the creepy atmosphere.
Unfortunately there are too many minor characters, all of which are underdeveloped and two-dimensional. This is made worse by the amount of relative unknowns, Rodriquez being the only other recognisable actress, and she delivers a monotonous performance that is far from the Vasquez like character that she is clearly based on. The dialogue and script are terrible, and some of the characters lumber along with less life than the soulless zombies that hunt them. The big bad monster is a horrific CGI creation that, thankfully, has a very brief role.
This film suffers from the 15 certificate, and comes across as a little child-like. I would have liked a little more stamping on zombie head gore and greater shocks, perhaps even some genuine fear. However, it is aimed partly at the younger game playing audience and the lower certificate is understandable. The downbeat ending works well though, and will have you reaching for your control pad to play out the rest of the story.
Ultimately this is a simple action/horror film that borrows heavily from films such as Aliens. There are some occasional great scenes and it is certainly worth switching off you brain and getting the beers and munchies in for some juvenile Friday night entertainment.