Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Ultra-gory entry in rebooted zombie franchise.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
What's the Story?
In RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY, Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario) travels to the small town of Raccoon City, where she once lived in an orphanage. The town is dying, since the Umbrella Corporation -- which controlled the economy -- has pulled up stakes and moved elsewhere, leaving only a handful of people behind. Claire hopes to see her estranged brother, Chris (Robbie Amell), who's on the local police force. But on the way there, the truck she's riding in crashes into a figure on the dark road, who then gets up and walks away. Before long, it becomes apparent that there's a zombie outbreak. Claire, Chris, and a handful of police officers must find a way out of town before 6 a.m., when the entire city is scheduled to be blown to bits.
Is It Any Good?
This totally unnecessary reboot of the long-running franchise has impressive set and monster designs and scary audio effects, but it neglects to build interesting characters or any kind of story. The movie is peppered with mysterious flashbacks to Claire and Chris's youth in the orphanage, when they were visited by a strange intruder and threatened by director William Birkin (Neal McDonough), all of which leads to nothing. The main story of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City takes place in 1998, as Claire hitches a ride to the titular city with seemingly no reason other than to see her brother after five years of silence. This -- coincidentally -- happens on the very day that the Umbrella Corporation plans to destroy the city. The movie also tries to use 1998 technology, such as a PalmPilot, but forgets that streaming video didn't yet exist then. And why on earth do the cops keep shooting zombies in the chest? Have they not seen any movies?
Silly lapses of logic like these aside, the movie doesn't consist of much more than police officers stalking down dark corridors and trying to shoot at, or fight off, zombies that suddenly lunge at them. There are some attempts at character development. One involves a rookie cop who doesn't seem to know anything, not even how to load a gun; one involves someone who's revealed as a traitor; etc. But mostly it's a race to see just how cool everyone is. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City has gone out of its way to build amazing sets, from the police station to the orphanage to a sinister, abandoned mansion, and the monster designs are truly impressive, but when it all comes down to mindless, meaningless attacks, who really cares?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies?
How does the movie compare with others in the Resident Evil series? Is there a good reason for this reboot? Why, or why not?
How does the movie reflect the idea of a pandemic? What's similar to or different from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Does the movie include female role models? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 24, 2021
- On DVD or streaming : February 8, 2022
- Cast : Kaya Scodelario , Robbie Amell , Hannah John-Kamen
- Director : Johannes Roberts
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Sony Pictures Releasing
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Fantasy
- Run time : 107 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong violence and gore, and language throughout
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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