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Resident Evil fans may be spoiled for choice when it comes to content this year. Between another successful entry in the popular video game franchise, a live-action reboot on the way, and not one, but two, new series heading to Netflix, all bases get covered. The first of the planned Netflix series to arrive is Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, a four-episode CG anime series that puts video game mainstays Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield into a new outbreak mystery. It’s quick, impressively animated, and full of high-octane action and violence. It also leans too heavily on its conspiracy plot, forgetting the main draw of the franchise- the monsters and horror.
Set after the events of the video game Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy (Nick Apostolides) gets called to the White House to investigate the hacking of a top secret file tied to a Shanghai laboratory. Before Kennedy gets too far, the White House gets overwhelmed with zombies. He sets off with two agents to discover what’s in the file and why it’s wanted. Elsewhere, TerraSave employee Claire Redfield (Stephanie Panisello) embarks on her own investigation after discovering signs of a zombie outbreak years before while staying in Penamstan. Both Claire and Leon don’t realize they’re on a collision course to learn a horrifying truth that began in Penamstan.
Infinite Darkness instantly impresses with its motion-capture animation. The world is so richly detailed and realized that brief moments easily trick the eye into believing this is a live-action series, at least until a character appears and assumes the scene’s focus. Creator Hiroyuki Kobayashi stages breathless action sequences and isn’t afraid to let the blood splatter. With only four, roughly half-hour episodes, the series flies by at a brisk pace in terms of action as Leon zips all over the world and back.
That it’s only four short episodes means that the conspiracy-driven mystery takes center stage. The villain behind the latest bioweapon scheme and all of the questions tied to it dangles out of reach for most of it, leaving very little time for monsters to enter the fray. The franchise’s staple, zombies show up often, and Infinite Darkness manages to squeeze out one fresh sequence involving the undead, but it falls extremely short when it comes to variety. It amounts to another zombie-fueled outbreak mystery, which the franchise has long evolved past. This series prefers to trade horror for action. Only as it barrels into the finale does the anime catapult itself into the requisite arc of the video game series, for better and worse.
It’s not just the monsters and horror that get shafted, but Claire Redfield as well. She spends most of the series forgotten, as a damsel, or as a means of humanizing Leon. Her contributions to the larger plot are minimal, making her inclusion seem solely for the sake of fan service. Infinite Darkness tries to tick off major franchise boxes in the little time it has, but much of it is a tired retread. The action sequences are great, but even four episodes can drag narratively and become predictable for fans already well versed in the games’ mythology. It doesn’t quite work as an introduction to the franchise, either, as it relies on familiarity with the characters so it can hit the ground running. The voice cast does their best to add emotional stakes, but four episodes dedicated to familiar franchise beats don’t offer much room for development.
Ultimately, Infinite Darkness feels more like a brief prologue, intended to provide a foundation for a more robust storyline in subsequent seasons.
Netflix releases Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness globally on July 8, 2021.
