Resident Evil Movies In Order & IMDB Scores
In 1996, PlayStation launched what was to be one of its most successful games, the survival horror extravaganza Resident Evil. Relentless dread, some serious ‘slasher’ graphics and that solid horror staple, zombies, ensured that the game was a huge success. So much, in fact, that it transitioned quickly to the big screen in 2002. In the hands of Paul W.S. Anderson, Resident Evil became a box-office smash, effectively rebooting the horror genre and proving that games could transition to film without losing their core appeal.
Anderson’s wife, Milla Jovovich, played the lead, following in the footsteps of powerful female horror heroes such as Ripley in Alien and Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise. But if you’re new to the world of Resident Evil, how do you watch them? Do you have to do a Resident Evil movie marathon in order, or can you dip in and out of the franchise? Let’s take a look at the Resident Evil Movies In Order and their IMDB Scores.
The Background Story
Before we look at the Resident Evil movies in chronological order, let’s get a bit of general background to the storyline. In the 1960s, a shadowy organisation known as the Umbrella Corporation led research into mutated compounds that could be used as bioweapons. They came up with the Progenitor virus, followed by the T-Virus and G-Virus in quick succession, hoping to develop enhanced humans. As we all know, these good intentions invariably go wrong, and what they actually unleashed was a zombie threat which escalates each time we dip into the Resident Evil world.
The key themes throughout all the films are the horror of corporate malfeasance and bioterrorism, with a healthy dose of survival horror thrown in to keep the tension at boiling point. If you’re familiar with the games, the subtexts and plotlines remain endearingly close to the original gamescapes. But this doesn’t exclude non-gamers, and Resident Evil is a standalone series that any horror lover will enjoy. The level of violence, though, makes Resident Evil unsuitable for children or those of a nervous disposition.
Resident Evil - 2002 - IMDb score 6.6
You would assume that an organisation creating dangerous viruses would have foolproof containment protocols, but unfortunately, the Umbrella Organisation seems sadly lacking in that department. Consequently, at a secret facility known as ‘The Hive’, a virus gets loose and turns the staff into ravenous zombies, while transforming docile lab animals into carnivorous monsters. The base is shut down to stop the virus escaping into the general population, and a crack commando team is sent in on clean-up duty, helped by the indefatigable heroine, Alice who awakens at the start of the film with no memory of who she is or what has happened. It’s a standard game scenario: shut down the computer, kill the zombies, and get out. Only Alice also has to cope with her memories as they slowly return, demonstrating a bigger problem. Starring Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, and Ryan McCluskey.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse 2004 IMDb score 6.1
It was bound to happen sooner or later – zombie plagues have a nasty habit of breaking containment and turning the population into an army of the undead. That’s the foundation for Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the second film in the franchise. Alice has come to realise that she is an Umbrella Corp. experiment, bio-enhanced and stronger than the average soldier. She’s going to need those skills, as the virus is currently ravaging Raccoon City, leaving pockets of uninfected people fighting for their lives. There may be a solution, but is the price worth paying? Starring Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, and Eric Mabius.
Resident Evil: Extinction 2007 IMDb score 6.2
Several years after the Raccoon City disaster, zombies wander the landscape, accompanied by killer crows. Alice, struggling to survive, is fighting to bring down the Umbrella Corporation in her own unique way. A continuation of the Resident Evil movie series and ranked by IMDb with a 6.2 rating, it’s a film that moves the story on but leaves plenty of unanswered questions. Starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, and Oded Fehr.
Resident Evil: Afterlife 2010 IMDb score 5.8
Alice is back, and this time she’s got a few friends to help her. Despite her never-ending battle with the vicious Umbrella Corporation, Alice has to take some time off to help survivors escape the hordes of the undead who have taken over LA. A safe haven beckons, but there’s also a deadly trap that could end everything. Starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, and Wentworth Miller.
Resident Evil: Retribution 2012 IMDb score 5.3
Alice wakes up in an idyllic suburban home with a husband and a daughter. But nothing is ever quite what it seems in this setting, and as the veil falls away, she realises she’s trapped in an Umbrella Corp. underground fortress. That computer system that’s been such a problem throughout the series shuts down again, causing Alice to escape to the central control room. Two teams are fighting to get to her: a rescue team sent by Wesker and an assassin’s team sent by the Red Queen. Who will get to them first? Starring Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, and Michelle Rodriguez.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 2016 IMDb score 5.5
Alice returns to where it all began, Raccoon City. Following on from where we left off in Resident Evil: Retribution, the story takes us to the final stand of humanity vs the undead. In the list of the best Resident Evil movies, the IMDb rating doesn’t really do the film justice, and it was a real favourite among the diehard RE fanbase. When it comes to survival horror, things don’t get much better than this. Starring Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, and Ali Larter.
Resident Evil: The animated films
As well as the live-action films, the Resident Evil universe has also produced several CG-animated movies. These include Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008), Resident Evil: Damnation (2012), Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017) and Resident Evil: Death Island (2023). They’re closely connected to the game’s established characters and continuity than the live-action films, making them particularly appealing to fans of the games.
Resident Evil: The reboots
While a first reboot was attempted in 2021, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City didn’t quite have the same impact as the original six films. Maybe this was due to the fact that Milla Jovovich, whom many regard as the heart and soul of the Resident Evil franchise, was missing from the cast.
Fast-forward to 2026 and a second reboot is in the works, this time directed by Zach Cregger and written by Shay Hatten and Zach Cregger. While the setting is the same (and we’re back in Raccoon City once again), the principal characters are different and once again, Milla Jovovich is absent. Set for release in September 2026, it remains to be seen if this will join the list of the best Resident Evil movies and breathe new life into the series.
Keep a lookout for Resident Evil coming to a VOX Cinema near you soon.
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