Choose a continuity first
Resident Evil reuses names, creatures and settings across several adaptations, but its films do not all form one continuous story. For a first visit, the simplest approach is to choose a route and finish it. The Alice film series, the Welcome to Raccoon City reboot and the animated productions need different lists.
This guide suggests a viewing order without revealing endings. It is not a timeline of every game or a catalogue of every adaptation. If you are looking for a new film called simply Resident Evil, check its year and cast: a shared title does not prove that it continues an earlier film.
The Alice route: six films in sequence
The order is Resident Evil → Resident Evil: Apocalypse → Resident Evil: Extinction → Resident Evil: Afterlife → Resident Evil: Retribution → Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Milla Jovovich plays Alice in this storyline. Keep that sequence even if your streaming service promotes one of the later entries first.
Start with Resident Evil, which introduces Alice’s conflict with Umbrella; the later films expand that story. You do not need to insert animated titles to complete this route. For three double-feature sessions, pair films one and two, three and four, then five and six. That is a scheduling suggestion, not an official division into trilogies or double chapters.
Welcome to Raccoon City: a separate beginning
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City introduces a different starting point featuring Claire and Chris Redfield. It is not a seventh Alice adventure. You can watch it before or after the Jovovich series without treating it as a missing link between those films.
If you want to compare adaptations, finish one route before changing versions. That makes it easier to recognise each film’s choices without trying to reconcile characters or events belonging to separate stories.
The animated route
For the four computer-animated films in this selection, follow Degeneration → Damnation → Vendetta → Death Island. Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield and other game characters take centre stage here. This route does not continue Alice’s adventures.
Infinite Darkness is a four-episode animated series, rather than another film in that list. If you prefer to encounter the animated productions in publication order, place it after Vendetta and before Death Island. That is release order, not the order of events within the story.
Before planning your viewing session
Check the full title of each entry and whether the offer is for a film, a collection or a series. Similar artwork can lead to a different version. Also check audio, subtitles, age ratings and whether a separate rental is required.
Availability varies by country and type of access; this guide does not promise that one subscription includes the whole franchise. A new date on a film’s calendar entry can refer to a cinema opening or a later digital release. Identify that release type before treating it as a new instalment in the franchise.
Keep exploring
If you spot an error or a missing detail, let us know so we can review this guide.
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