Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City – Itchy, but Not So Tasty

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is the seventh live-action iteration of the storied video game franchise. Sadly, like its predecessors, it fails to live up to the legacy of the series.

Yes, folks, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is yet another uninspired video game adaptation. But unlike the Paul W.S. Anderson saga, this at least sticks close to the source material.

Raccoon City is a reboot, carrying no connection to the insipid six that came before it. In fact, it is essentially a narrative retelling of the first two games. In principle, that sounds like a good idea, but there's a reason there were two of them. This film can never find the right balance between the horrors of the Spencer Mansion and the panic-inducing labyrinth that is the titular city's police station.

In effect, it shortchanges them both; and through its slavish devotion to the games, it also shoehorns in far too much—including the cringe-worthy dialogue that was a hallmark of the series' early years.

Listen, I also hate W.S. Anderson's movies, but at least they made money. Raccoon City—certainly hindered by the ongoing pandemic—grossed just $41.9 million on a budget of $25 million. Critics had little appetite for it either. At 31% on Rotten Tomatoes with 84 reviews, it falls somewhere within the median of its predecessors. Not great.

Anyway, sit back, have a tasty (and itchy?) Undead Party Crasher from Clown Shoes Beer, and don't trust Wesker! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Capt. Cash, Mayor McCheese and Chumpzilla are heading to the ophthalmologist to have our blood eyes examined!

This Week’s Segments:

• Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Witness the beginning of evil! (00:00)
• Lingering Questions – After a word from our brothers in beer at Hop Nation USA, we discuss our perfect Resident Evil adaptation. (42:04)
• The "T-Virus" Trivia Challenge – The Double Turn Podcast gets mauled by a licker, and then I challenge the field to trivia about the series of games. (1:07:57)
• Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue "Hops and Pandemic Flops" with Annihilation! (1:18:22)

And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—the glory of the games and more—from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, and Amazon Music!