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Apocalypse is directed by Alexander Witt, who makes his debut at the helm after a decade or two of second-unit work, and he certainly knows how to make an audience jump. The problem is, he tries to jolt us out of our seats far too often; you can only be caught off-guard by loud noises and sudden shocks so often before you get somewhat used to them, or indeed, before you begin to expect them. For a brand-new zombie movie that is more emotionally involving and a heck of a lot funnier, you'd be better off watching the British import Shaun of the Dead; it proves that just because a film is about the undead, that doesn't mean the film itself has to feel like it was made by the undead or for the undead.

Talk About It

1. What is the appeal of zombie movies? What do they say about our attitudes towards life and death? What about the resurrection?
   
   
2. Should we be experimenting with the building blocks of life? If humans are "sub-creators" (to borrow Tolkien's term) under God, is genetic science an acceptable arena in which we can sub-create? What about efforts to patent gene sequences? Who owns life?
   
   
3. Do you think corporations are as evil as films like this make them out to be? Do they wield too much power, or are there enough checks and balances in place? What is the government's role, if any, in this story? Are the security measures taken by the corporation justified in any way? What about having security cameras on city streets? Do they intrude on one's privacy, or are they acceptable in venues that are basically public to begin with?

The Family Corner

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is rated R for "non-stop violence, language and some nudity." The film is full of violence of all sorts—guns, rockets,exploding vehicles, zombies chewing on human flesh, people getting impaled by flying metal objects, a nuclear explosion, etc.—and there is fairly frequent profanity. The walking dead include a couple of topless strippers or hookers, and Alice wakes up practically naked in a lab on two occasions. The fight sequence set inside a church could also be interpreted as a form of gratuitous desecration.

Photos © Copyright Screen Gems

Paul W.S. Anderson, director of this year's much-maligned sci-fi fiasco Alien Vs. Predator, was responsible for the first big screen adaptation of the video game Resident Evil. Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez starred in the flick, and Jovovich is back now for a sequel, written by Anderson but directed by newcomer Alexander Witt.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse concerns a woman (Jovovich) trying to deal with great civil unrest—think zombies, mutants, and rampaging monsters—in a place called Raccoon City. Suffice it to say that her methods favor heavy artillery over diplomacy.

Some moviegoers are actually having a good time chuckling at the sheer lunacy of its indulgent, illogical, hyperviolent spectacle. But religious press film critics stopped just short of calling the film a sign of the pending apocalypse.

Bob Smithouser (Plugged In) calls it "a dumb, obnoxious horror film. Hunting for subtext amongst the explicit content would be like fishing a penny out of a public toilet. What makes matters worse, the ending leaves things wide open for yet another sequel."

Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) recommends you wait for a different Zombie movie: "For a brand-new zombie movie that is more emotionally involving and a heck of a lot funnier, you'd be better off watching the British import Shaun of the Dead; it proves that just because a film is about the undead, that doesn't mean the film itself has to feel like it was made by the undead or for the undead."

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