Fans of the terrifying Japanese survival horror video game Resident Evil are also able to enjoy the hair-raising and gory story on the big screen with thrilling film adaptations. Milla Jovovich stars in those spectacular installments, kicking major zombie butt and showing off her impressive physical prowess in the hit series. The accomplished actress appears as the tough, killing-machine heroine Alice in the blockbuster franchise, with her character having been specifically created for the cinema adaptations. She would go on to fight the undead and evil Umbrella Corporation for six adrenaline-pumping films, interacting with beloved characters from the video game along the way.

After the financial success of the original six movies, a reboot of the series was released in 2021 entitled Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, earning praise for its faithfulness to the games but failing to make a splash like its predecessors did. Regardless, the epic franchise has grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide overall and has amassed a passionate fanbase, with many eager for more zombie content.

The popularity of the franchise helped make Jovovich a distinguished action star and further cemented the series as a lauded horror triumph. Zombie-focused flicks have become must-sees for the genre and continue to attract new audiences to this day. Let's take a closer look at each of the installments in the Resident Evil franchise, where chronological and release orders are the same.

Update November 8, 2023: If you are a fan of the Resident Evil franchise and zombie games, then you will be happy to know that this article has been updated with more information about the films as well as where you can stream each title.

All Resident Evil Movies in Chronological Order and Release Order

Unlike film franchises like the MCU, Star Wars, or even recently Saw, which have films in the franchise released in non-chronological order, Resident Evil is rather straightforward. The first six films starring Milia Jovovich all build off one another and share continuity in a series of movies that spanned fifteen years, from 2002 to 2017.

Also, unlike Terminator and Halloween, which have multiple different timelines, Resident Evil is straightforward. It has the first six films, and then the franchises attempted a reboot in 2021, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. That one is not connected to the prior films and takes place within its own continuity. So, two easy-to-understand timelines that don't branch from one another.

Resident Evil (2002)

Kickstarting the epic zombie franchise was the first installment of the enduring series, with 2002's Resident Evil introducing audiences across the world to the resilient, zombie-slaying heroine Alice as she goes head-to-head against the nefarious Umbrella Corporation. In the action-horror flick, Alice suffers from amnesia after waking up in an underground facility and must reluctantly join forces with an elite unit of commandos in order to contain the zombie infection known as the T-Virus. As the stakes get increasingly higher and more people fall victim to the undead, Alice begins to realize she is a highly-trained killing machine.

In this pulse-pounding film, Alice must contend with not only zombies but also a powerful artificial intelligence known as the Red Queen and terrifying mutant creatures known as Lickers that are lurking beneath Raccoon City. Milla Jovovich delivers a career-defining performance as the butt-kicking Alice, training in kickboxing, combat, and karate in preparation for the role. She would reprise the character in five subsequent films, beginning with the 2004 follow-up Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

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Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Picking up directly after the events of the first film, 2004's Resident Evil: Apocalypse chronicles Alice's efforts to escape a zombie-ridden Raccoon City after making it out alive from the Umbrella Corporation's underground facility, with the killing-machine protagonist banding together with fellow survivors to reach safety. After Umbrella tries and fails to quarantine the infested city, its residents as well as Alice are sealed in with the zombies, and they must hurry to find a way out before a nuclear bomb is detonated.

The installment introduces audiences to prominent characters from the video game like STARS operative Jill Valentine, mercenary Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and the frightening supersoldier Nemesis (Matthew G. Taylor), tying the adaptations in more with their inspiration source. Alice learns from Umbrella researcher Dr. Charles Ashford that she herself was augmented by the T-Virus and was a test subject, granting her superhuman abilities. More of Alice's backstory and identity is revealed in future films, most notably her ties to Umbrella and the circumstances surrounding her amnesia.

Stream Resident Evil: Apocalypse on AMC+.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

After sacrificing herself to save her fellow survivors at the end of Resident Evil: Apocalypse and seemingly dying during their escape from Raccoon City, Alice awakens in an Umbrella facility after being revived from a new strain of the T-Virus. She manages to break out of the building after realizing she now has telekinetic abilities and regains her memories, learning that the corporation made countless clones of her in an ongoing experiment known as Project Alice in order to replicate her powers. After the virus outbreak spreads globally and causes mass devastation, Alice wanders the country alone in order to evade Umbrella.

In Resident Evil: Extinction, Alice meets Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), a major character from the video games, and a convoy of survivors, including her ally Carlos Olivera and former Raccoon City resident L.J. Wade (Mike Epps). The film also features the appearance of notorious villain Albert Wesker (Jason O'Mara), the Chairman of Umbrella who wants to see the destruction of humanity by any means necessary. Alice and Claire fight to protect the survivors as they travel across the Mojave Desert to Alaska, where they hope to find refuge but must battle against newly created super zombies and the monster Tyrant before they can.

Stream Resident Evil: Extinction on AMC+.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

At the end of the previous installment, Alice helped Claire and the remaining survivors escape the desert and discovered her clones in a facility, prompting the heroine to warn Umbrella that they were coming for them and would get revenge. In Resident Evil: Afterlife, Alice makes good on that promise when the band attacks the corporation's Tokyo headquarters and eliminates everyone at the branch besides Wesker (now played by Shawn Roberts), who manages to kill her clones and inject Alice with a serum that eliminates her powers before escaping. Six months after losing her superhuman abilities, Alice heads to Alaska in search of a safe haven known as Arcadia.

She reunites with an amnesic Claire Redfield, whose memory had been wiped out by Umbrella, and the pair decides to head to a desolate Los Angeles, where they discover a prison with survivors hiding within. The film introduces a familiar face from the video games with Claire's brother Chris (Wentworth Miller) showing up, and Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) also making an appearance. Alice, Claire, and Chris team up to break free from the prison and learn that Arcadia is not a refuge but an Umbrella research facility forcing experiments on survivors.

Stream Resident Evil: Afterlife on AMC+.

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

In the penultimate film of the adrenaline-pumping franchise, Alice is held captive by the Umbrella Corporation and forced to find a way out of an underwater Russian facility despite still not having any of her powers. Resident Evil: Retribution once again introduces new characters from the video games that had previously not appeared, with Ada Wong (Li Bingbing), Leon S. Kennedy (Johann Urb), and Barry Burton (Kevin Durand) all joining the series. Alice is also confronted with people from her past when she learns that her ally from the first film Rain Ocampo, and her close friend and love interest, Carlos Olivera have been cloned after their tragic deaths.

The installment is jam-packed with characters from the games, much to the delight of devoted fans everywhere. Seeing them all be brought to the big screen really tied the film in with the Japanese media franchise, and it was exciting seeing the characters battle it out alongside one another. In Retribution, Alice takes on Umbrella and a mind-controlled Jill Valentine, finding an unlikely accomplice in the stealthy Wesker, who helps the gang escape and returns her superpowers. This pivotal and shocking moment helps set up for Alice's final showdown with the evil Umbrella Corporation.

Stream Resident Evil: Retribution on AMC+.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

For the final installment of the original film series, Alice is joined on her crucial mission to destroy Umbrella by her close comrade Claire Redfield, with the zombie-killing duo doing anything it takes to put an end to their terrifying madness. In Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Alice is betrayed by Wesker when he and the entire corporation set out to eliminate the T-Virus survivors once and for all. The action horror flick marks Milla Jovovich's final appearance in the thrilling franchise, with Time Out noting in their review that the actress "has only gotten better, seasoning her long-legged athleticism with a commanding stare."

The film went on to become the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, earning over $312 million worldwide and giving the character of Alice a proper hero's goodbye. For her role as the superhuman zombie-killer, Jovovich firmly established herself as a celebrated action star and was deemed the "reigning queen of butt-kick." The series' loyal fanbase would go on to be treated once again with Resident Evil content, as the video games series was rebooted in 2021 with Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City and the canceled Netflix TV series.

Stream Resident Evil: The Final Chapter on the Starz.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Serving as a reboot of the popular film and video game series, 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City focuses on the core characters of the media franchise and follows Claire and her brother Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kenney, and more familiar faces as they attempt to survive the zombie outbreak in the titular city. Taking place in 1998, the adaptation set out to closely follow the video games more than the previous installments, with director Johannes Roberts stating that he wanted it to be "super, super scary" and for it to be more faithful to the original subject source.

The horror flick features a diverse cast led by Kaya Scodelario, Avan Jogia, and Robbie Amell and was a modest success at the box office and critics, earning praise for its performances and loyalty to the games. The fate of a potential sequel appears to be dead, especially after the abandonment of Netflix's Resident Evil TV series. Still, the film did earn appreciation from long-time fans who had been craving more zombie action.

Stream Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City on the Starz channels.