Over the last few years popular videogames have often made it to the big screen - games like hitman/tomb raider/street fighter/mortal kombat/silent hill & more recently max payne have all had the movie treatment. Resident Evil has already had the movie treatment in fact its now a trilogy with even plans for a fourth release - Degeneration however does not follow the movies instead it follows the games themselves which instantly earns it points in my book. Unlike the movies Degeneration is animated & not live action so the scope of what the makers of the film can achieve is greatly increased. Animation has been done before for the final fantasy films but it never seemed to work or to do the games any justice - happily the animation really does work for Degeneration. Set seven years after the destruction of Raccoon City, Umbrella Corporations stocks have plummeted ultimately bankrupting the multinational powerhouse. when the undead start to show up at an airport in America the fight is on again to stop the virus from spreading. What follows is a non-stop thrill ride that propels the franchise to a whole new level. The animation itself is amazing & really helps drag you into the world of the games themselves - where the live action movies failed Degeneration succeeds. The actual horror element that was lacking in the movies is fully featured here, when the horror does happen it is terrifying & it actually leaves you wanting more. If you never played the games & are unfamiliar with the story it still should be easy enough to follow as it not only fills in a lot of the blanks for the fans but also keeps the story simplistic enough casual viewers, either way the animation itself should be enough to hook you.
Running time: 97mins
What it is: A kit filled with all you need to look like a silver-screen siren.