(2007)
Dir: Russell Mulcahy
Say what you want about the Resident Evil film series; they’ve at least been learning from their mistakes. Each one has been an improvement, which is all you can ask from a franchise which makes no bones about being a touch of light relief.
The larger the setting, the greater the fun. That was proven by Alexander Witt 2004’s Apocalypse, when he dragged the series kicking and screaming out of the underground into a violent dystopia. Apocalypse would have been a more suitable title for the third instalment in the scarlet-stained series. Unlike the dark, urban setting of Apocalypse, the desert wastelands of Extinction give the tale a far greater post-apocalyptic mood. The Mad Max films are the easiest comparison to make, as Milla Jovovich’s returning Alice leads a band of survivors across the barren earth in search of sanctuary.
The simplistic plot is hindered once again by the inclusion of the shady Umbrella Corporation and, in particular, the satin-lunged Iain Glen as the psychotic Dr. Isaacs. Monster films do not need this kind of over plotting; it’s where the Alien series died, when it became more about Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley than the titular, acid-lathed xenomorphs.
Director Russell Mulcahy shows some real flashes of talent: a wonderful set-piece featuring hundreds of blood-infected crows is a nice if unsubtle throwback to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Dr. Isaacs’ scenes are also reminiscent of Richard Liberty’s Dr. Logan from George A. Romero’s nihilistic classic Day of the Dead, as Isaacs attempts to ‘civilise’ the undead, much like Day’s memorable Bub. While these are nice touches, they are symptomatic of the lack of originality in the Resident Evil franchise.
Extinction is the best in the series, but still a long way off from even tickling it’s great zombie forefathers with its blood-stained tongue.
** ¾ / *****
“A small intestine away...”
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