Though this type of transition is typically a recipe for disaster, "Resident Evil" makes the conversion from console to cinema surprisingly well. A frightening, atmospheric horror film that stays true to its video game roots, this film should please any horror or science fiction fan.

Starring Milla Jovovich as an tough amnesiac (reminiscent of her "5th Element" role) and the ever-scowling Michelle Rodriguez ("The Fast and the Furious") as a corporate commando, the movie is set in the secret underground research lab of Umbrella Corporation. The opening of the film reveals the corporation as being responsible for the majority of the world's health care, computer technology and military technology, among other things.

But most of Umbrella's funding comes from secret genetic and viral experiments, the result of which is seen in the film. Though not a single character mentions the word "zombie," that's exactly what the film is about.

Writer and director Paul Anderson ("Event Horizon") borrows heavily from the game's primary inspiration, George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" trilogy. Though Anderson has been responsible for a previous video game-to-movie flop "Mortal Kombat," with "Resident Evil" he gives the audience a rather enjoyable, if fairly derivative, zombie romp with some nice special effects.

First is a treatment of the research lab in its normal, day-to-day operation, but quickly the movie gets to why the research lab is full of zombies by the time the main characters get there. Then Milla Jovovich makes her first appearance in the film wearing nothing but a conveniently draped shower curtain and a vacant expression, waking up in a bathroom in a strange mansion. Luckily she soon finds a scant red dress and a fortuitous pair of rubber boots while the audience ponders her inability to procure adequate clothing in her choice of movies.

Soon Jovovich is rudely introduced to the rest of the cast, a team of commandos sent by Umbrella. Excepting the delightfully angry-looking Michelle Rodriguez, most of the cast serves as convenient cannon fodder for the underground lab's nasty security system and undead denizens.

For video game fans, the sequence where the commandos encounter the Red Queen's security corridor should be greatly entertaining, as should the entire film.

What makes the film successful is its faithfulness to the spirit of the games on which it is based, which was in turn heavily influenced by zombie horror films.

The end result is what one might expect from the director of "Event Horizon": a horror film with sci-fi trappings and heaps of creepy atmosphere.

Surprisingly, the film is not as gory as typical zombie fare, tending to leave more to the imagination when the zombies do their worst. But this does nothing to lessen how frightening the film is at times.

The film has little originality, however, though the only painful cliché that's indulged is the "Matrix"-esque flying kick (as seen in the trailer). The rest of the movie is a steady mix of elements borrowed from "Night of the Living Dead," a fair bit of "Aliens" and the video games from which it is based upon.

This will ultimately decide whether movie-goers will enjoy this film: if they can appreciate a film often dictated by the strange logic of video games, or if they are fans of the original "Resident Evil," then they shouldn't hesitate to see this movie.

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