Resident Evil Movies in Order
Three paths out of Raccoon City, and they never cross.
Resident Evil started as Capcom's 1996 survival-horror game, and on screen it has split into three tracks: the six live-action films Paul W.S. Anderson wrote around Milla Jovovich's Alice, four computer-animated films set in the games' own story, and two stand-alone reboots that go back to the Raccoon City outbreak.
Those tracks don't add up to one timeline, so this guide keeps each path together and also gives the full release order. Films HorroRated hasn't reviewed yet are labeled, and they link to their TMDB records instead of a review.
The quick answer
There are 12 Resident Evil movies on three separate paths: six live-action Alice films, four animated films set in the games’ story and two stand-alone reboots. None of the paths continues another, so you can start with whichever appeals.
Three separate paths
Live-action: the Alice series
- Resident Evil (2002)
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
- Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
- Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) · not yet reviewed
- Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) · not yet reviewed
- Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) · not yet reviewed
Animated: the games’ story
- Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
- Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
- Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
- Resident Evil: Death Island (2023) · not yet reviewed
Stand-alone reboots
Release order
- Resident Evil (2002)
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
- Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
- Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
- Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) · not yet reviewed
- Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) · not yet reviewed
- Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
- Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) · not yet reviewed
- Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
- Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) · not yet reviewed
- Resident Evil: Death Island (2023) · not yet reviewed
- Resident Evil (2026)
First time watching? Pick one path and stay on it. The live-action films tell one story from 2002 to The Final Chapter, the animated films suit anyone who knows the games, and Resident Evil (2026) needs no homework at all.
Seen them all? Rank the Resident Evil movies in a tier list, starting from HorroRated’s own.
The complete timeline
Resident Evil (2002)
Alice wakes with no memory in a mansion above the Hive, a sealed Umbrella lab, and gets swept along with the commandos sent in after a T-virus leak.
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Resident Evil: Apocalypse
The infection breaks out into Raccoon City, and Alice and Jill Valentine fight to get past the quarantine while Umbrella turns Nemesis loose.
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Resident Evil: Extinction
Years on, the world has dried out into desert. Alice joins Claire Redfield's convoy across Nevada while Umbrella keeps cloning her.
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Resident Evil: Afterlife
Chasing a promised safe haven, Alice reaches Los Angeles and holes up with survivors in a prison ringed by the undead.
Not yet reviewedView on TMDB
Resident Evil: Retribution
Alice wakes inside Umbrella's secret test base and has to fight her way out through full-scale replicas of Tokyo, New York and Moscow.
Not yet reviewedView on TMDB
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Alice heads back to the Hive beneath Raccoon City for one last run at Umbrella, closing out the story that began in 2002.
Not yet reviewedView on TMDB
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield reunite when a T-virus attack hits Harvardville Airport, and the trail leads to a drug company and the G-virus.
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Resident Evil: Damnation
Leon ignores orders to leave the Eastern Slav Republic, where someone is using bioweapons in a civil war, and crosses paths with Ada Wong.
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Resident Evil: Vendetta
Chris Redfield, Leon and Rebecca Chambers go after Glenn Arias, a bioweapons dealer planning a viral attack on New York City.
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Resident Evil: Death Island
Separate cases bring Leon, Chris, Claire, Jill and Rebecca together in San Francisco, and every lead points to Alcatraz Island.
Not yet reviewedView on TMDB
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Claire Redfield comes home to a dying Raccoon City on the night Umbrella's secret gets out, in a fresh start built from the first two games.
Not yet reviewedView on TMDB
Resident Evil (2026)
A medical courier named Bryan gets caught up in one terrible night in Raccoon City, in a new story that runs alongside the events of Resident Evil 2.
Read entryThe two Netflix series
These aren't counted in the 12 films above. Infinite Darkness fits the animated path, between Degeneration and Damnation. The live-action series is a separate world of its own, so it can wait or be skipped without missing anything from the movies.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness
Leon and Claire get pulled into a conspiracy after an incident at the White House, across four episodes.
Not yet reviewedView on TMDB
Resident Evil (Netflix series)
Sisters Jade and Billie Wesker move to New Raccoon City as teenagers, and the story jumps ahead to a ruined 2036. Netflix canceled it after one eight-episode season.
Not yet reviewedView on TMDBWhy Resident Evil has no single timeline
Alice was created for the movies, and her six films run in release order from the Hive to The Final Chapter. The animated films follow the games instead, with Leon S. Kennedy and the Redfields, and they run in release order too: Degeneration (2005), Damnation (2011), Vendetta (2014) and Death Island (2015). Welcome to Raccoon City, set in 1998, adapts the first two games from scratch and has no ties to the Alice films. Resident Evil (2026) starts over again, following a new character through the outbreak from Resident Evil 2 in an alternate timeline, and it doesn't continue Welcome to Raccoon City.
Frequently Asked Questions About Resident Evil
How many Resident Evil movies are there?
There are 12: six live-action films starring Milla Jovovich (2002 to 2016), four computer-animated films (2008 to 2023) and two reboots, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) and Resident Evil (2026). The two Netflix series, Infinite Darkness and the 2022 live-action Resident Evil, are not counted.
What order should I watch the Resident Evil movies in?
Pick a path and follow it in release order. Live-action: Resident Evil, Apocalypse, Extinction, Afterlife, Retribution and The Final Chapter. Animated: Degeneration, Damnation, Vendetta and Death Island. The two reboots, Welcome to Raccoon City and Resident Evil (2026), each stand alone.
What are the Resident Evil movies in release order?
Resident Evil (2002), Apocalypse (2004), Extinction (2007), Degeneration (2008), Afterlife (2010), Retribution (2012), Damnation (2012), The Final Chapter (2016), Vendetta (2017), Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), Death Island (2023) and Resident Evil (2026). The Final Chapter opened in Japan in December 2016 and reached US theaters in January 2017.
Are the animated Resident Evil movies connected to the live-action films?
No. The animated films follow the video games' story, with characters such as Leon S. Kennedy, Claire and Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Rebecca Chambers. Alice, the lead of the live-action series, isn't in them. Several game characters do turn up in the live-action films, but those are separate versions.
Is Resident Evil (2026) connected to the other movies?
No. Zach Cregger's film is a new reboot, not a sequel. It follows Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams, through the Raccoon City outbreak from Resident Evil 2, in an alternate timeline. You don't need to see any earlier film first, and it doesn't continue Welcome to Raccoon City.
Is Welcome to Raccoon City a sequel or a reboot?
It's a reboot. Johannes Roberts wrote and directed it as a separate story, set in 1998 and drawn mainly from the first two games. It has no ties to the six Alice films, and Milla Jovovich isn't in it.
Is Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness a movie, and where does it fit?
It's a four-episode Netflix series from 2021, so it isn't in the film count. It belongs with the animated path: set in 2006, after Degeneration (2005) and before Damnation (2011), with Leon and Claire at the center.
Is the Netflix Resident Evil series connected to the movies?
No. The 2022 live-action series has its own universe, uses the games' story as backstory and follows Jade and Billie Wesker in 2022 and 2036. It doesn't continue any of the films, and Netflix canceled it after one eight-episode season.
Is a new Resident Evil movie coming?
Not officially, as of November 2026. Resident Evil (2026), released in the US on September 18, is the newest film, and no sequel or new animated film has a title or release date yet.