In the late 1990s, horror pioneer George A Romero almost made a Resident Evil movie. A new documentary will explore the videogame adaptation that never happened.
It’s fair to say that the Resident Evil franchise would never have existed in quite the same form were it not for George A Romero. The independent filmmaker changed horror cinema forever with Night Of The Living Dead (1968), which birthed the modern zombie subgenre and pushed the boundary of what was acceptable on a movie screen.
It seemed only logical, then, that Romero himself would have a go at adapting Capcom’s hit, zombie-filled videogame Resident Evil, first released in 1996, into a movie. It was shortly after that survival horror game appeared on computers and consoles that Romero began work on adapting it into a movie – but for a variety of reasons, it never happened. The first Resident Evil adaptation emerged in 2002, but that one was directed by Paul WS Anderson.
A quarter of a century on, a new documentary directed by Brandon Salisbury will explore Romero’s attempt to adapt Resident Evil and why it fell apart. As reported by Bloody Disgusting (via Eurogamer), George A Romero’s Resident Evil will get a release early next year courtesy of distributor Uncork’d Entertainment.
“George Romero gave birth to modern horror, the modern zombie, and ultimately Resident Evil,” Salisbury said in a statement. “I am honoured to bring fans the untold story of his most important unmade project, to celebrate the legacy of the man that inspired me to pursue filmmaking as a career. I hope fans enjoy this ultimate experience in survival horror.”
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The brilliantly-named Keith Leopard, the president of Uncork’d, added, “This documentary pays homage to Romero’s incredible vision and the power of storytelling that transcends what could have been.”
The documentary will contain archival interviews with the late filmmaker, who passed away in 2017, as well as those who collaborated with him on the ill-fated project. It all sounds like fascinating stuff – particularly as there isn’t a huge amount of material about Romero’s Resident Evil to be found online. The unfortunately-named Pablo Kuntz, who provided the voice of Albert Wesker in the first game, will narrate.
George A Romero’s Resident Evil releases on the 7th January in the US and Canada. We’ll update you when we hear more about a UK release.
