George A. Romero’s Resident Evil (2025)
Directed by: Brandon Salisbury
Premise: A documentary about an abandoned film adaptation of the video game Resident Evil that would have been written and directed by Night of the Living Dead creator George A. Romero.
What Works: Filmmaker George A. Romero and his producing partners created the zombie genre with 1968’s Night of the Living Dead. He directed several more zombie pictures and Romero’s films were imitated, referenced, and ripped off in countless undead movies that followed as well as projects in other mediums. One of those inspirations was the Capcom video game Biohazard—which was renamed Resident Evil for its international release. In the 1990s multiple efforts were made to adapt Resident Evil into a feature film which it eventually was in a 2002 movie directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich. But before that, Romero was hired to develop the film and he wrote a script that was eventually abandoned. The documentary George A. Romero’s Resident Evil documents what happened behind the scenes, what Romero’s film would have entailed, and how it fit into Romero’s career. The documentary includes interviews with relevant people and references drafts of Romeo’s unused script. The film is also a respectful tribute to Romero and his influence on the culture.
What Doesn’t: The fatal flaw of George A. Romero’s Resident Evil is that it just doesn’t reveal very much, at least not much that is interesting. There is a niche of documentaries about unmade films such as Jodorowsky’s Dune and The Death of Superman Lives and Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau. Those documentaries are interesting because of the behind-the-scenes drama and the clashes of colorful personalities. George A. Romero’s Resident Evil doesn’t have that. It’s a straightforward Hollywood story. Romero was hired to write a script, the producers didn’t like it, and the project moved on without him. The documentary offers no insight into those decisions nor any juicy behind-the-scenes gossip. The documentary does reveal what Romero’s film might have been—apparently it would have been more faithful to the games than the movies we got—but this is speculative. Movies change during production due to late inspiration and unforeseen challenges. George A. Romero’s Resident Evil is overlong. The documentary is languidly paced and it gets stuck on memorializing Romero’s life and career. It’s respectful but many of the biographical details don’t shed light on Romero’s Resident Evil project. The narration is delivered in an awkward drone that is hard on the ears.
Disc extras: Commentary track, interviews, and a trailer.
Bottom Line: The documentary George A. Romero’s Resident Evil is only for Romero and Resident Evil fans but they probably know most of what this documentary has to show them. It’s heavy on speculation and light on substance.
Episode: #1119 (October 4, 2026)