Best Slasher Movies » Viruses

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

slasherella — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:20:35 +0000

Resident Evil: Extinction seems to suffer the same curse as Resident Evil: Apocalypse although the reviews with this one were a little more balanced. Again, people just don’t seem to know what they want. Resident Evil wasn’t enough like the same. Apocalypse was too much like the game and now we’re back to having Extinction not being close enough. The audience needs to make up its mind.

Naturally, the movies are going to be compared to the games they’re based on. It only makes sense, but at some point, the comparisons need to stop and the movie needs to be taken on its own merit. That seems to be impossible for some fans of the Resident Evil games.

Personally, I’ve never been huge into video games, but I’ll admit, I love the Resident Evil series. They’re great games. The thing is, I didn’t watch these movies wanting a live action rendition of the games. I went into these movies hoping for a scare, some suspense, hot chicks and some decent gore. I got everything I asked for. Milla Jovovich makes an amazing heroine and it’s good to see her sticking with the Resident Evil series. Ali Larter (Final Destination, Final Destination 2, House On Haunted Hill, Heroes) and Ashanti are great additions to the cast. Keep all that in mind and you should be perfectly satisfied with this series. I’m looking forward to Resident Evil: Afterlife.

Quick Review: If you like hot chicks with guns, zombie killing and blood and gore, this is a movie you have to see.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Resident Evil – Extinction (Widescreen Special Edition)

Blu-Ray

Resident Evil: Extinction [Blu-ray]

Buy up the Resident Evil Trilogy on DVD:
Resident Evil Trilogy 1-3

Buy the Resident Evil Trilogy on Blu-Ray
Resident Evil – The High-Definition Trilogy (Resident Evil/ Resident Evil: Apocalypse/ Resident Evil: Extinction) [Blu-ray]

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

slasherella — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:32:26 +0000

I can usually understand bad reviews or can at least see where the critic is coming from. Not so with Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

It seems to me this movie was doomed in many eyes before it even opened in theaters. Milla Jovovich is back as Alice and she kicks just as much ass as ever. People were turned off by the fact that this movie gave Alice mind powers which weren’t present in the first because it took away the believability from the first. I want to know who would see a movie about viruses turning people into zombies for believability. The entire premise is a stretch, but it’s a stretch that works.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse has also been vilified for being too close to the video game. That would be a valid argument had the first not been beaten up on for not being close enough to the game.

Browsing the reviews for this movie reminded me that, in general, the public has absolutely no idea what they want – aside from a chance to bitch and whine.

Quick Review: Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a damn good movie, so quit whining and watch two hot chicks shoot guns and slay zombies. It’s fun. Enjoy it.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Resident Evil – Apocalypse (Special Edition)

Blu-Ray

Resident Evil: Apocalypse [Blu-ray]

Buy up the Resident Evil Trilogy on DVD:
Resident Evil Trilogy 1-3

Buy the Resident Evil Trilogy on Blu-Ray
Resident Evil – The High-Definition Trilogy (Resident Evil/ Resident Evil: Apocalypse/ Resident Evil: Extinction) [Blu-ray]

Resident Evil (2002)

slasherella — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:43:28 +0000

Resident Evil is one of those movies that will disappoint people who go into it expecting something specific – in this case, an adaptation of one of their favorite video games. While the movie is based on the game, it doesn’t stick as faithfully to it’s namesake as other adaptations (see Silent Hill). There are some of the key elements of the game included in its big screen adaptation, but much of the sequence of events was changed to make the movie more fast paced. I, for one, say it worked well.

Milla Jovovich is a babe. She’s so smokin’ hot in Resident Evil it’s a little painful to look at her. And man, that girl kicks some serious zombie ass. Then there’s Michelle Rodriguez and really, what can you say about Michelle Rodriguez? She is one of the few women who pull off being both scary and sexy. Girl is gorgeous and crazy intimidating. Milla and Michelle are reason alone to watch Resident Evil. Add to that the fact that the movie succeeds in being frightening, suspenseful and action filled (with more than a little good gore) and you have a winner.

Quick Review: Resident Evil may not stay true to the game, but it stays true to the awesome. What else matters?

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Resident Evil (Deluxe Edition)

Blu-Ray

Resident Evil [Blu-ray]

Buy up the Resident Evil Trilogy on DVD:
Resident Evil Trilogy 1-3

Buy the Resident Evil Trilogy on Blu-Ray
Resident Evil – The High-Definition Trilogy (Resident Evil/ Resident Evil: Apocalypse/ Resident Evil: Extinction) [Blu-ray]

Quarantine (2008)

slasherella — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:33:50 +0000

Before I even begin with why I liked Quarantine, I’d like to say that I fully acknowledge it is more or less a shot for shot remake of Jaume Balagueró’s 2007 Spanish language movie Rec. This is noted in the credits and the original filmmakers are given credit. Rec is also an incredible movie but I did prefer Quarantine. In all honesty, there aren’t many differences, but the deciding factor for me was the final scene. I liked Quarantine’s more, but as I said, Rec is also well worth checking out. Just make sure you’re ready to read subtitles if you don’t speak Spanish.

Okay, on to the movie itself. Quarantine is another movie (like 28 Days and 28 Weeks Later) that is possibly scariest because the plot is so plausible. It isn’t some virus that reanimates corpses into flesh eating zombies. I’ll let you watch the movie to see what exactly happens in this one, but I’ll just say it’s not hard to imagine this coming true.

Quarantine’s cast is incredible – from Jennifer Carpenter who is amazing in the lead role, to Jay Hernandez (who I’m sure you all remember from Hostel 1 and II) to Johnathon Schaech (who makes a surprisingly short role in this film considering how much he was in Prom Night) and finally Manuela Velaso (a crossover from the Rec). Everyone is convincing and believable in their roles.

Quick Review: The blood and gore in this movie is everywhere. I don’t even know where to begin. It’s a blood bath. If for no other reason, check Quarantine out for the carnage. It’s worth it.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

Quarantine

Blu-Ray

Quarantine (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]

Buy Rec; the horror classic Quarantine was based on:

[Rec]

28 Weeks Later (2007)

slasherella — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:15:28 +0000

London breathes a sigh of relief as the news spreads that the ‘infected’ have starved to death and the evacuees can return to their homes. Whew – that was close, right? Now… time to get back to normal and put that pesky virus business behind them. Oops! Another outbreak! Didn’t those damn animals rights people learn their lesson the first time?

Sure they did. In 28 Weeks Later it isn’t the animal rights people that trigger the outbreak. This time it’s a husband and wife who are reconciling after he cowardly runs away to leave her to fend for herself against the virus infected people that attack them in the farmhouse they’re hiding in during the first outbreak. He finds out she’s alive and well. She forgives him. They kiss – and we start all over again.

Seriously though, 28 Weeks Later and its predecessor, 28 Days Later, treat the audience like they have a brain. These aren’t thoughtless blood and guts movies. They have a plot, a good story and sharp writing while still being violent and gory. Perhaps the scariest thing of all about the movies is that something like this happening in the real world doesn’t seem all that implausible.

Quick Review: 28 Weeks Later is one of the few sequels that is every bit as good as the original.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

28 Weeks Later (Widescreen Edition)

Blu-Ray

28 Weeks Later [Blu-ray]

Buy 28 Days Later with 28 Weeks Later in a DVD Bundle!

28 Weeks Later / 28 Days Later (2 pack)

28 Days Later (2002)

slasherella — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:51:28 +0000

See now? This is what happens when you believe in things. You get a bunch of your friends together, bust into an animal testing lab, set some animal free and doom mankind to become rage-filled, homicidal monsters. Way to go.

Well, at least that’s what happens in 28 Days Later. Poor Jim wakes up naked from a coma (which, just let me say, I would be a little concerned if I were him. I’d be asking some serious questions about what the nurses – or doctors – were doing to me while I was out) and find the streets of London eerily empty. Things get much worse for him from there.

Quick Review: 28 Days Later is much more than just blood and gore, although there’s enough of that to go around. Great movie and great performance from the wonderful Cillian Murphy.

Love the movie? Buy the DVD:

28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition)

Blu-Ray

28 Days Later [Blu-ray]

Buy 28 Days Later with 28 Weeks Later in a DVD Bundle!

28 Weeks Later / 28 Days Later (2 pack)