As a geek, or nerd, whatever your preferred adjective, every once in a while, a video game adaptation comes along that stands out from the vast majority of mediocrity that permeates the genre. No, I’m not talking about the Sonic movies, those were actually entertaining. I’m talking about Resident Evil on Netflix which is a special kind of achievement in filmmaking. No, I’m not talking Gone With The Wind or Citizen Kane or even Terminator 2. No. I’m talking on the infamous level of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. Let me explain, but let’s start with the basic plot!
The series’ main plot is spread out over two points in time – 2022 and 2036, with a gap of some 14 years. The “past” plotline deals with the struggles of 14-year-old fraternal twins Billie and Jade, the children of Dr. Albert Wesker and conceived through suspicious circumstances. Their lives take a dramatic turn when Albert is awarded an executive position at the struggling Umbrella Corporation that once employed him, and they move to Umbrella’s planned community, New Raccoon City (Afrikaans: Nuwe Wasbeer Stad). While there the two girls stumble onto the dark secrets behind their origins and Umbrella’s dark legacy, while their father coordinates a response to the outbreak of a retroviral bioweapon called T-virus.
In the “present” of 2036, the T-virus has reduced human civilization to 300 million refugees living in walled city-states and other settlements, surrounded by the six billion “zeroes” who contracted the disease and became roaming gangs of cannibal mutants. The most powerful organization left on Earth is the Umbrella Corporation, backed by its military arsenal, who are conducting a global manhunt for Jade.
When it comes to this series, I’ll never get those 8 hours back, I won’t inflict that on you. Instead, I’ll let the people of the world explain how truly awful this show is. It’s Metacritc User score: 1.5/10. On Rotten Tomatoes, their users scored it at 26%. IMDB users scored 3.7/10. For an average user score across the board of 26%! And IMDB breaks down it wonderfully. Younger people score it worse than those in their 30s and 40s, who are slightly more forgiving. Women are slightly more forgiving than men, but no age/gender demo scored it higher than a 5/10 average. The lowest was a 2.9/10.
Resident Evil on Netflix was viewed as differing levels of terrible by just about everyone. That in and of itself is a truly impressive feat…one for which Netflix can be proud. Think about it. In 2022, for one fleeting moment, Netflix got the entire world to stand together and in one clear, loud, voice, proclaim, “This is absolute shit!” Congratulations Netflix. Truly, well done. That Nerd Show grade: The fans have spoken and more than that, they got it right! Resident Evil on Netflix gets at 2/10
