Resident Evil 2002 Retrospective : Patreon Preview

Travis (0:00)

Okay, hello, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Resident Evil retrospective. Love the sound that, you know, it's not res, it's reh or whatever, but I am the, I may need the bold slater, Travis Snail. I'm joined by.

Kirkland (0:16)

I am the CGI monster, Kirkland Patzer.

Taylor (0:19)

I'm the hive, Taylor Fields.

Travis (0:21)

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, as we previously mentioned last episode, but in case you didn't listen to it, we are on the buildup to many things, including Kirkland opening that beverage right there.

But this year, the reason we decided to do this retrospective, we got Resident Evil 9, Requiem coming very soon. And then if I tell you, you may have already heard it. And then we also have Zack Craig as Resident Evil happening in September. So I thought, well, this is a better time than that. No better time than ever to do it now. And I feel like we've talked about the Resident Evil franchise many times in the podcast, but not necessarily the games in the movie side, because if you're a new listener, I'm going to say more often than once or twice Taylor has brought up Mila Jovovich and this franchise, and its importance to them and everything like that. So the stars have a line for you, Taylor. We're finally here talking about this one. We're not going to... You keep pitching the Mila retro. Let's slow down there and let's just get through this and see after I've watched all these Paul WS. Anderson and Mila joints if I'm going to want to put myself through anything. I do generally want to see the her and Batista one because that just looks wild. But we are here. So Taylor, I'm going to start with you because you've talked about this many times. So when did you first see this? Also don't give the whole shebang on the other films coming up, but your history with the live action film franchise and yeah, the floor is yours, sir.

Taylor (1:47)

Oh, man. Yeah. I was really trying to think about that first experience with this movie.

I wasn't able to do it. I just remember like my dad was the one that steered me onto this road, and he came back from the movie store, and I think he had the first and the second one. And I remember getting into this franchise when I think the third one was out, but that was it, and I didn't think we were going to get any more. I thought, okay, we're just getting one, two and three. If you only knew. We could do more. If I only knew, yeah. So yeah, he rented the first one, and this is a movie that's just one of those, it's just one of those classic 2000s films.

I don't know how else to describe it. You got the rock music, you got the slow-mo sequences, you got the sexualized women in here, you got the bad asses, all this stuff, the action and everything. And that was just like the staple 2000s action movies. I feel like the majority of them were just that. So with this, it has an extra layer to it, because I think of it choosing to focus on a story that, yes, it's Raccoon City, as I said in the Resident Evil Degeneration Retro. That's your canon event, that's Ground Zero. Everything's kind of revolving around that. And so this is choosing to be a predecessor to that, showing the events leading up to what happens and how Raccoon City just like, you know, Raccoon City. So I like that we're dealing with them being in the mansion. I know the mansion is obviously a huge set piece from one of the first games there. Again, I've not played that game, but I know the mansion. And so when we're going to the hive, the idea of this setting, this claustrophobic environment with really awesome sets, and the only CGI really being the rabbits, I guess you could say. The rest is pretty much pretty decent stuff.

But yeah, I just think that they really crafted a very unique 2000s experience with this movie. And it's like I was saying, the level of claustrophobia that comes from here just terrifies me. And this movie has so many scenes in it that'll just live rent free in my mind, because it just is terrifying. Whether it's the scene of the Red Queen being shut down, and you see the power goes off and the door is open. You don't see them, but you just start to hear the groans and the moans out in the distance. And it's just fucking terrifying. And it's all this other shit that's just, there's a lot of looming things. There's a few jump scares in here, too, that I give them credit for, because they aren't just trying to pull a fast one by setting the stage, having it quiet, and the legs slowly panning into a scene, then boom, jump scare. It's like, no, there's people doing shit, and then a jump scare is just thrown in there, and it works. So I think it's pretty good. And it's funny, because when you get to the final chapter, and you retroactively have to look back at this movie, there's definitely some loose ends. But I feel like for the most part, you can kind of tie it together.