Stories from the set

In the film's ending, an article about the S.T.A.R.S. special unit can be seen in one of the newspapers, which is a reference to the video game Resident Evil.

The film is based on the Resident Evil series of video games (1996 – present, Capcom).

Legendary George Romero wrote his own version of the script and was ready to direct the film, but left the project in 1999 due to creative differences. In his script, the main character was Jill Valentine. According to Romero, the script was liked by absolutely everyone except Bernd Eichinger (the film's producer). After Romero's departure, the project sat on the shelf for about a year until Paul Anderson agreed to write the script and direct the film.

Initially, the film was to be called Resident Evil: Ground Zero, but after the events of September 11, 2001, the film was renamed Resident Evil.

The access code to the Red Queen's room is 12177.

One of the newspaper headlines is "The Dead Walk!" This is a nod to "Day of the Dead" (1985), where a newspaper with exactly the same headline can be seen at the very beginning of the film.

In style, the wedding photograph of Alice and Spencer closely resembles photographs from the video games "Resident Evil" (1996) and "Resident Evil 2" (1998): a close-up, a clear predominance of black-and-white tones, noticeable photomontage of the background and foreground.

Also, as in the video games, after something is turned on/off, some other action occurs elsewhere. For example, when the Red Queen is deactivated for the first time, absolutely all doors in the entire complex open.

A close-up of Alice's eye near the end of the film is a reference to the video game Resident Evil (1996).

After Mortal Kombat (1995), Resident Evil became the second video game adaptation in Paul Anderson's filmography.