Blood crazed zombies on the loose

Blood and zombies will be the focus of the next big screen adaptation of a video game.

Resident Evil the movie launches in the US today, and the film's heroine may have to battle more than a horde of blood crazed zombies - the big test is whether the film can beat last summer's blockbuster, Tomb Raider, at the box office.

Starring Milla Jovovich, an actress who's no stranger to action following her Fifth Element debut, the Resident Evil adaptation promises to cling to the creepy atmosphere of the cult game.

The question is whether Jovovich is a match for Angelina Jolie, who starred in last summer's blockbuster game adaptation, Tomb Raider.

The popularity of the game on which the films are based is little indication of how well a film will do. If it flops, Resident Evil could end up in the same boat as last year's other game-to-film adaptation, Final Fantasy, which lost over $100m at the box office.

Like Tomb Raider and the totally digital Final Fantasy, Resident Evil relies heavily on special effects to stay true to the game's atmosphere.

Capcom, the makers of the original Resident Evil series of games, claim a cult following for the zombie-fest series, which has sold 18 million copies worldwide.

The strong fan base may be just what the film needs to draw popularity, but it will likely mean the viewers are more critical about how close the story stays to the original plot.

In the film, gun toting Jovovich plays Alice, a security guard who works for Umbrella, a shadowy corporation involved in genetics and virus research.

When 'Red Queen', the research facility's controlling computer, releases the prototype T-virus into the airflow and kills off all the workers, Alice leads a commando team in to investigate.

The film's director, Paul Anderson, already has one hugely successful game-to-film adaptation under his belt, 1995's Mortal Kombat, as well as sci-fi horror, Event Horizon.

But whether this is enough to bring a game about the undead to life on the big screen, remains to be seen.

See also:

Final Fantasy creator goes back to basics

Games developer to quit the movie business  28 May 2002

Jolie back for more in Tomb Raider 2

Star to reprise role of Lara Croft.  20 Aug 2001

Lara Crofts in big bust-up

Angelina Jolie, the actress who plays the archaeologist Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider film, has upset a number of other celebs who helped make the heroine a cult figure.  02 Jul 2001

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