A legendary gaming franchise is getting the movie treatment, again

This story about video game movies, boiled down, in 2:00 minutes.

What's the fuss?

For the second time, the famed horror video game series is getting a movie adaptation with Netflix's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. For video game movies, the bar is set pretty low.

The situation

Since 1996, Resident Evil has been delivering among the best horror experiences that gaming has to offer. With signature characters and a colourful cast of villains and monsters, it's not surprise that Netflix is envisioning the story in film form.

Titled Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, the story is a retelling of the 1998 zombie outbreak that started it all in the fictional town of Raccoon City. Promising to be more of a "grounded" story focusing on survival instead of action, it seems that the film will be more true to the source material than the first film adaptation.

Boiling it down

Since the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, video game-based movie adaptations have been traditionally bad. From terrible casting choices to being unfaithful to the story, many fans outright dismiss these movies without giving them a chance. Although a small minority of these films such as Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog have been successes, the upcoming Resident Evil film may have the odds stacked against it.

The first Resident Evil film adaptation, spawning 6 action-focused movies, didn't fare well critically but performed well commercially. With the new film going in a different direction, perhaps we'll get another rare chance at a good video game movie.

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