Excited for the New Resident Evil Film? You Need These Books

While the original games are perhaps an acquired taste (tank controls, am I right?), it’s hard to deny that Resident Evil has been the preeminent video game horror franchise of the past 30 years. With the release of the critically acclaimed Resident Evil: Requiem this year (the ninth mainline game of the series), it certainly seems like this particular brand of survival horror isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

That being said, the movies have been a totally different story. When the first film adaptation came out in 2002, it clearly did something right, as evidenced by the five sequels it got. However, these movies felt more like early 2000s action spectacles than dark, intense, survival horror experiences—much to the dismay of the hardcore fans of the games. Since then, there’s been a well-meaning but poorly executed reboot and a slew of animated features of varying quality, but very little has approached the caliber of the games (well, most of the games, anyway).

Despite this rather spotty track record, there is perhaps some hope on the horizon in the form of the next film reboot, which is hitting theaters this week. Simply titled Resident Evil, this iteration of the series is helmed by director Zach Cregger, who has built up some serious horror cred with movies like Barbarian and Weapons. If the trailer is any indication, it certainly looks like it’s embracing the terror and intensity of the games, although it seems to be more interested in the vibes of the source material rather than the specifics of their vast lore. Of course, the most encouraging thing of all is that he’s never even seen the old movies.

In anticipation this new RE movie, we’ve selected some interesting media that goes beyond both the games and movies. Check them out before the T-Virus turns you into a zombie. Or after. The Library is open to all.