Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson says the 2002 adaptation was famously unfaithful because everyone would know game spoilers: "In horror you can't give away all the secrets"

2002's Resident Evil may have captured the campy horror vibes of Capcom's legendary franchise, but it didn't exactly follow the beats of 1996's classic title.

Out went the likes of Claire Redfield and Albert Wesker, and in came Milla Jovovich's original character Alice, complete with loose ties to Resident Evil and a scattershot approach to lore.

While fans would soon appreciate the Paul W.S. Anderson-directed series of movies and its laissez-faire approach to the source material, the director himself has now revealed that the decision not to do a "slavish adaptation" of Resident Evil stemmed from believing that its audience would know the major twists going in.

"I didn't want to just do a slavish adaptation of one of the video games, because this was action horror, and in horror you can't give away all the secrets," Anderson told the Post Games podcast (via PC Gamer).

"If I did a straight adaptation of the first game, you'd already know if you're a fan going in Wesker is a traitor. This character is going to die here. This character is going to die there. Imagine watching Alien, going into the cinema, someone told you they all die apart from Sigourney Weaver. That robs that movie of a lot of its power."

In a rare act of marketing synergy, Capcom released a remake of the first Resident Evil just a week after Anderson's film hit cinemas – and is often regarded as one of the GameCube's greatest titles, still holding up well today.

Resident Evil, meanwhile, grossed over $100 million at the box office upon release, spawning five sequels, a reboot – the poorly-received Welcome to Raccoon City – and an upcoming Zach Cregger release.

Intriguingly, Cregger's Resident Evil will follow Anderson's path inasmuch as it won't be filled with legacy characters. Instead, it will revolve around original characters and scenarios in the universe.

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil hits cinemas on September 18.

For more, check out the upcoming horror movies on the horizon, plus our verdict on Resi's latest with the Resident Evil Requiem review.