Resident Evil: Afterlife Preview

It seems a curious practice to me, that when production companies invite you down to their often illustrious headquarters in order to see and then write about their latest films, they feel the need to confiscate any tools you may have with you in order to better record the experience. Surely they want their films promoting as accurately as possible? In any case, I’ll stop whinging and get to the beef: Resident Evil: Afterlife. This latest episode in Paul WS Anderson’s horror franchise – and first to be filmed in 3D – is coming to cinemas imminently. A brief behind the scenes feature was screened this afternoon, to whet appetites for its release, in which Anderson and stars Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter waxed lyrical about the movie and the joys of filming in 3D.

Anderson, who once again wrote and produced the film, also returns to directorial duties for the first time since the original film (this being the fourth instalment). He was keen to stress the importance of filming in 3D – a process done, essentially, by filming with two cameras simultaneously, one filming the action, the other filming the action in a mirror between the two lenses – and was derisive of post-production 3D retro-fitting techniques (as used in Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans). Anderson used the same rig and technicians as James Cameron employed on Avatar. The film was apparently conceived and written with 3D in mind, hence the use of environments and set pieces with a sense of depth, such as a Matrix-like combat sequence and footage of the heroines plummeting down a shaft, firing guns that we caught glimpses of. The 3D techniques used allow for single shot action sequences to go into slow motion and back again easily and remove the reliance many action directors have on annoyingly fast edits.

After the ‘making of’ footage ended (during in which Anderson compared his film to Avatar on several occasions), we were treated to a full sequence from the film, in which an eight foot, axe-wielding zombie slaughters a wimpy sidekick, and then sets about offing the heroines in a shower room. Cue plenty of cascading water droplets, swinging blades, sliding around, shotgun blasts and slow motion footage of our leading ladies covered in water and breathing heavily, all in 3D. Bits and pieces appear to fly out of the screen and the pounding soundtrack completes a not unimpressive action sequence.

Despite regularly receiving overwhelmingly negative critical responses, the Resident Evil series remains commercially viable due to its legion of fans, no less rabid than the zombies in the films themselves. This latest version should more than satisfy the hordes then, perhaps more so than ever with the added dimension. Whilst 3D has not been without criticism, horror movies are well suited to the new medium. As Anderson said, with its explosions, action sequences and tentacles, Resident Evil and 3D may make the perfect pairing.