Resident Evil (2002)

Film and Plot Synopsis

Based on the hit video game, Resident Evil finally makes it to the big screen. When a deadly virus escapes within a secret underground facility called the Hive, a team of commandos are sent in to reestablish order and to retrieve the important lab work. However, the find that the virus has reanimated the corpses of all the lab personnel. Now, the commandos will find themselves in the fight of their lives to not only defeat the zombie horde, but to get back to the surface before the lab is sealed forever.

‘Resident Evil’ Movie Summary

The film opens in the not-too-distant future. A narrator (Jason Isaacs) informs the audience that Umbrella Corporation has become the biggest corporation in the entire world with investments into nearly every market. Umbrella also is secretly an experimenter in bioweapons and genetic experimentation.

Next, we are shown a thief placing vials of the highly dangerous T-virus into a protected and sealed metal case. Before leaving the lab, the thief throws one of the vials into the laboratory where it shatters and releases the T-virus into the secret Umbrella facility in Raccoon City. In response, the facility’s artificial intelligence, also known as the Red Queen (Michaela Dicker), seals the entire facility and kills every living thing inside.

Next, a woman named Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens naked on the floor of a shower. Alice has no memory of who she is or how she got there. She searches the deserted mansion and finds some clothes to wear that fit her. She conducts a search of the rest of the mansion until she is attacked by an unknown man. Alice is saved by a group of commandos led by James “One” Shade (Colin Salmon) who suddenly storm the mansion. The commandos place Alice’s attacker into handcuffs, while One demands that Alice report her situation status to which Alice gives a blank stare. Alice’s attacker identifies himself as Matt Addison (Eric Mabius) a recently transferred police officer to the Raccoon City P.D.

The commandos open a secret passageway in the mansion and proceed to an underground train. One of the commandos, Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez), powers up the train. Matt and Alice are brought along. The commandos find another amnesiac, named Spence Parks (James Purefoy), hidden on the train. The commandos explain to Alice that everyone in the group except for Matt are employees of the Umbrella Corporation. Alice and Spence posed as a married couple and were assigned to guard the secret entrance to Umbrella’s secret underground facility known as the Hive.

Just one bite, one scratch from these creatures is sufficient. And then, you become one of them. Red Queen (Michaela Dicker)

The group eventually works their way to the Hive. They find everyone within the facility dead, or at least they believe they are. The commandos work their way to the Red Queen’s chamber where her computer main frame is contained. A laser defense system kills One and three more commandos outside the chamber. The commandos’ computer expert Chad Kaplan (Martin Crewes) shuts down the defense system and accesses the computer core. Kaplan disables the Red Queen which causes the power to fail throughout the Hive. As a result, all the doors in the facility are opened releasing the zombified staff and several creatures known as Lickers that were created through experimentation with the T-virus.

Shortly afterwards, the remaining members of the group are attacked by the horde and commando J.D. (Pasquale Aleardi) is killed and Rain is bitten. Kaplan, Rain, and Spence make it back to the computer core, while Alice and Matt explore the facility. Matt explains that his sister, Dr. Lisa Addison (Heike Makatsch), infiltrated the Hive and was planning to sneak out the T-virus to expose the Umbrella Corporation. Matt informs Alice that Lisa was working with someone else which triggers memories that implies that she was Lisa’s contact. Matt is attacked by a zombified Lisa, which Alice saves him from.

Eventually, Alice and Matt work their way back to the computer core. The surviving commandos explain that they have only one hour before the Hive is automatically sealed and they become trapped underground forever. Alice and Kaplan reactivate the Red Queen to find an exit. They rig a remote shutdown to force her cooperation. The Red Queen leads them to the maintenance tunnels where the group finds more zombies. A reanimated J.D. bites Rain for a second time before she shoots him dead. However, everyone reaches safety in the rafters except Kaplan, who is bitten and separated from the group.

As they travel through the facility, Alice suddenly remembers that the facility also had an anti-virus in the lab. She leads the group to the lab but finds the anti-virus missing. However, Alice and Spence recover more of their memories and each of them remembers that Spence was the thief who stole and purposefully released the T-virus in the beginning of the film. Spence attempt to escape and stored the stolen T-virus and anti-virus on the train, but he was knocked unconscious by the Hive’s gas. Spence turns against the group, but he is bitten by a zombie. He locks the group in the lab and then proceeds to the train to retrieve the anti-virus for himself. However, the Red Queen unleashes a Licker on him, and he is killed.

In the lab, the Red Queen offers to spare Alice and Matt if they kill the infected Rain. The Red Queen informs Alice that despite the availability of the anti-virus, there is no guarantee that Rain can recover from the infection. A Licker attempts to break through the glass to get into the lab. Another power outage occurs, and Kaplan returns. He informs them that he has blown the Red Queen circuit board with the detonator. The group heads to the train. Alice retrieves the anti-virus from the dead Spence and shoots him again when he reanimates. She boards the train with the others as it begins to pull away.

On the train, they inject Rain and Kaplan with the anti-virus. A Licker attacks the train, killing Kaplan. Alice and Matt battle the Licker and Matt is clawed by the beast. Alice holds off the Licker, and Matt is attacked by a zombified Rain. Matt shoots Rain dead, and her head hits a button, opening a door and dropping the Licker under the train, killing it. Once at the mansion, the door seals behind them, closing off access to the Hive. Matt’s claw wounds begin to mutate, and a team of Umbrella scientists suddenly appear. Matt and Alice are each tied to gurneys, and an Umbrella scientist (Jason Isaacs) orders Matt to be taken to the Nemesis program and Alice to be taken for research. The scientists then proceed to re-open the door to the Hive.

Sometime later, Alice awakens at the Raccoon City Hospital strapped to an examination table. She escapes the hospital with nothing but a lab coat. She ascertains that it has been some time since she was abducted. She finds Raccoon City in shambles and grabs a shotgun from an abandoned police car.

Additional Film Information

• Resident Evil official website
• Resident Evil at IMDb
• Resident Evil at Wikipedia
• Resident Evil at Rotten Tomatoes
• Watch on Apple TV
• Watch on Prime Video