‘Resident Evil’ Officially Unleashes a Double Dose of Horror on Netflix

Milla Jovovich’s Alice never appeared in the Resident Evil games, but she became one of the franchise’s most recognizable faces anyway. Across six movies, she fought her way through the Umbrella Corporation’s increasingly disgusting experiments, developing a well-earned distrust of anyone associated with the company. Her first two outings remain a good introduction to how that relationship went so spectacularly wrong.

The movies also make an entertaining double feature because of how quickly the situation deteriorates. The first traps Alice underground with a team that has no idea what it has walked into. The sequel brings the disaster to Raccoon City, where characters familiar to game fans join a growing population of people having the worst night of their lives. Halloween may be over, but there is still plenty of room for zombies.

Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse are now streaming on Netflix in the United States. Both movies arrive on the streamer today, November 1. For viewers returning to Jovovich’s run as Alice, that means starting at the beginning of her long fight against Umbrella. Written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the 2002 movie introduces Alice with no memory of who she is or why she has awakened in a mansion. A security team takes her into the Hive, Umbrella’s underground research facility, where the T-virus has turned its employees into something considerably less welcoming. Michelle Rodriguez co-stars as Rain Ocampo, bringing one of the movie's best performances to a mission that keeps finding new ways to go wrong.

‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’ Takes the Outbreak Into Raccoon City

Directed by Alexander Witt from Anderson’s screenplay, Apocalypse picks up with the infection spreading through the city. Alice joins survivors including Sienna Guillory’s Jill Valentine and Oded Fehr’s Carlos Oliveira, while Umbrella attempts to contain the consequences of its work. The second movie also brings Nemesis into live action, giving the group a problem that requires substantially more ammunition than the average zombie. Moving aboveground gives the sequel a different appeal. The Hive’s corridors and security systems make the original feel like an elaborate trap; Raccoon City offers more places to run without much prospect of safety. Guillory’s Jill is a welcome addition, and her presence helps connect the movie to the games that inspired the series.

Together, the movies establish much of what Anderson and Jovovich would build on throughout the sequels. Alice’s story gets much bigger from here, but these early entries offer a satisfying evening of monsters, questionable corporate decisions, and Jovovich making Umbrella regret leaving her alive.

Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse are streaming on Netflix now.