Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) received mixed reviews based on Johannes Roberts’s many liberties with the source material. While it’s easy to point out the tonal shifts and the considerable differences in timeline, one could quickly tell that Johannes and the rest of the production team took the time to study the video games.
Here we’ll look at the positive side of the team’s work, pointing out all of the nods to the video games and the smart decisions that were made to help the film’s pacing. We’ll also be taking a close look at the designs of certain characters and the special effects design for some of the monsters featured throughout the film’s run.
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The Truck Scene
Capcom
When we first see Claire Redfield, she has hitched a ride with a trucker. Many fans will immediately recognize the cinematic shots being employed during this scene as being eerily similar to those used in the opening cinematic of Resident Evil 2. With both moments happening as openings to film and game alike, the tone was set for audiences to be treated to an adaptation that hued closer to the source material than the infamous Milla Jovovich film franchise.
The scene is expanded upon by teasing the film’s first kill, first with the trucker running down a woman. This woman would be revealed to the audience as a zombie, as she would stand up from the blow and walk away while Claire and the trucker were discussing the best course of action. While audiences anticipated a strike from the undead woman, her impact would come secondhand, with the trucker’s dog licking at the woman’s infected blood.
The Mansion
The Spencer Mansion is the setting for the first-ever entry into the Resident Evil video game franchise. This iconic location has left many in awe of its splendorous look and shocked by all of the horrors hidden within its walls, including the reveal of the first zombie within the mansion, another scene shot beautifully as a straight adaptation of the game.
Johannes Roberts stated he wanted to feature shots that would call back to the original game’s fixed camera angles. In doing so, gamers were all too familiar with the cuts that the cinematographer would make as Alpha Team made their way through the hallowed halls. And the shot of the mansion’s interior shows the team’s attention to detail, with the image looking similar to the artwork featured in the first game.
The Cerberus
Sony Pictures Releasing
As mentioned earlier, the trucker’s dog became infected with the T-Virus by licking the infected blood of a woman. The Cerberus is a common enemy in the games, often attacking in packs and leaping through windows to surprise their prey. While they were first revealed in Resident Evil, the Cerberus featured in this film is more akin to the creature’s appearance in Resident Evil 2.
After infecting his former owner, the Cerberus would find his way down to the parking garage under the Raccoon City Police Station. Here Police Chief Irons is treated to a scene that Leon had to face in the video game, with the nostalgic shot of the Cerebus bounding the length of the garage to leap at his prey, hoping to continue the spread of the T-Virus. Thankfully, Claire had already made her way to the station, and shot the dog down, saving the police chief’s life.
The Licker
While we’re on the topic of monsters, the Licker is one of the terrifying creatures to make their debut in Resident Evil 2. First encountered in the police station, these creatures would prove to be dangerous hunters, causing massive damage with their wicked tongues and claws. While their degree of vision was questionable, their other senses were increased to secure their place on the food chain.
In Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), the Licker is introduced inside the infamous orphanage that Umbrella had used for experimental mutations. Clearly, one of the results of these mutations, seeing this creature brought to life by the power of computer-generated imagery sent chills up viewers’ spines. This creature would prove too powerful for Police Chief Irons, killing him before turning its attention towards Claire and Leon. Even these two heroes’ combined efforts weren’t enough to stop the Licker, but Lisa Trevor, another child who had suffered years of mutations, would use her increased strength and endurance to stop the Licker’s rampage.
Claire’s Iconic Gear
Every character in the video games has carried an iconic look with them. Whether it be Leon’s police uniform in Resident Evil 2 or the STARS gear carried by Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine in Resident Evil, Capcom holds nothing back when creating memorable outfits for their characters. One only has to look at the unanimous approval fans had for Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil: Village.
But Claire Redfield is immediately recognizable by her bright red leather jacket. Were the design team to attempt to pull off Claire’s apparel without the jacket, there would no doubt have been immediate backlash from the Resident Evil fanbase. Add in Kayla Scoldelario’s perfect facial expressions to match up with Claire’s determination and confidence, and everything about Claire’s concept was brought to life on the big screen. Something that can’t be said for every character.
The Birkin Battle
What can we say about the battle with William Birkin? There were many positives to the character’s transformation and how the fight shaped up. When playing as Claire Redfield in the video game, players will be forced to fight Birkin five times throughout the course of the game, with Birkin’s transformation growing more monstrous as time goes on.
Birkin’s reason for injecting himself remains the same in the film, although, thanks to the film’s compounded timeline, his time as a monster is stunted. Fighting the Redfield siblings with the mutation growing throughout his arm adds horrifying eyeballs. While Claire would manage to incapacitate the mad scientist, he would later attack the Redfields while they were attempting to escape the city by way of Umbrella’s ALC-5000. Birkin’s transformation had caused him to grow to a massive size, driven entirely by bloodlust; the Redfields may have fallen to his rage had Leon not timely arrived with a conveniently discovered RPG.
