A new teaser trailer has dropped for Brandon Salisbury’s forthcoming documentary,George A. Romero’s Resident Evil, charting the halted production of the late great filmmaker’s film adaptation of the popular video game.
Romero, who became the father of the zombie horror genre with 1968’sNight of the Living Dead, was initially brought in on the ground floor of Constantin Pictures' eagerly awaited adaptation of the 1996Resident Evilvideo game franchise. His script, which built on the lore and action of the game version, began development in 1998 but was scrapped the following year due to Romero’s unwillingness to yield to Constantin’s desire for a less gory and violent film. Romero’s script was scrapped, and another film by Paul W.S. Anderson was adapted instead, with Anderson in the director’s chair of 2002’sResident Evil, which starred Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez. Salisbury’s documentary charts the evolution and ultimate failure ofRomero’s vision for theResident Eviladaptation.
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The newGeorge A. Romero’s Resident Evilteaser reflects on Romero’s fragmented and horrific storytelling with game scenes accompanying. It begins with a voiceover of Romero’s words superimposed by shots of the game and scenes fromhis classic zombie movies. The comments chart a line of influence that begins in the late ’60s withNight of the Living Deadthat extends through the game itself in style, monsters, and tone. Ultimately Salisbury’s documentary plans to dive deeper into the legacy of the filmmaker’s influence on the game, and by extension, the film that was eventually released in 2002 without Romero’s involvement.
This includes details on how Romero became part of the project and how he was promptly fired after refusing to yield to the production company’s desire to remove some of the more violent scenes. This included sequences with melting faces and excessive zombie trauma in the usual Romero style. Salisbury’s film seeks to “immerse the audience in a cinematic horror aesthetic” of the filmmaker who set thebar for contemporary zombie horrorbut ultimately wound up being a bit too much himself in style for the adaptation project.
The teaser and the documentary’s longer trailer have the feel of the game and Romero’s zombie classics, taking viewers on a journey to discover lost information, unearthed documents, and script details of the film that never came to be. The documentary is a treat forhorror fans ofResident Eviland Romero’s work, becoming a delightfully grotesque experience and a notable piece of Hollywood horror history.
George Romero’s Resident Evilhas an anticipated release from Key 13 Films in 2024.
