Sony Entertainment, out now

‘We’ve played a long game…but now it’s over.’

‘There’s a formula to it…a simple formula.’ So said the character of Randy in Scream, talking about horror movies – and nowhere has this been more apparent than in the string of Resident Evil films, beginning with the first one in 2002 and ending here with number six. Anyone expecting something radically different by this stage in the proceedings will be sorely disappointed. Although, like many of the other people who’ve made this the highest grossing video game franchise of all time, I’m good with that. And actually, like the triple-barrelled shot-gun Alice (Milla Jovovich) brandishes in this ‘Final Chapter’, what it does do is ramp everything up to 150%.

As always, we begin with a catch-up – quite a lengthy one this time, seeing as there are five movies’ worth of material for Alice to condense in her voice-over. There’s more detail here about the creator of the T-Virus (which zombied everyone up in the first place), Dr James Marcus (Mark Simpson) and the fact he was trying to cure his sick daughter Alicia (later the template for the Red Queen computer, played this time by Jovovich and director Paul Anderson’s own daughter, Ever). There’s a reason for this, however, because everything is finally coming full circle.

We left Alice last time in Washington, where survivors were trying to defend the White House against the dead. But, having been double-crossed by the evil Wesker (Shawn Roberts, who looks remarkably like a CGI’d character even though he’s real), she’s now on her own again, battling huge winged dragon-like creatures – which wouldn’t look out of place in an Evil Dead film. It isn’t long, though, before she gets a message from the Red Queen telling her that she must get back to Racoon City and release an anti-virus that will kill anything infected with the original one, before what’s left of humanity dies out. So, with a ticking clock of just 48 hours left, off she goes – and is promptly captured by Dr Isaacs (Game of Thrones’ Iain Glen), last seen being killed in Extinction… which was all about clones. Not hard to figure that one out.

After a fight on the back of a tank, Indiana Jones-style, Alice joins forces once again with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter, reprising her role) who has a new band of friends, and the race is on to get into the Hive and do the necessary. But with the clock ticking down, a traitor in their midst – not to mention a few revelations – and the knowledge that if she releases the anti-virus it might kill her as well, will Alice finally get to be the saviour of all mankind?

The stakes, like everything else this time around, have definitely increased, which makes for a highly-enjoyable couple of hours of zombie and monster-killing mayhem. But, as pointed out in one of the handful of short featurettes, there’s also more focus on character than ever before – at least where Alice is concerned. All the questions you’ve ever had about her during the course of the last 15 years are answered here. Naturally, there are those folk whose sole purpose is to get killed horribly – see if you can spot who they are – but that’s a given in the series really. And the cast definitely give it their all, as does the director – who, even if you aren’t told by the man himself in the extras, you can see is a massive fan of the franchise.

The aforementioned featurettes range from 4–9 minutes, about 45 minutes in total, covering aspects like the script to screen process, the mammoth task of directing a film like this, and ‘The Women of Resident Evil’ – who, let us not forget, were kicking some major butt long before this year’s Wonder Woman… The way is left open for a return, if they want to, but for now – and with a reboot in the works, not to mention another CG movie – we bid a fond farewell to Alice. It’s been a blast!

Verdict: One residential area you really don’t want to live in!  9/10     

Paul Kane