The Only Movie You Need This Week Is Resident Evil’s 100% RT Horror Classic From 2012

Resident Evil is bringing fans a glorious double-feature with Requiem's February 27, 2026 debut, pairing Leon S. Kennedy's anticipated return with newcomer Alyssa Ashcroft. Early glimpses have made this an especially gritty Resident Evil game, mixing Leon's action gameplay with Alyssa's hair-raising tension into two unique stories.

The fandom clearly can't get enough of Leon, though, with every motion capture CGI film featuring him in their stories, and for good reason. Leon's cheesy action-hero one-liners would certainly be also at home in any of the more schlocky live-action films, but perhaps the most reliable Resident Evil movie solely starring Leon is his 2012 movie, Resident Evil: Damnation.

Resident Evil: Damnation Is the Franchise's Only 100% RT Movie

While only five Rotten Tomatoes critics chimed in for Resident Evil's second feature-length animated movie, its generally positive reception is remarkably more consistent than even the mixed reviews for the rest of the franchise, particularly Paul W.S. Anderson's high-budget B-movies. However, it's worth noting that this movie is particularly best for fans well-versed in the franchise.

"Better than its predecessor, and light years beyond the live-action adaptations."

-Sebastian Zavala Kahn, Más Gamers

It's a fair point, too. While the movie eases the viewer in with the plot, where Leon must go to the fictional Eastern Slav Republic to uproot any Bio-Organic Weapons (BOWs) being used in their civil war, it expects others to be familiar with key points from Resident Evil 2 and 4.

This is an easy feat, though; they're the most iconic, and arguably the best, of Resident Evil's game library. One can quickly pick up the cues, including Leon's one-liners feeling like something delivered by an emo Ash Williams from Evil Dead, and Leon's chemistry and past with Ada Wong is pretty simply laid out.

"If you're a fan of the series, this is finally the 'Resident Evil' experience you've been waiting on."

-Jeffrey Lyles, Lyles' Movie Files

What this leaves viewers, beyond a simple lore lesson (which is more often than not unnecessary, given the fans are predominantly the ones already watching) is a high-octane plot where Leon infiltrates a territory crawling with Las Plagas-infested victims, Lickers, and even Tyrants. Complete with a fascinating "Dominant Plaga" capable of controlling Lickers, it's pretty easy to grasp this biopunk action-horror gem.

Resident Evil Went Downhill as Its Highest-Rated Movie Dropped

With fans growing increasingly weary following boulder-punching Chris Redfield's Kijuju romp, Resident Evil 6 was more of a "flashpoint" for the fandom who got fed up with the franchise. Fully prioritizing dramatic action with horror firmly in the backseat, this game released worldwide merely 25 days before Resident Evil: Damnation.

What followed was five years of frustrating, terrible Resident Evil games, and no movie ever got close to Damnation's Rotten Tomatoes score. Even after being "saved" in 2017, the movies never recovered despite multiple creative pivots with lukewarm audience reception like Welcome to Raccoon City, and whatever the deal was with that Netflix series.

Yet, one universal constant remains, and now that the Resident Evil games have experienced a remarkable return to form, with Leon's new campaign being his bloodiest ever, fans can bury the hatchet following his most recent canon game in 2012. More specifically, bury Leon's hatchet into the shambling hordes of zombies plaguing a desolate, cratered Raccoon City's haunted remains.