Netflix's Resident Evil Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

2. The Tone Is A Complete Mess

This truly is a TV show that doesn't really have a clear idea of what mood it wants to strike. The early going is an almost dead-serious sci-fi story with grungy post-apocalyptic visuals, enough that the interjections of goofy comic relief feel awkward and ill-fitting.

This all runs counter of course to the more campy vibe of the video games, and though the second half of the season does indulge its sillier side a little more willingly, there's still an overall lack of tonal consistency that viewers may find offputting.

It's important for any show to feel cut from the same cloth throughout its run, and in Resident Evil's case that's never really true - it feels more like a collage of ideas that don't adhere to a wholly consistent tonal throughline.

The video games themselves aren't entirely blameless in this regard either, but at least they almost always wore their horror B-movie inspirations on their sleeve, whereas this show almost acts like it's embarrassed to exist within the same wheelhouse at times.