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Boss Fight Books #25
Resident Evil
Now a sprawling video game franchise, Resident Evil has kept us on the edge of our seats for decades with its tried-and-true brand of jump scares, zombie action, and biological horror. But even decades after its release, we can’t stop revisiting the original’s thrills, chills, and sometimes unintentional spills. Pop culture writer and horror cinephile Philip J Reed takes dead aim at 1996’s Resident Evil, the game that named and defined the genre we now call “survival horror.” While examining Resident Evil’s influences from the worlds of film, literature, and video games alike, Reed’s love letter to horror examines how the game’s groundbreaking design and its atmospheric fixed-cam cinematography work to thrill and terrify players—and why that terror may even be good for you. Featuring a foreword from Troma Entertainment legend Lloyd Kaufman and new interviews with the game’s voice actors and its live-action cast, the book serves as the master of unlocking the behind-the-scenes secrets of Resident Evil, and shows how even a game filled with the most laughable dialogue can still scare the pants off of you.
116 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 11, 2020
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233 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 19, 2020
Philip J. Reed's RESIDENT EVIL about the game of the same name is a story of survival. That story has multiple layers, and the second may not become apparent until you walk alongside Reed in the story's final pages.
Reed opens with a story every gamer can relate to: His first time playing one of his favorite games. He was with two friends, one of whom had brought over his PlayStation and a copy of Resident Evil. Reed wasn't what anyone would describe as a horror buff. He shied away from scary stories, but Resident Evil's rotten teeth pierced his skin.
He describes moments every RE fan--this writer included--knows and loves. The dogs bursting through the stained-glass windows, the heavy, steady click… click… click of a Hunter's taloned tread across marble floor or hardware, the steep learning curve of the infamous "tank" controls. Fans know these moments, but Reed gives them a context even I, someone who's played and loved RE game since the late '90s, may not have considered.
For instance, Resident Evil was always a cinematic game, but the way Reed discusses framing and the intent of Shinji Mikami, director and auteur, made me view the game as a survival horror movie in which I play a starring role. And yes, of course the zombies shambling through the corridors of the Spencer Estate and its nearby residence were humans who lived and worked there. But the way Reed describes the ties between his love of the game's lore, delivered through iconic epistolary records, and the humans who wrote them before losing themselves to Umbrella's greed and negligence, injected even more humanity into the game--humanity that gradually ebbed away from game to game as Capcom sprinted rather than shambled from the slower pacing of survival horror to bombastic blockbuster.
Reed also explores avenues I never knew I wanted to explore. He caught up with a few of the actors filmed for the game's live-action opening, a conceit the series dropped beginning with 1998's Resident Evil 2 and, unless I'm forgetting something, only recently resurrected for 2020's remake of RE3. Further, he interviews some of the voice actors who recorded lines for Barry, Chris, Wesker, and Rebecca.
I've always appreciated the franchise's B-movie levels of cheese, a trademark more fully on display in RE1 than in any other entry. However, I never thought of them as people, or rather, human beings. Many fans seemed to appreciate these actors' performances, if only ironically, but they never achieved the cult status of performers who voiced characters in later entries such as Leon and Claire. I feel better about rarely if ever thinking of looking them up because, as Reed reveals, even the actors weren't aware of their cult status among fans until quite recently.
Reed's insights and fun digs into history lead to the final chapter, where he reveals that for him, the original Resident Evil was a survival game in more ways than one. Without spoiling particulars, I found Reed's message of finding the strength to return to scary places and confront our fears to be among the most powerful and human messages in Boss Fight's growing library of human-focused stories about video games.
Every Boss Fight book is worth reading, and RESIDENT EVIL is no exception. It's personal, insightful, hilarious (Reed's jabs at Barry are just the best, and well-deserved; poor Barry, indeed), and dispels shadows in corners of RE history that have been obscured for too long.
Reed opens with a story every gamer can relate to: His first time playing one of his favorite games. He was with two friends, one of whom had brought over his PlayStation and a copy of Resident Evil. Reed wasn't what anyone would describe as a horror buff. He shied away from scary stories, but Resident Evil's rotten teeth pierced his skin.
He describes moments every RE fan--this writer included--knows and loves. The dogs bursting through the stained-glass windows, the heavy, steady click… click… click of a Hunter's taloned tread across marble floor or hardware, the steep learning curve of the infamous "tank" controls. Fans know these moments, but Reed gives them a context even I, someone who's played and loved RE game since the late '90s, may not have considered.
For instance, Resident Evil was always a cinematic game, but the way Reed discusses framing and the intent of Shinji Mikami, director and auteur, made me view the game as a survival horror movie in which I play a starring role. And yes, of course the zombies shambling through the corridors of the Spencer Estate and its nearby residence were humans who lived and worked there. But the way Reed describes the ties between his love of the game's lore, delivered through iconic epistolary records, and the humans who wrote them before losing themselves to Umbrella's greed and negligence, injected even more humanity into the game--humanity that gradually ebbed away from game to game as Capcom sprinted rather than shambled from the slower pacing of survival horror to bombastic blockbuster.
Reed also explores avenues I never knew I wanted to explore. He caught up with a few of the actors filmed for the game's live-action opening, a conceit the series dropped beginning with 1998's Resident Evil 2 and, unless I'm forgetting something, only recently resurrected for 2020's remake of RE3. Further, he interviews some of the voice actors who recorded lines for Barry, Chris, Wesker, and Rebecca.
I've always appreciated the franchise's B-movie levels of cheese, a trademark more fully on display in RE1 than in any other entry. However, I never thought of them as people, or rather, human beings. Many fans seemed to appreciate these actors' performances, if only ironically, but they never achieved the cult status of performers who voiced characters in later entries such as Leon and Claire. I feel better about rarely if ever thinking of looking them up because, as Reed reveals, even the actors weren't aware of their cult status among fans until quite recently.
Reed's insights and fun digs into history lead to the final chapter, where he reveals that for him, the original Resident Evil was a survival game in more ways than one. Without spoiling particulars, I found Reed's message of finding the strength to return to scary places and confront our fears to be among the most powerful and human messages in Boss Fight's growing library of human-focused stories about video games.
Every Boss Fight book is worth reading, and RESIDENT EVIL is no exception. It's personal, insightful, hilarious (Reed's jabs at Barry are just the best, and well-deserved; poor Barry, indeed), and dispels shadows in corners of RE history that have been obscured for too long.
October 30, 2022
A while ago, I caught myself wondering whether there was any serious, analytical, published writing about game design, particularly focused on individual works. Not necessarily academic—not least because games academia tends to lose itself a little deeply in the weeds for my taste—but with a similar goal of taking games' design apart to see what it tick. Having just played the REmake, I was confident that one could fill a book with insights on Resident Evil's design and how it fits into a historical context, so I ordered this in the hopes that it would be that book.
This was not the book I hoped it would be. It's more like a longform piece of games journalism than it is an analysis of the game. It has a few genuine insights scattered throughout, but by and large it's a love letter that verges on being a puff piece. Which is not to say that the game doesn't deserve this praise, but rather that this doesn't really have anything more to say than "this game meant a lot to me" padded out with tangents about its actors and the science of fear.
If you want to read a 170-page five-star review of Resident Evil, this is for you. If you want to understand how a strict inventory limit and bullet economy intersect to both create and relieve tension, or how the typewriter ribbon system laid the groundwork for Dark Souls, I guess you're out of luck.
This was not the book I hoped it would be. It's more like a longform piece of games journalism than it is an analysis of the game. It has a few genuine insights scattered throughout, but by and large it's a love letter that verges on being a puff piece. Which is not to say that the game doesn't deserve this praise, but rather that this doesn't really have anything more to say than "this game meant a lot to me" padded out with tangents about its actors and the science of fear.
If you want to read a 170-page five-star review of Resident Evil, this is for you. If you want to understand how a strict inventory limit and bullet economy intersect to both create and relieve tension, or how the typewriter ribbon system laid the groundwork for Dark Souls, I guess you're out of luck.
October 31, 2020
An interesting look at making and legacy of the first real scary video game. I really enjoyed the interviews with the voice actors and live-action actors.
May 22, 2022
Opening the book about his first time playing Resident Evil with two friends, 'Resident Evil' by Philip J. Reed is a quick, entertaining and informative look at the game that coined the survival horror term, even if it wasn't the first game with those mechanics (looking at you, Alone in the Dark).
Chapters alternate between the author telling you what's happening in that particular section of the game, how it uses surprise and fear to get you, and relates certain things to horror icons like Hitchcock and Lovecraft, and then jumps to an interview with people who worked on the game, mostly in the form of the voice actors, and those who played the characters in the live-action intro and endings.
As the book progresses, so too does the game. Near the end of the book, we're told about how we get to the laboratory, Wesker's final act before his untimely demise at the hand of Umbrella's creation. We're also given a discussion with experts in the field of fear and human response, why we're drawn to things that scare us, and the difference between surprise and suspense as it relates to a horrific situation.
'Resident Evil' is well worth a read for fans of the horror genre, those who played the original game when it first released (hi), and anybody who is interested in survival horror and what it means.
Chapters alternate between the author telling you what's happening in that particular section of the game, how it uses surprise and fear to get you, and relates certain things to horror icons like Hitchcock and Lovecraft, and then jumps to an interview with people who worked on the game, mostly in the form of the voice actors, and those who played the characters in the live-action intro and endings.
As the book progresses, so too does the game. Near the end of the book, we're told about how we get to the laboratory, Wesker's final act before his untimely demise at the hand of Umbrella's creation. We're also given a discussion with experts in the field of fear and human response, why we're drawn to things that scare us, and the difference between surprise and suspense as it relates to a horrific situation.
'Resident Evil' is well worth a read for fans of the horror genre, those who played the original game when it first released (hi), and anybody who is interested in survival horror and what it means.
November 16, 2020
Wow, absolutely loved this book. Terrific insight into the game with some great information and just general horror analysis. It's a short read but it really kept me going and interested all the way throughout. Highly recommended for anyone who's a fan of the game.
July 14, 2022
As all Boss Fight-Books highly recommend if you are a fan of the game or interested in videogames in general.
October 21, 2020
Normally, when I pick up a book about a video game, I expect it to be something of a history of the game in question: An exploration of the development process, interviews with the developers, a breakdown of themes and design choices, difficulties and breakthroughs along the way, etc. Resident Evil (the book) touches on...er, one and a half of those, but primarily it's half memoir, and half treatise on the nature of fear and horror, that just happens to be seen through the lens of Resident Evil (the game).
Reed clearly has a true fondness for this game, as his delving into the topics of level design, atmosphere, and directorial choices attests, but the bulk of these examinations are all from his perspective. The few other viewpoints from people he interviewed for this book aren't from the game's director, or writer, but rather from the actors (live-action and voice) who appeared in it. And to be fair, these behind-the-scenes sections were interesting, but it's odd that out of all the people involved in the project, they were the ones he decided (or was able) to interview.
If you were looking to get a feel for how the game was made, you'll be disappointed. But if you want a nostalgic look at a genre-defining game, and you don't mind most of the insights being from the perspective of one man who wasn't involved in the game's development, Resident Evil will probably be worth your time. Just don't expect anything terribly deep or revealing.
Reed clearly has a true fondness for this game, as his delving into the topics of level design, atmosphere, and directorial choices attests, but the bulk of these examinations are all from his perspective. The few other viewpoints from people he interviewed for this book aren't from the game's director, or writer, but rather from the actors (live-action and voice) who appeared in it. And to be fair, these behind-the-scenes sections were interesting, but it's odd that out of all the people involved in the project, they were the ones he decided (or was able) to interview.
If you were looking to get a feel for how the game was made, you'll be disappointed. But if you want a nostalgic look at a genre-defining game, and you don't mind most of the insights being from the perspective of one man who wasn't involved in the game's development, Resident Evil will probably be worth your time. Just don't expect anything terribly deep or revealing.
November 3, 2020
Resident Evil by Philip J Reed is equal parts game synopsis, investigation into how the horror genre works (in terms of human psychology), and the author’s own journey with how the horror genre has impacted his life, all seen through the lens of the first Resident Evil video game. Overall, the book works very, very well on all fronts.
I’m no stranger to the Resident Evil series. I played it as a kid (though, I didn’t quite enjoy it at the time). I’ve experienced, from a distance, its many sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. I’ve even made fun of its ridiculous storytelling as part of season one of Tales of the Lesser Medium, a podcast that pokes fun at the absurdity of video game narratives. On that final point, Reed would have made a fantastic guest during that season, as his book doesn’t shy away from calling attention to how abysmal—yet quite endearing—the writing and voice acting is in Resident Evil (the series in general, and in the first game in particular).
Even for die-hard fans of the series, though, this book has something to offer. Though some of the trivia Reed includes might be old news to those old fans (such as many of the voice actors actually being incredibly talented; Resident Evil is simply a unique type of mess), the exploration of horror as a psychological stimulus should prove to be reason enough to pick up this book.
I’m no stranger to the Resident Evil series. I played it as a kid (though, I didn’t quite enjoy it at the time). I’ve experienced, from a distance, its many sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. I’ve even made fun of its ridiculous storytelling as part of season one of Tales of the Lesser Medium, a podcast that pokes fun at the absurdity of video game narratives. On that final point, Reed would have made a fantastic guest during that season, as his book doesn’t shy away from calling attention to how abysmal—yet quite endearing—the writing and voice acting is in Resident Evil (the series in general, and in the first game in particular).
Even for die-hard fans of the series, though, this book has something to offer. Though some of the trivia Reed includes might be old news to those old fans (such as many of the voice actors actually being incredibly talented; Resident Evil is simply a unique type of mess), the exploration of horror as a psychological stimulus should prove to be reason enough to pick up this book.
July 20, 2021
Definitely one of the stronger Boss Fight Books. Loved the interviews and I appreciated the amount of work Reed clearly took in following less trodden paths for Resident Evil discourse. I liked the inclusion of contemporaneous reviews. The fact that we don't know who Jill's voice actress is is absolutely wild.
Though altogether discussion about gameplay mechanics was pretty spare, what's there is uniformly great. And I like that, similarly to Killing Is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line, it narrates the experience of playing the game as it breaks down its elements, something I think is important to analyzing games. Like, you really have to work through the mental process of the player to understand how a game functions and why it's effective.
I just wish Boss Fight authors understood that interspersing these books with personal anecdotes about how once they played videogames as a child and it made them feel an emotion and they still carry that memory with them just kinda feels like fluff, even if I too have had that experience and get why you'd think it's significant. We're reading a book about a videogame, not a memoir written through the lens of a videogame.
Though altogether discussion about gameplay mechanics was pretty spare, what's there is uniformly great. And I like that, similarly to Killing Is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line, it narrates the experience of playing the game as it breaks down its elements, something I think is important to analyzing games. Like, you really have to work through the mental process of the player to understand how a game functions and why it's effective.
I just wish Boss Fight authors understood that interspersing these books with personal anecdotes about how once they played videogames as a child and it made them feel an emotion and they still carry that memory with them just kinda feels like fluff, even if I too have had that experience and get why you'd think it's significant. We're reading a book about a videogame, not a memoir written through the lens of a videogame.
October 2, 2020
I've always enjoyed the Resident Evil games, which are great with the exceptions of RE5, RE6, and the shooter variations for the Wii.
I can remember playing RE1 at a friend's house, unsure about how to explore the odd mansion, which I now know as the Spenser Mansion. I don't remember being scared, but I remember the feeling of tension that I now thrive on, and the soothing save room music.
This is a fun book to read that takes you through the horror success of Resident Evil, and tracks down a few interesting characters to tell their stories, including the actors that played in the cut scenes and the voice actor who does an amazing job of saying "Resident Evil"
This book feels like an excellent entryway into Resident Evil lore as it does an excellent job walking through the unique setups in the first game as well as the differences between the PS classic and the remaster, which have subtle, satisfying differences.
There's room for more reflective piece about video games. I feel like I just gobbled this one up.
I can remember playing RE1 at a friend's house, unsure about how to explore the odd mansion, which I now know as the Spenser Mansion. I don't remember being scared, but I remember the feeling of tension that I now thrive on, and the soothing save room music.
This is a fun book to read that takes you through the horror success of Resident Evil, and tracks down a few interesting characters to tell their stories, including the actors that played in the cut scenes and the voice actor who does an amazing job of saying "Resident Evil"
This book feels like an excellent entryway into Resident Evil lore as it does an excellent job walking through the unique setups in the first game as well as the differences between the PS classic and the remaster, which have subtle, satisfying differences.
There's room for more reflective piece about video games. I feel like I just gobbled this one up.
November 17, 2020
A very funny and personal reflection on the original Resident Evil, and the horror genre. Reed also goes the extra mile to interview as many of the live action actors and voice cast to find out about process of filming/recording. This book made me laugh quite a few times, admittedly some of it was just the game's dialogue being quoted, however the paragraph where Reed talks about the dogs bursting into the hallway was particularly funny:
"This is unfair. This is not the way the game is supposed to work. Rooms might contain enemies, but they can't suddenly be invaded by enemies out of nowhere. This is a game. Games have rules. You escaped the dogs by entering the mansion. Dogs prevent you from leaving through the front door. These are outside dogs. They aren't allowed in the house."
If you love Resident Evil I would highly recommend this book
"This is unfair. This is not the way the game is supposed to work. Rooms might contain enemies, but they can't suddenly be invaded by enemies out of nowhere. This is a game. Games have rules. You escaped the dogs by entering the mansion. Dogs prevent you from leaving through the front door. These are outside dogs. They aren't allowed in the house."
If you love Resident Evil I would highly recommend this book
October 28, 2022
This is an interesting analysis of the granddaddy of Survival Horror games. It is part memoir and reflection on how horror has influenced Reed, and part retrospective on the making of Resident Evil... from the perspective of the live action and voice actors. While I personally enjoyed hearing about their experience working on the game, it is an odd choice that those are the people that Reed interviewed, and analysis and commentary from the development team is almost entirely absent. In its place is a narrative playthrough of the game with analysis on what the development team was trying to accomplish, according to Reed. I would have preferred more input from the development team themselves, whether through sourced quotes from previous interviews, or new interviews conducted by Reed to go alongside his interviews with the cast.
July 15, 2021
A love letter to the one that started it all, complete with exclusive interviews with some of the voice & live action actors. This has a very intimate feel, with the author openly incorporating elements of his personal life and experiences with the game as well as his opinions of it both good and bad. All with a wry sense of humor that made me actually lol a few times.
It could have been double the length and still not captured everything, but I appreciated how much he focused on the cinematic elements of the game as well as showing major props to Jill & Rebecca's characters.
A great read for the 25th anniversary of Resident Evil and a reminder of how easy it should theoretically be to take such a cinematic game to the big screen. Hopefully Johannes Roberts has read this too...
It could have been double the length and still not captured everything, but I appreciated how much he focused on the cinematic elements of the game as well as showing major props to Jill & Rebecca's characters.
A great read for the 25th anniversary of Resident Evil and a reminder of how easy it should theoretically be to take such a cinematic game to the big screen. Hopefully Johannes Roberts has read this too...
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February 18, 2021I feel like the author and I disagree about how much of creating a game in the same genre as another involves stealing (Resident Evil was very clearly inspired by Alone in the Dark, but IDK, was Final Fantasy stealing from Dragon Quest by being another fantasy style RPG?), but I get needing to have a narrative! This book was very fun to read! I'm a sucker for personal histories blended in with histories of a piece of art, and the interviews with the original live-action actors from the game were really cool.
July 24, 2021
This was an excellent read that mixed both history with personal experience together to form an in depth reflection of the groundbreaking game. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the cutscene actors and how the production process worked in Japan. It's a beautiful, touching book which allowed me to revisit the mansion in a new way. I highly recommend this book.
December 28, 2021
I thought this book would be about the entire resident evil series, but it is specific to the first game. I honestly never played the first game, so this was an interesting read. He spent a lot of time talking to voice actors about their experience not knowing what they were working on, which was interesting, but had little to do with the game itself.
June 28, 2022
I've always disagreed with Resident Evil and Silent Hill comparisons. They're an easy, and inaccurate, cherry to pick. I also have to disagree with the chapter discussing EAP The Raven as horror.
But aside from that this was very well researched and I learned something even as someone who's been an RE fan for two and a half decades.
But aside from that this was very well researched and I learned something even as someone who's been an RE fan for two and a half decades.
January 15, 2025
Whenever I think about Boss Fight Books, I think of stories of creation, reflection, and growth. This book, along with the equally excellent NBA Jam book and Mike Drucker’s book on Silent Hill 2, are quintessential Boss Fight entries. If you have any interest in Resident Evil as a game or the massive video game franchise it became, you’d be remiss to not read this.
January 3, 2021
Reed's journey through the Spencer Mansion is poignant, sympathetic, intelligent, and genuine. Manditory reading for anyone even a little interested in the mystery of survival horror in the time before HD. It's a short, and unobtrusive read. A valuable contribution to an already important series.
February 1, 2025
Good overview of the classic video game. However, the author injects a bit too much of his own personal life into the narrative. Some good interviews with people involved with the game. Don’t read if you haven’t played the game and don’t like spoilers, because there are a lot of them.
October 27, 2020
Easily the best book I’ve read from the publisher.
November 19, 2020
A uniquely personal dive into the history, experience, and influence of an iconic game. If this is what every Boss Fight Books's publication is like, I'm going to need to collect them all.
December 12, 2020
Fantastic analysis of resi, horror, the making of. Really enjoyed.
August 11, 2021
Very well written in content and style of writing.
September 24, 2021
Fantastic.
January 13, 2023
A likable, if disperate, investigation of the Spencer Mansion and it's inhabitants.
September 30, 2024
A nice version of presenting a video game. There are aspects of play through, history of the game and a personal element. This was balanced
December 8, 2024
A fascinating little dive into the progenitor of a series I love.
July 31, 2021
Philip J Reed's Resident Evil was my first foray into the Boss Fight Books series. For those unfamiliar, think of the 33 1/3 books, except covering iconic video games instead of albums. In other words, this is the story of Resident Evil: the plot, development, the people involved, and how it became a cultural phenomenon.
I've seen other Boss Fight Books criticized for their “reflection” segments, or when the author details their experience with the game. Philip dives into his introduction to the world of survival horror, but not in a way that deflects from the informative side of the book. In actuality, these segments, as well as the informative bits are rather humorous. A couple “groaners” here and there, sure, but it seems fitting. This is Resident Evil: a zombie game with lines like “You were almost a Jill Sandwich.”
I went into this book thinking I knew it all. Really. Resident Evil is my favorite gaming franchise, and the original, at least to my knowledge, was well-documented, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't learn something new through this book. Philip went above and beyond to find something new to bring to the table, such as investigating, and even interviewing, some of the people who played these now-iconic characters in the live-action cut-scenes, or the so-bad-it's-good voice-over work.
Philip J Reed's debut publication is a quick, intriguing, and hilarious read that will entertain both casual and hardcore Resident Evil fans alike. Newcomers to the franchise, or survival horror in general should feel right at home. It might be handy if you, the master of reading, take it with you.
I've seen other Boss Fight Books criticized for their “reflection” segments, or when the author details their experience with the game. Philip dives into his introduction to the world of survival horror, but not in a way that deflects from the informative side of the book. In actuality, these segments, as well as the informative bits are rather humorous. A couple “groaners” here and there, sure, but it seems fitting. This is Resident Evil: a zombie game with lines like “You were almost a Jill Sandwich.”
I went into this book thinking I knew it all. Really. Resident Evil is my favorite gaming franchise, and the original, at least to my knowledge, was well-documented, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't learn something new through this book. Philip went above and beyond to find something new to bring to the table, such as investigating, and even interviewing, some of the people who played these now-iconic characters in the live-action cut-scenes, or the so-bad-it's-good voice-over work.
Philip J Reed's debut publication is a quick, intriguing, and hilarious read that will entertain both casual and hardcore Resident Evil fans alike. Newcomers to the franchise, or survival horror in general should feel right at home. It might be handy if you, the master of reading, take it with you.
January 14, 2025
Very enjoyable discussion on the nature of horror games and this one in particular. I liked the move from the personal to the game and there was a lot of nuance and side information in here. The author was giving you a lot.
Yes it meant heading in unexpected directions but there was a joy in that. This was a fun and interesting read and was not too long either.
Yes it meant heading in unexpected directions but there was a joy in that. This was a fun and interesting read and was not too long either.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews