Resident Evil has landed on Netflix but fans aren't too impressed by the pacing of the series, which is based on the horror game franchise of the same name.
The series follows Jade Wesker (Ella Balinska) as she fights for survival in a world overrun by blood-thirsty infected and mind-shattering creatures, and is set in the year 2036 which is 14 years after the spread of the antidepressant Joy, which was created by the Umbrella Corporation.
Joy was created using illegal T-virus research data, which can create horrific monsters that are synonymous with the Resident Evil franchise, so a pill that's supposed to help people ends up doing the exact opposite — with catastrophic results.
The first episode follows Jade as she crosses paths with a gang of scavengers, while a second timeline set years earlier sees Jade and Billie (Adeline Rudolph) trying to make a fresh start in New Racoon City. In the present day, Jade is trying to figure out what happened to her sister.
But as thrilling as this synopsis is, fans aren't impressed with the narrative structure of the Netflix adaptation, with many criticizing the use of two different timelines and suggesting the pacing could have been a lot tighter.
Taking to Twitter, fans have offered up their initial thoughts about the eight-part series, and some have suggested the pacing issues have made the series "boring" to watch, much to their disappointment.
#ResidentEvilNetflix really trying to get into this but the writing is so slow and the characters continually make just the worst decisions. What happened to the very cool Raccoon City writers? Like, where is the biological body horror and pandemic anxiety?July 14, 2022
I've watched the first 5 episodes of #ResidentEvilNetflix I still don't know how I feel about the show as a whole. I thought episode 5 was OK, everything else hasn't really gotten me hooked on it... The pacing with the two different timelines just feels off and too slow.July 14, 2022
#ResidentEvilNetflix I tried to watch the first episode but it was so slow I turned it off ten minutes in. 🥱Maybe it gets better but I can't be bothered to find out.July 15, 2022
[1] #ResidentEvilNetflix starts a little slow in the first 2 eps. but gets better with each episode afterwards. I do not like the storytelling format of it, I think they really should have done all past scenes, then time skip to future scenes... BUT.... 🧵July 15, 2022
after watching the 1st 3 episodes on Netflix I'm big fan of resident evil franchise but this is boring so far #residentevil pic.twitter.com/bBgesAL6hsJuly 14, 2022
This isn't the first time Resident Evil has been adapted for the screen as there's a film franchise starring Milla Jovovich in the lead role of Alice. The franchise has six films in total and wasn't a critical success, averaging 28% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Meanwhile, the Netflix version has a score of 62% currently, making it an improvement on the film series but fans still have their criticisms about the way it was made!
Resident Evil is based on a Japanese horror game series that started in 1996 and has released titles all the way up to the present day, with the most recent one being 2021's Resident Evil: Village featuring new fan-favorite villain Lady Dimitrescu, but so far fans seem largely disappointed with the way the games have been adapted.
Resident Evil is available to watch via Netflix.
