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New Resident Evil movie gets R-rating for violence and gore

Johannes Roberts directs the horror movie reboot that's been rated for violence, gore, and language

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

In what is no doubt good news for long-time fans, the new Resident Evil live-action film is R-rated. The zombie movie has been flagged for violence and gore, solid descriptors for anything associated with the horror game series.

In the latest weekly report from the Motion Picture Association of America, you can see Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City in the line-up. The upcoming horror movie has been given an R-rating for “strong violence and gore, and language throughout”, which all sounds very appropriate to us. The film is a do-over from the previous Resident Evil live-action movies, rebooting the series to be closer to the zombie game source material.

There’s more recognisable characters and settings this time, with the plot telling an origin story that takes direct inspiration from Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2. In an interview earlier this year, director Johannes Roberts said both Spencer Mansion and the RCPD police station from those games have been recreated to scale, suggesting nothing has been spared in bringing this particular zombie apocalypse to life.

The cast also draws from the first two games. You have Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen) and Chris Redfield (Robbie Amell), the protagonists from the first Resident Evil, and Leon S Kennedy (Avan Jogia) and Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario), who lead the second. Then you’ve Albert Wesker (Tom Hopper), the elusive overarching antagonist.

The official synopsis reads: “Once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland, with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, the townspeople are forever… changed… and a small group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night.”

Roberts is a dab hand in the horror sphere, having directed shark monster movie 47 Meters Down and its sequel, as well as 2018’s The Strangers: Prey at Night. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is in theatres November 24, 2021.