Lto the genesis of a pandemic told during a pandemic. Resident Evil, series available today on Netflix and the last piece of a horror franchise born in 1996, it is much less scary than you could imagine. And this despite the story of the drug that was born to relieve the symptoms of mental illness turns instead into a virus that exterminates humanity, it reconnects immediately to what we went through during Covid.
Covid which slowed production of the 8 episodes themed zombies and containment of the undead, until postponing the broadcast until today. In short, a thrilling parallelism that in fact puts more thrills than the imaginary tale.
Resident Evil: the plot
Year 2022. Billie and Jade (Siena Agudong / Adeline Rudolph and Tamara Smart / Ella Balinska), two 14-year-old twin sisters, try to rebuild their lives after a series of mental balance problems. They are the daughters of Doctor Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick Wesker), born in test tubes from two different mothers. Weskerlead scientist of the corporate colossus of the Umbrella Corporation who never revealed the exact circumstances of conception to girls, is developing a wonder drugJoy, able to control depressive states.
Jump to 2038. Jade is one of 15 million survivors of the outbreak which almost extinguished humanity. She is part of an organization seeking a cure and is hunted by Umbrella, producer of the lethal virus, and by hordes of rotting cannibals, people genetically mutated by the infection. The story of her, that of her sister, the mysteries surrounding their birth and the bond with the father are the key to trace the causes of the pandemic.
Lance Reddick (Albert Wesker) and Paola Nunez (Evelyn Marcus). (Netflix)
The franchise
Resident Evil: The Series is the latest born of one huge franchise originated with horror video games by Studio Capcom. Unlike the mix of horror, action and science fiction featuring video games and 8 live-action movies, adheres more to the family-thriller genre.
If we exclude some scenes that report Jade’s misadventures, chased not only by infected humans – the “zero” – and also by creatures mutated into gigantic monsters, Resident Evil detaches itself significantly from the productions of the franchise chock full of horrifying twists and jumpscareviolence and rivers of blood, angry warriors and beautiful women with paranormal powers. The latter a saga within the saga, and a graft copiatissmo up to Eleven of Stranger Things – child version of Alice, played in the cinema by Milla Jovovich).
The (real) protagonist
In the cast of Resident Evil stands out in a striking way Lance Reddickknown to television audiences for participating in a key role in The Wire, the series considered by many to be the best of the last millennium. Reddick lends that awe-inspiring look and angular connotations to Wesker, Billie and Jade’s father and the scientist who developed Joy.
Its stage presence is immense, and its mutability is disturbing: protective father and patient on the one hand, businessman and scientist frosty and manipulative on the other. The sixty-year-old actor it is doubled furtherfor reasons that we do not reveal to you but attributable to the jumps in time that the series is scattered about, dgave birth to an excellent actor’s rehearsal. Perhaps the most impressive element of the show.
The other actors of the cast
The rest of the cast is all female: starting with Tamara Smart (seen in Artemis Fowl) and Ella Balinska (was in the latest, horrid, TV remake of Charlie’s Angels) Jade performers in 2022 and 2036, who embody the character chosen by screenwriter Andrew Dabb as the fulcrum of the narrative.
Strong, tenacious, selfless and fierce, he is the character that the audience follows and who represents hope for the future. Siena Agudong (Hawaii Five-0) and Adeline Rudolph (The terrifying adventures of Sabrina) instead lend their features to Billie, the fragile sister in need of affection and yet very dangerous. She is the destabilizing element of the story. In the role of Evelyn, diabolical CEO of Umbrella Academythere is instead the Mexican actress Paola Núñez Rivasnot new to the horror genre thanks to participation in the series The Purge.
Ella Balinska (Jade). (Netflix)
His Evelyn is the far more stylish character in the franchise (she also wears stiletto heels to go to the baker and sports a mistress hairstyle to copy) but also the most creepy: amoral, careerist, liar, she embodies all that is infernal in large multinationals willing to do anything for profit.
Like Wesker, however, turns into a kitten in the presence of the child: patient and indulgent, he allows even serious transgressions and is even more compliant with his wife, completely unaware of his double personality. It’s hard to say if zombies or householders are more scary of these two dysfunctional families.
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