Russell Boyle

I'm not a gamer so admittedly never played RE but I did enjoy a couple of the films. I was surprised to see this show come up as a recommendation on Netflix and delved in skeptically one night thinking I wouldn't care for it too much. Two days later I had finished the entire season. I really fell for the characters, specifically young Jade. And the incredibly dysfunctional family dynamic makes this revisited universe feel more real and grounded. Because of that, the show transcends typical apocalypse horror tropes. Special effects were top notch and as in the movies the more sci-fi elements tethered me to the outcome, which had some shocks and outrageous surprises I did not see coming. Of course there were a few eye roll moments that made me scoff a bit as they didn't seem in line with a character's intelligence (SPOILER RE:Jade sneaking a Zero onto the ship undetected, among other things) but all in all I liked the superhero / villain duality aspect of the sisters, grateful the whole thing was more focused on being character rich than about Zero obliteration and gore. The zombie has come a long way but its ride is overdone. I felt like this was a fresh approach to a genre and franchise that, in my opinion, has merit.

Andrew Garfield gives a most masterful performance as a young detective grappling with his faith while solving a brutal murder case in this true crime thriller featuring exceptional cinematography, brilliant writing and a stellar cast. I was blown away by the acting. I also appreciated the back story segments highlighting the history of Mormonism even if at first I found some of them cumbersome to the flow of the story. The commentary on religion as a political, psychological construct and how it can be used to define, manipulate and warp moral duty was poignant.