Resident Evil: Extinction - Soundtrack
I recently saw Resident Evil: Extinction, which I recommend halfheartedly (i.e., one invisible orange). Basically, it’s Mad Max with zombies, with the girl from The Ring as an AI hologram (if you program your talking computer to appear as a girl, you’d think you’d make her not so needlessly creepy). I watched the first Resident Evil ages ago, liked it, didn’t see the second one, and paid to see this third installment mainly because the silhouette on the poster seemed hot. I know I am not the only person to do so.
Shadows Fall – Stupid CrazyChimaira – Paralyzed
There’s a storyline – barely – with Milla Jovovich as Mad Max in a desert-fied, post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled world, and Ali Larter leading a band of human survivors. But even though the movie is really about nothing (every character is a stereotype, with almost zero character development), it’s entertaining throughout, which is all one can ask for these days from Hollywood. Disappointingly, the zombies are uninteresting (though in one part they have nifty Slipknot-esque jumpsuits), not fast nor smart, but Jovovich does a good job slicing and dicing them up. My three main impressions:
1. Are these movies how Milla Jovovich pays her bills? Poor thing.
2. For a desert-fied, post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled world, Larter’s hair and makeup sure are perfect.
3. Why does Jovovich’s character wear garters???
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Like the movie, the soundtrack is a pure commodity. You can practically smell the ink drying on the licensing agreements it took to put this together. There’s metal (Shadows Fall, Chimaira), hardcore/metalcore (Poison the Well, Throwdown), and electronic remixes of emo/screamo (The Bled, Flyleaf, Aiden), which aren’t that bad, as they’re merely new shells on something soulless to begin with. None of this music makes much of a dent on the movie, though Charlie Clouser’s catchy main theme does its job throughout.
All this might sound like harsh criticism, but it’s really not. I’m happy I saw the movie, if only for Ali Larter’s hair. And the soundtrack is a similarly guilty corporate pleasure. With so much variety among the songs (which are all exclusive to this soundtrack), it’s basically a mixtape. There’s a perverse pleasure in seeing what Shadows Fall does with a song title like “Stupid Crazy.” The track is decent, though its Shad-by-numbers and literally just peters out at the end. The drum work at the end is nuts; it’s like if Jason Bittner said, “Screw yall’s lame riffs, I’ll just let it rip.” And that descending chromatic riff is so like Megadeth’s “Symphony of Destruction.” B-movie with an A-movie budget – and the soundtrack follows suit.
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I don’t normally get into bed with industry types, but free stuff is free stuff – the powers that be at Resident Evil: Extinction are giving away a free prize pack that includes (1) a copy of the soundtrack, (2) a T-shirt, (3) a military-style cap, and (4) a high-gloss poster. For a chance to win, email invisibleoranges at gmail dot com by midnight EST, Friday, October 5, with the subject header “Ali Larter is hot”, and the following info: (1) your name, (2) address, and (3) T-shirt size. Giveaway only open to US residents. I will randomly pick a winner, and the powers that be will mail him/her the schwag. I will not share your personal info with anyone else. Simple as that.
