Resident Evil... on stage?

The play opens with an ambiguous dream-like sequence. We see Professor Ryan Howard behind a screen in his laboratory busy working on his experiments. He is so engrossed he fails to see his son Tyler watching him from a distance. Tyler walks away and says he is not really dead, but his father ignores him. It then starts to rain around Tyler and people behind him all simultaneously raise and opened red and white striped umbrellas. Tyler then checks a pendant around his necklace.

(A track from Biohazard 6 plays throughout this sequence and I must say when the familiar umbrellas opened up it did send goosebumps down my spine – it still has that effect all these years later. It’s a wonderful little sequence.)

We then get a small (albeit cheaply made) shot of the Earth, which slowly zooms in down to Western Australia and through to Philosophy University. It is August 12th 2010 3:40PM.

Rebecca Chambers is teaching a science class. Mary Gray (a student with an extraordinary high IQ of 230) is trying to solve a complex equation on the board. Rebecca explains to the whole class that this is the final problem of the day but the rest of the students led by Olivia Price are more interested if Rebecca has a boyfriend, speculating whether she wants to keep such a relationship a secret. Rebecca deflects the question by asking about Olivia. She says she goes out with Lucas Butler, the most popular boy in the science department. The mention of Lucas distracts Mary, who secretly has a crush on him.

Eventually, Mary gives up and says she cannot solve the equation. But Rebecca says she is correct, the formula cannot be solved. She explains there are still countless sciences on the earth that are not yet answered and cannot be solved by the human race in its current form. She wrote this unsolvable formula so her students would recognise this fact. Rebecca also explains there is still the possibility of new discoveries but Mary interrupts her by saying what is impossible to the human race could be possible to something more than human and speculates about a future where something superior to humans will rule the world. Rebecca is a little shaken by this and says that is not the point she was trying to make and sincerely hopes that future will not come. Before they can talk further the bell sounds and the class is dismissed. Lucas comes to meet Olivia and Mary looks sad and walks away on her own.

Mary goes up to the rooftop terrace where the sun is setting and cries. There she bumps into Tyler Howard who is still staring at his necklace. She can sense loneliness and anger inside him, the same as her. They talk for a while and Mary says loneliness is the power to change oneself, but Tyler says loneliness turns people to anger. They both agree that neither of them feel alive so Mary says today is the first day of the rest of their lives, the day of the beginning. She can feel a connection between them both.

We cut to another teacher named Bethany who meets with Rebecca. She has been borrowing some of Rebecca’s advanced text books as she has to teach beyond her speciality since many of her students here are unusually gifted. They then have a conversation that is ambiguous to the audience but is a reference to more students mysteriously disappearing from campus. Troubled, Rebecca goes to see Ezra Sennett, the dean of Philosophy University and played by the fantastic Sonny Chiba.

In his office, Ezra is a friendly man and asks how Rebecca is settling in. She says she is learning a lot from Mary Gray who has been showing her around campus. They are then joined by Ezra’s personal assistant, Matthew Russell, who says that Mary has an amazing brain and is a necessary piece of Philosophy University. He appeals to Rebecca not to place any extra burdens on her. Together, they discuss the missing persons cases that began frequently a couple of months ago. In a throwback to Mother Gracia from Marhawa Desire, Erza gives a speech about how he built this university from the ground up and how it is now his entire life. He cannot afford damage to its reputation and these rumours about missing people are troubling. All he has built here could be destroyed in seconds. Matthew asks Rebecca if she has any information but she concedes she does not.

At this point, Ezra introduces Rebecca to Barrington Meyer, a detective from Philosophy City Police he has hired to discreetly investigate the case. He comes across as immediately unlikeable and says asks why Rebecca has such an interest in fossils as he has watched her go to the fossil museum and library of archaeology many times, even showing CCTV footage he has of her. Rebecca defends her curiosity as a scientist but has no objections if Dean Erza wishes her to stop going there. But Erza says it is not a problem. The human race lives to learn, it is why he built this place. All he asks for in return is her full co-operation while she works here. Rebecca agrees and says she will report directly to him if she uncovers anything unusual. She then takes her leave. However, she waits by the office door and can hear the conversation that follows.

With Rebecca gone, Barrington suspects she may know something. Erza hands him money as it is revealed he is bribing Barrington to keep these missing persons cases on the low-down so that the university’s reputation goes untarnished. After Barrington leaves, Matthew believes they are paying Barrington too much and does not trust him. But Erza believes the detective’s love of money means he will stay loyal to them until he dies. However, Matthew still believes he may someday betray them. Erza appreciates Matthew’s wisdom, calls him 'my son' and says he is the only one he trusts.

We then get a small monologue from Barrington who says Matthew doesn’t look so trustworthy himself.

In a new scene, Rebecca catches up with Mary and they have a small conversation. Mary apologises for asking strange questions in class but Rebecca says it is imperative she focuses on her goals. Mary now believes she has found her true purpose and it is now time to act upon that. Rebecca offers encouragement. They are interrupted briefly by Professor Ryan Howard, who congratulates Mary on a phenomenal research paper she wrote entitled ‘Reset.’ He then leaves in a hurry.

Suddenly, Olivia and Lucas run over in a panic and we can hear but not see the sounds of zombies. Students are panicking everywhere. Bethany comes back over and suggest they can evacuate to the audio visual room. They disappear whilst Rebecca helps other wounded students get out of there.

Bethany, Lucas and Mary reach the audio visual room but have gotten separated from Olivia on the way. Bethany looks them both inside whilst she goes back to look for Olivia.

Rebecca contacts Chris Redfield as the militaristic Biohazard 6 music kicks in. As she does so, she catches a glimpse of Tyler running past and recognises him.

We cut to another (cheaply made) video of a Gambit driving down a road. Chris and Piers Nivans are inside. Piers asks about Rebecca and Chris says she was a former member of S.T.A.R.S. They pull up to the gates of the university and Piers takes out a zombie with his sniper rifle with Chris saying they cannot let any of the creatures get out. They then move inside as a title card says the time is now 4:45PM.

Time for another (cheaply made) video now as we flashback to 1998 and we zoom down onto Raccoon City and move through the Arklay Mountains to the Spencer Mansion. A voiceover gives us a brief overview of the strange incidents that occurred at the time and then we see the main hall of the mansion projected onto the back screen. Rebecca is here, dressed in STARS uniform (great sight,) and is calling out her name and appealing to any survivors. She then finds her way to the infirmary and realises that most of the medicines stored here are from Umbrella. We then get another voiceover telling us all about Umbrella with information displayed on a screen.

We then get a mini retelling of Chris’s original introduction to Rebecca. He says he’s from Alpha Team come to rescue them all. She explains about the medicines being from Umbrella and Chris has never heard of them. He asks what this mansion could be for and she wonders about a secret lab. He asks if she is okay with a gun and they both leave.

(What’s interesting here is that this scene plays out more like a retelling from the 1996 original than it does from Remake. Rebecca does not spray Chris with bug repellent, but this scene is implied to take place in the infirmary and there is no mention of Richard anywhere. Rebecca’s random mention of a secret laboratory is also a little strange and out of place –Canon purists just let it go. It matters not.)

Another voiceover now and Moonlight Sonata plays in the background as we are told the mansion is a front for Umbrella’s biological weapons experiments. There is no mention of Wesker.

Another retold scene here with Chris and Rebecca having just emerged from the Tyrant lab. Rebecca wants to blow this place up due to all the viruses left lying around. Chris asks if she can manage it and she says she will ‘trigger the starting device.’ Chris says they will rendezvous outside and they go their separate ways. The screen then fades to black as the self-destruct countdown begins. Small spotlights show zombies in lab coats wandering round then we get the FMV shot of the mansion exploding.

Another voiceover says that although Chris and the others were successful in destroying this Umbrella operation, the corporation’s experiments were never uncovered. The narrator goes on to say that in 2003, anonymous data was submitted to the court and because of this, Umbrella practically went bankrupt, but many of the viruses and B.O.W.s were taken by former employees and leaked onto the black market. Since the GPC was afraid other pharmaceutical companies would begin B.O.W. research, they formed the B.S.A.A and Chris became one of its tactical specialists.

Soon bioterrorism began to happen all over the world and we now cut to 2005 – Rochester City. Police Officer Tyler Howard is embroiled in a t-Virus outbreak in nearby St. Cloud in Minnesota. He is working as a support member with the B.S.A.A. He is shooting zombies and wondering why they are not dying. He is saved by Rebecca who introduces herself as a B.S.A.A. advisor and tells him to shoot the zombies in the head.

Following this incident, Tyler was recruited as an agent for the U.S. Government. (It was reported he died in this incident, so the U.S. Government upheld this so he could work in secret. It is heavily implied but not mentioned outright that he joins the same Secret Military Agency as Leon.) He also recovered data from the incident linked to Umbrella’s bioterrorism.

Fast forward to 2009 – Chris is now Alpha Team Captain of the B.S.A.A. North America Branch as well as spending time with new trainees. Among the recruits is Piers Nivans, who has outstanding sniping skills. Chris takes him under his wing and says he will be the future of the B.S.A.A.

We are now back at the university in the present and are introduced to Posh Brown, a security guard. He is alone is a darkened corridor and shines his flashlight on the audience, asking why no one is evacuating when the university is going crazy. He then runs off.

We cut back to Chris and Piers who link up inside the security office with Rebecca. She is also with Sophie Home (the hottest female B.S.A.A. member to date in my humble opinion!), a member of the Oceanic Branch, and Barrington. Sophie introduces herself to Chris and Piers, and Chris introduces Piers to Rebecca, who explains several students have been evacuated safely to the audio-visual room. Barrington also introduces himself and shakes hands with Chris. Chris suspects the t-Virus or something similar has leaked out and spread, but cautions this may have been intentional. Sophie assures him that members of the Oceanic branch have the school perimeter sealed off and under guard. Barrington tries to explain they must avoid mass panic in the city at all costs. Chris says they will deal with the threat and rescue survivors causing as little damage as possible.

Piers asks Barrington what he knows and the detective explains Philosophy Police know there have been students missing for a couple of months now. Aside from that, he crassly remarks he knows about Rebecca’s background as a S.T.A.R.S. member and that she’s into fossils. That’s about it. Sophie doesn’t like Barrington and begins to challenge him but Chris interrupts. He orders Sophie to team up with Barrington and start clearing out the East Wing. Chris, Piers and Rebecca will take the west wing. Sophie is not happy about this but Piers discreetly tells her that the captain does not want Barrington to be near Rebecca and him sending Sophie instead is a sign he already trusts her. Sophie is impressed and then casually flirts with Piers by asking his opinion on her.

Chris asks Rebecca about the university’s security guards and she says the office was empty when they got here. CCTV shows zombies milling around the various rooms and Posh Brown’s picture is also visible. Sophie offers to contact her team outside for more back-up but Chris declines, saying he doesn’t want any more dead team members. Their plan know is to clear the university room by room and close all the fire shutters so none can slip past them. By the time they rendezvous in the middle of the building, most of the infestation should be wiped out.

Before they leave, Chris asks Barrington about his personal gun. He is carrying an old-style revolver which Sophie mocks. Chris takes the revolver and tells Piers to give the detective a better gun with laser sighting. He then secretly empties the revolver of bullets and hands it back to Barrington without him noticing. Before Barrington and Sophie leave, Piers hands her a radio so they can keep in touch and she seems touched he is worried about her.

Once they have gone, Rebecca informs Chris that Erza has been bribing Barrington to keep quiet about the missing person’s cases. She doesn’t know if he is directly involved but guesses that the professor of molecular biology and director of the fossil museum, Professor Liam Howard, is likely involved. Chris says they will look for him as they clear out the infestation.

Rebecca then takes the lead and they are attacked by zombies. Because many are her former students, she hesitates and Chris and Piers shoot them down. Piers chastises her and Rebecca admits she hasn’t been in the field for a couple of years. Piers says these are not her students anymore but Chris comes to her aid and says she is a medicinal expert, not a solider. They then leave, and we learn that Tyler has been hiding underneath the stairs and been eavesdropping on their conversation. He looks at his pendant once more before drawing his gun and following.

We then cut back in a very brief scene to Matthew Russell, who in a monologue explains he doesn’t wish to betray Ezra, but maybe he no longer has a choice.

We are now back in Ezra’s office and the dean is speaking with Professor Howard. Ezra is upset and says nothing like this should have happened to the students and the university. This was not the research he wanted. Howard seems upset that Ezra is accusing him of causing the outbreak but Ezra says Barrington told him the missing students were something to do with him. Ezra also believes there is no one else in this university other than Howard who is capable of doing such a thing. Matthew then joins him and Ezra tells him to just go and find Mary Gray. Matthew is upset Ezra seems to trust Detective Barrington’s words more than his and at this point, we learn that Howard did not realise Barrington was a police officer.

Ezra explains he just wants to protect the university but Howard says the police will not protect them, they will just take something important away from them. He then touches a pendant around his own neck, one identical to that of Tyler’s. Matthew asks Ezra about the need for the human race to learn and develop and Ezra goes off on a spiel about how and why he created this university. It is also revealed he formally adopted Matthew because he had a high IQ score and that when Erza was a child, he was just an orphan with no environment to learn, that is why he built this place, so that others would never be in the same position.

Professor Howard then cryptically asks about a human being who did not need to learn any longer and it is implied here that he has done something to Matthew which has resulted in his high IQ. Erza seems horrified at this and believes a human being without the need to learn and further develop is the end of all things. If the obsession to learn and better ourselves is gone then it will be the downfall of the species. He hired Professor Howard to use the t-Virus to develop an endless upgrade of human intelligence for the future of the earth and for peace throughout the world. But Howard seems to have reached the pinnacle where it is not possible to further develop (I’m not entirely sure on this, the subtitles are not clear.)

Erza asks Howard why he would develop such monsters and Howard says he is thankful to him because he got to conduct his research fully with no obstacles and no restrictions at this university. Ezra is upset that Howard has been lying to him right from the very start.

We then cut back to Olivia Price, who is alone in the dark and being chased by zombies. She texts Lucas to find out where he is.

Still locked up in the audio-visual room, Lucas and Mary are trapped. He is on about opening the fire shutter so they can get out and look for the others. Mary suddenly asks him why he does not like her when they both get Olivia’s text. She is hiding in the art department warehouse in the west area and needs their help. Suddenly, zombies start banging on the windows and one of them is a zombified Bethany. Lucas panics but Mary is not bothered and continues to ask him about Olivia. Lucas has a complete meltdown at the zombies and is too scared to try and help his girlfriend. Instead, Mary says she will go and save her.

Olivia continues to run from the zombies and texts Lucas once again. She suggests she may be dead soon and tells him to stay alive and that she loves him. We hear more zombie growls and she runs away once again.

We then get a graphic depicting the map of the university. We see that Olivia is alone in the west area on the second floor. Lucas and Mary are still in the audio-visual room on the east area second floor. On the first floor, Chris, Piers and Rebecca are about to enter the fossil museum in the west area – cue door leading mechanic.

As they search this area, Chris reveals to Rebecca that several weeks before she contacted him, he was requested by HQ to investigate Philosophy University as well. Rebecca believes this maybe because she submitted her investigation report late because she was having a hard time uncovering the truth. They check out several bathrooms and find Posh hiding inside one of the toilets. He panics and is in the midst of a breakdown as the power suddenly fails. He is the comic relief of this story.

Rebecca asks him what he is doing here when the security office is on the opposite part of the building. Posh replies that Professor Howard told him to close the museum today so he came to lock the door. Rebecca seems interested by this request and Posh explains Howard called him from the research lab on the 4th floor to lock the museum door. Howard now seems to be their likely suspect but Rebecca believes he will no longer be here. She last saw him at the front of the dean’s office right before the incident happened. Piers suggests they should find and search his research lab anyway and Chris tells Posh to come with them and show them the way. At this point, a crawling zombie attacks Posh and the others shoot it down. (He is bitten on the leg here but this is not revealed to the audience or any of the other characters at this point.)

Posh recognises the student as a girl called Betty who was always friendly to him and gets upset. Chris explains that she was not his friend anymore and now just a monster. Posh curiously asks what would happen if he got bitten and Chris says he would become a monster himself.

At this point, Rebecca receives a phone call from Mary who says she just got a call from Olivia telling her she is near the audio-visual room they are currently locked inside. Olivia cannot get inside because she cannot open the fire shutter. Lucas, who is still with Mary, disputes this, saying Olivia’s text said she was in the art warehouse in the opposite wing and wants to know what she is up to. Mary wants Rebecca to open the shutters so they can get out. Posh is able to do this with a remote device. Once they are open, the zombies pour inside but Mary leads Lucas out. (I think Lucas is bitten here but it’s not entirely clear). Lucas also kills zombie Bethany with an axe and has another breakdown. Mary then gets Rebecca to close the shutters once again and trap the remaining zombies inside. She thanks Rebecca then ends the call.

Back in the museum, Rebecca thanks Posh for his assistance. (At this point, Piers randomly runs off. I don’t know why – he just stands there. There is no dialogue, no radio call, he just leaves.) Chris asks Posh to lead him and Rebecca to the lab. As they head up the stairs, we see Tyler is still following them from the shadows. He opens a letter from his father who promises he will be back soon. He just wants him to wait a little longer and be patient for just a few more days. (It isn’t revealed here, but this letter is the last correspondence Tyler had from his father, who disappeared whilst he was working with Umbrella. His father’s disappearance was why Tyler originally became a police officer.)

Now we catch up with Barrington and Sophie in the east wing as they clear out another room full of zombies then close the shutter behind them. Barrington is enjoying this and they have a brief conversation about how killing B.O.W.s and zombies is different to regular combat. Barrington admits he has learned a lot from Sophie but thinks he is able to continue now on his own. Sophie questions how splitting up would be more efficient but Barrington holsters the weapon Piers gave him and says that is not what he meant….
He then draws his own personal revolver and holds her at gunpoint. She promptly disarms him and he tries to reason with her that Philosophy City police will take care of this incident discreetly and quietly to make it seem like nothing happened at this university. Sophie says she cannot let this happen and Barrington says Dean Ezra is rich. He cannot afford to be a stupidly honest detective at a time like this. They need money to survive. Without money, the world will soon dispose of them.

Suddenly, he is attacked by a zombie that bursts out of the cupboard. Sophie tries to shoot the zombie with his revolver but finds it has no bullets. Piers then appears and kills it instead, allowing Barrington to get up and flee. Piers realises Chris emptied the chamber of rounds because he did not trust Barrington. Sophie then remarks how he was supposed to save her when Barrington reappears and holds Piers at gunpoint. A small fist fight then breaks out and they both seem to get the upper hand when another zombie attacks and this time Tyler appears to shoot it. He says Professor Howard is innocent of all crimes and they must cease their investigation. He then fights all three of them, disarming both Sophie and Piers. Barrington asks Tyler if this means he is on his side and Tyler lets him go as the detective obviously knows something. Tyler then soon follows him, ensuring Piers and Sophie do not follow.

Lucas and Mary then appear, startling Piers and Sophie. They beg for their help to find Olivia and the two B.S.A.A. members agree to help them rescue her. As Lucas leads the way, Olivia hides and waits behind until they have gone. She then texts Olivia before continuing on alone.

Meanwhile, Chris, Posh and Rebecca reach the fourth floor and Rebecca recognises one of the exhibits as the ‘Irish Giant’; a mummified humanoid fossil that was found more than a century ago in a mine in Northern Ireland. The fossil is now here because Professor Howard is leader of the project researching it. They are suddenly attacked by more zombies and after another fire fight, Posh uses his device to close the fire shutter. He suggests they examine the description near the fossil of the Irish giant and they will both understand why Howard is an expert in fossil excavation. Chris investigates and suddenly pushes it aside to reveal a hidden entrance not even Posh knew about.

We’re now back with Mary who runs down a corridor. She is followed by two surviving students who are attacked by zombies only to be saved by Tyler, but one of them is bitten and transforms almost straight away. Tyler shoots him whilst watched from afar by Mary.

Meanwhile, Chris, Rebecca and Posh explore Professor Howard’s secret room. Posh is confused why all the boards and charts relate to bioterrorism and viruses. Chris and Rebecca both know the scrawlings is all data from Umbrella. Posh hasn’t even heard of Umbrella and Chris explains about their demise and subsequent legacy with the t-Virus still spreading across the world thanks to the black market. They find an attaché case on the floor containing the Howard’s new strain of t-Virus and its development data. Chris senses Rebecca hasn’t told him everything and asks why she began investigating Professor Howard.

Rebecca explains Howard is the father of Tyler Howard, a police officer that supposedly died five years ago. She first met him whilst working as an advisor to the B.S.A.A. at an incident in Minnesota. We then flashback to that time when they first met each other. Tyler hands her a data pad he found and wants to know if ex-Umbrella researchers are involved in this incident. He is angry because he believed Umbrella was dead and buried. The corporation were responsible for taking his father who was a researcher of molecular biology. He worked for them a couple of years ago yet never came home. That is why Tyler became a police officer; to find his dad and reveal the secrets of Umbrella. He believes his father was used by them. They are eventually split up in a zombie attack but Rebecca makes him promise not to mention his father to anyone but her.

Back in the present, Rebecca explains she found out that Tyler’s father was working at this university. However, before she can continue, Barrington reappears and takes Rebecca hostage, holding her at gunpoint and accusing Chris of being out of his jurisdiction. He threatens Chris that if the truth about what happened at this university is made public and the bioterror incident is revealed, he will not be paid by Ezra. If that happens, he will kill Rebecca. He warns Chris that he’d better go about his business quietly, kill the remaining zombies then keep his mouth shut. He then leaves, taking Rebecca with him.

Chris asks Posh to take him to see Ezra, but as they try to leave, Mary walks past and the door closes. I’m not sure exactly what happens next but I believe it’s a crushing ceiling trap in a homage to the first game. Chris and Posh both panic before managing to escape at the very last moment, taking the attaché case with them.

So, the T-virus. Haven't seen that in a while. Still, I much prefer them using old viruses instead of continously making up new ones and never using them again. Okay, it was an enhanced T-virus that changed zombies into... I don't know, actually. All of them were killed before the final transformation. I don't think Mary's transformation counts since she had been subjected to the virus from an early age and had somehow bonded with it. There may have not been any "special" infected, apart from those half transformations to the new kind of super zombies, but the brief appearance of Mary's transformation into... whatever that thing was and the appearance of a T-103 type Tyrant. Seriously, I wasn't execting a tyrant and when it happened I didn't expect it to be as cool looking as it was.

Let's see, what else... Oh, I kind of felt like Tyler Howard's story reflected Tyler Hamilton's (though most definitely a coincidence, I doubt any of the people working on the play even knows of Confidential Report) back when he was stuck in the infected city. He was an okay dude. I wonder if he knows Leon? They both are working for the government after all. Then again, they work in different agencies.

I liked Posh. Poor Posh. I actually laughed during his "ritual". A bit over the top but a somewhat capable and fleshed out comic relief is never unwanted in my books. I'm glad Sophie didn't suffer Merah's fate from Marhawa Desire, these one shot BSAA members tend to have short lives.