A review of “Resident Evil”
Starring Milla Jovovich
Michelle Rodriguez
Eric Mabius
James Purefoy
Martin Crewes

Directed by
Paul Anderson

Running Time:
1 hour 40 minutes

Rated R

Nothing on film scares me quite like Zombies. Frankenstein, Dracula, werewolves and even stories about demons rarely tickle the hair on the back of my neck like those depicting the walking dead. My most chilling nightmares consist of those slow, shambling masses of decayed flesh, groping with vacant, hollow eyes, desperate for the warmth and vitality I possess, which they so evidently lack; perhaps this is why the “Dead” trilogy by George A. Romero (”Night of the Living.”, “Dawn of.”, and “Day of.”) still affects me, as few horror films can.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.” - Eph. 2:5

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.” - Col. 2:13

I surmise this is why the images strike such a deep, subconscious chord; my post-conversion understanding of those without hope in Jesus-indeed, of my previous state-is not dissimilar: blind, groping in vain for sustenance that doesn’t satisfy, wallowing in my own corruption, rotting in my own filth, and capable of causing nothing but suffering and death. Previous to an encounter with Christ we are all zombies, shuffling in step with our dim, cursed brethren, destructive to those around us. Before I was a Christian and could even comprehend what was sending chills up my spine, these cinematic images served as a chilling reflection of my own fallen condition; now, they still provide a frightening glimpse of what I have been. and what many people are.

That said, “Resident Evil” does little to expound on such a theological parallel; I’d be lying if I said there were deep layers of subtext and nuance in this unashamed adaptation of a popular video game. Still, considering its genre and source material, director Paul Anderson does a bang-up job with “Evil”, producing a film that is not only scary and entertaining, but one that offers unique and atypical twists.

In the film, Milla Jovovich plays Alice, a woman who wakes up with amnesia and a sense of dread. She is taken almost literally down a rabbit-hole into an underground lair of zombies and genetic mutations, the result of a “lab accident”. Alice struggles alongside soldiers and scientists harboring varied agendas and layers of deception. Along the way, she finds she has skills and giftings that go far beyond the average woman, and begins to remember in flashes her part in the horrific affair.

Amnesia serves as a plot device for the moviegoer, and here it works; the viewer uses Alice’s character as both P.O.V. and fantasy fulfillment - much like a video game - coming to understand the past and present of the narrative’s reality, and their place in it, while employing physical fighting skills and an aptitude for firearms. As with many similar zombie films, the grotesque undead ultimately become lethal distractions… as ultimately the humans themselves (and the diabolical corporation behind the virus that caused the plague) become the real enemies. The film ends literally begging for a sequel, and begging the audience to come back for more.

In his video game/movie “Mortal Kombat”, director Anderson proved that a video game movie could be something more than an absolute waste of film; in the horror feature “Event Horizon” he managed to put an unusual spin on seemingly routine science fiction. With “Resident Evil”, the two come together.

“M. Night Shyamalan’s SIGNS”
Starring Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Cherry Jones, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Running Time: 107 minutes
Released August 2, 2002
Rated PG-13

A crop circle appears in a field near Bucks, Pennsylvania, and the owner must cope with the repercussions this has on his family, and eventually the entire world. all heaped on the plethora of deeper problems already festering in his heart.

Before science fiction and fantasy films became box office gold. back when sci-fi was the stuff of pulp serials, cheap cardboard cutouts and stiff-armed PVC robots with gorilla heads, most movies dealing with subjects like alien invasions took place on a farm somewhere in the Midwest, chronicling the event from the perspective of some shmoe and his buddies; this was often necessary due to budgetary constraints. What’s beautiful about M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs” is that-with the status to command a budget and an ability to outdo Emmerich and Devlin’s “Independence Day”-this director intentionally chooses to downsize the landscape and focus on a small rural family in Bucks, Pennsylvania.

However, “Signs” is far from an homage to the cheesy monster flicks of the 50s. this movie focuses on the family because it is everything that matters; crop circles, world-shattering invasions, these things are all peripheral. The disturbing center of the film is Gibson’s character, and the mystery that unravels over the course of the film is the secret of why his heart has hardened against God. What the viewer receives from this film trumps all city-smashing spaceships and shape-shifting metamorphs; this film begins in a chilling vacuum and ends with the discovery of its soul.

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