It’s been over 18 years since the first live-action movie hit theaters, bringing the iconic video game franchise to the big screen. Long before The Walking Dead resurrected the zombie subgenre of horror that was first brought to the forefront of pop culture by George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead films, this franchise of movies kicked off and would eventually consist of six different movies, following the adventures of Alice (Milla Jovovich) through a zombie-infested wasteland.
While that franchise has ended, there are a number of Resident Evil projects currently in the works, including and Netflix shows. As far as adaptations go, though, the 2002 movie is where it all began. And now, the whole series is available on . The set contains all six movies starring Jovovich, along with tons of special features that have been released over the years.
Getting to watch the movies in 4K for the first time seemed like the perfect time to take a long look at the original Resident Evil film, scour through the cast and crew audio commentary, and learn the secrets, references, and Easter eggs hidden within the film. Take a look below at 27 things we learned from 2002’s Resident Evil. After that, keep watching the franchise or check out our other deep dive horror galleries for movies like , , and the film.
1. A familiar voice
Though it’s an uncredited role, the first and last voice you hear in the film, providing narration, is none other than Jason Isaacs. Chances are you’ll best remember him as portraying Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movie franchise.
2.The opening shot
This opening shot, which starts as a pinpoint of light that zooms in to reveal the inside of the Umbrella Corporation laboratories, was conceived of on the first day of filming. According to director Paul W.S. Anderson, it was his way to pull viewers out of their worlds and into the world of Resident Evil.
3. She’s family
This Umbrella Corporation employee is actually the sister of franchise producer Jeremy Bolt. What’s more, this isn’t the last time you’ll see her. She reappears later as an undead version of the same character.
4. The elevator scene
According to Bolt, this particular scene was born out of Anderson’s real-life fear of elevators. As a child, the director was in an elevator that crashed. Now, he won’t ever use them–but loves putting them in movies.
5. This one’s safe, though
While this elevator scene may seem horrifying, you’ll be glad to know it’s not an actual elevator. Instead, a hydraulic rig was built to resemble one, which was able to move up and down six feet. What’s more, the flooring surrounding the elevator was made of a light wood that would easily break away if any force was applied, ensuring the actress with her head stuck between the doors was safe.
6. The flashbacks
If you’re wondering why the coloring of Alice’s flashbacks looks so different, that’s because Anderson used a computer to grade the colors. According to the director, he liked the way the grading made them look, compared to the rest of the film.
7. A truly horrifying location
The massive estate Alice wakes up in was, in actuality, a former barracks used by the Nazi party in Germany. According to the cast and crew, it once housed one of Hitler’s top regiments during World War II, and the upstairs of the structure featured padded cells with a one-way mirror, which were used for interrogations. Michelle Rodriguez was quick to note she found the entire building to be creepy and didn’t like wandering around it alone.
8. Feed the birds
The murder of crows Alice sees outside of the mansion are, in fact, not real. Rather than use real birds, they were computer-generated
9. Drunk on set
During this scene, in which Alice meets the commandos she will accompany into the Hive, the cast was actually intoxicated. Someone was celebrating a birthday and brought several bottles of wine to set, which everyone shared. “By the end of the night we were so out of it and so drunk and poor Paul was freaking because it was our last day,” Jovovich remembered.
10. Michelle Rodriguez is a legit Resident Evil fan
According to Rodriguez, she loves to play video games and is, in particular, a Resident Evil fan. In fact, long before Anderson even started work on a film, she told her agents that if the video game series was ever turned into a movie, she wanted to be involved.
11. Alexi-5000
According to Anderson, the Alexi-5000 train interior was designed to resemble the Galaxie 5000 in the Resident Evil 2 video game.
12. Those automatic doors
While this facility certainly looks high-tech, with automated doors allowing Alice and company to venture deeper into the Umbrella Corporation, the reality is a lot less exciting. According to Rodriguez, there were guys on either side of the door, pulling strings to open them.
13. This room’s not so big
This may seem like a cavernous room full of these massive containers, but that’s simply not the case. In fact, according to Bolt, the production only had about 12 of those boxes and simply moved them around the room for each shot to give the appearance of the area being much larger than it actually is.
14. A very different Red Queen
Of course, if you’ve seen the movie you know the Red Queen as a little girl with a British accent. However, she nearly sounded very different. Originally, the Red Queen was going to have an American accent. That audio was recorded and matched up with the film at one point, but was ultimately deemed to be a bad idea. “She sounded so sexually insinuating,” Jovovich said of the American voice for the Red Queen. Everyone decided it was best not to have a voice like that coming from the hologram of a child.
15. Producer cameo
This zombie is Bolt, who plays an extra a few times in the movie, though this is the only time you’ll clearly see his face.
16. The stunt coordinator gets in on the action
The zombie Alice fights in this scene is none other than stunt coordinator James Butler, who was responsible for a lot of Jovovich’s training for the film.
17. About that dog scene
According to Jovovich, most of the training she did for the film was put to use in this scene. In it she fights off a pack of zombie Dobermans, culminating in an impressive kick that sees Alice jumping off of a wall. “I trained about, I guess, in the end, three months, to do that sequence,” Jovovich said. It should also be noted she was attached to a wire while defying gravity.
18. The paperweight
The paperweight Alice uses to smash the zombie over the head, according to Bolt, is an Alice in Wonderland paperweight. There are a number of references to Alice in Wonderland throughout the film, including Alice herself.
19. A surprising inspiration
This corridor shot was inspired by a movie Anderson saw. The 1999 art film Goya in Bordeaux features a scene set in a corridor that was covered in what looked like black plastic bags, the director said, which made it reflective. Expanding on that idea, he created this multi-layered glass hallway.
20. That had to hurt
While rehearsing this particular fight scene, Jovovich accidentally punched Bolt, who was standing in for blocking.
21. She did most of her own stunts
Jovovich did all but one of her stunts in the first Resident Evil movie. The only thing she couldn’t do is the one the studio wouldn’t allow. As the pipe she’s clinging onto collapses, Alice jumps to a ledge. It was decided by those in charge that this was too risky to allow her to do.
22. The rise of a producer’s sister
This is the scene where Bolt’s sister briefly returns, this time as a zombified version of the office worker she played earlier in the film.
23. The licker is incredibly creepy
According to Bolt and Anderson, this scene with the Licker monster was filmed using camera angles pulled right from the games, to give viewers the feeling of playing them.
24. About the licker
Yes, the licker is as creepy as it gets in the movie. However, it’s also entirely computer-generation–for the most part. What the actors were actually acting against was a beam of light from a flashlight. However, Rogriguez said she actually filmed at least one scene with a licker puppet.
25. Take that, James Purefoy
According to Jovovich, in the scene where her character kills a zombified Spense, she actually hit actor James Purefoy with the plastic axe she was wielding. According to Jovovich, he responded by screaming at her.
26. About that massive door
As Alice and what’s left of her team escape the Hive, a massive door is seen closing to seal the complex. At least, that’s what the movie wants you to believe. In reality, all you see is a shadow cast by the lowering door. The door doesn’t exist because they couldn’t afford to create it.
27. Welcome to Raccoon City
At long last, we see the streets of a desolate and barren Raccoon City at the end of the film, revealing a much larger story to be told over the movies that followed. Of course, Raccoon City isn’t a real place, though. Actually, those scenes were filmed in Toronto, Canada.
Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company
