Sequel Saturday: Resident Evil: The Not-So-Final Chapter, by Mat Bradley-Tschirgi

Milla Jovovich announced on Facebook that a sixth Resident Evil film, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, is set to film this August. Given how Resident Evil is the only video game film franchise to pump out this many sequels to date, I have a feeling that we’ll still be seeing more of these movies many years from now. Just look at what happened after Friday the 13^th: The Final Chapter.A little over a year ago, I rewatched all five Resident Evil movies with some friends. The plots get more and more complicated as the series goes on. What started as a spooky little flick that helped to kick off the modern revival of zombie pictures has ended up as a bloated mutation of its former self. The plot shifts from location to location with no driving reason as to why anything’s happening. In Resident Evil: Retribution, the most recent film in the series, dead characters are revived in a virtual reality environment that takes our heroes all the way to the White House for a twist ending. It’s even crazier than I’m making it sound.What is it about the Resident Evil movies that has made them endure? The zombie angle is more of a mainstream concept for a movie than endless fighting tournaments (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) or trippy towns in an alternate dimension (Silent Hill). It’s the Budweiser equivalent of a film- you watch it, but not with pride. You watch it because it’s there and there’s nothing better within reach.Perhaps Resident Evil: The Final Chapter will blow my socks off and I’ll be eating zombie crow when it comes out in 2016. I’d love to be surprised. I’d just rather a popular series of video game films try a little harder than just give us the same old zombies in new locations (a mansion! a city! a desert!).