RESIDENT EVIL
★★★
OUT NOW (NETFLIX) / EPISODES VIEWED 4 OF 8
SHOWRUNNER Andrew Dabb
CAST Ella Balinska, Lance Reddick, Tamara Smart
This latest adaptation of the long-running zombie video-game franchise is still firmly in ‘guilty pleasure’ territory, but there is fun to be had from its signature trashy approach. Unlike the Paul W.S. Anderson films or the recent big-screen reboot, this series is both pre- and post-apocalyptic, depicting the lead-up to the T-virus outbreak in 2022, and its dystopian aftermath in 2036. The earlier timeline is less engaging, playing like a high-school soap (Zoomer zombies!), but even with some occasionally shoddy CGI, it’s not short on ambitious imagery and gleeful gore. While it won’t quite fill the void left by The Walking Dead’s exit this year, this is still an enjoyably silly, teen-friendly take on zombie carnage.