'Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City' trailer is full of zombies

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, a reboot of the movie series, will hit theaters on November 24th, and Sony Pictures has provided a taste of what's in store with the first trailer. Writer and director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) indicated earlier this year that he was taking things back to the franchise's horror roots and the trailer offers some positive signs that he's achieved his goal.

The film is based on the first two games in the classic series and it's a complete reset following the six (6) Paul W.S. Anderson movies. In case there was any ambiguity about Roberts starting over, the trailer's opening voiceover puts that firmly to bed. "Every story has a beginning," one character, perhaps Claire Redfield, says. "Discover the origin of evil."

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is set in 1998, and we see the first game's creepy mansion as well as some of the city where the sequel takes place. The trailer hits a lot of the right beats and it includes some memorable moments from the games. There's a nod to the opening scene of Resident Evil 2, in which an infected truck driver plows his tanker into Raccoon City. Despite a couple of iffy CGI shots, there's some solid creature design too, including zombie dogs and even a licker. Add in some jump scares, and it's a promising first look.

If you're craving more Resident Evil until the movie arrives, you can check out a virtual-reality version of Resident Evil 4 on Oculus Quest 2 later this month. Elsewhere, a live-action show based on the franchise is coming to Netflix. The delayed multiplayer game Resident Evil Re:Verse will arrive next year, and Capcom is working on DLC for Resident Evil Village.