Headed for Extinction - The Mulchay Curse strikes again

Sequel director suffers memory loss... yet again

Russel Mulchay, it seems, suffers a curse...

Best know for Highlander, an great action/fantasy flick, the subsequent Mulchay penned sequel (Highlander 2 - The Quickening) expected the audience to suffer amnesia and forget the events of the first film - having watched the film, the audience might have wished to forget they even saw the sequel.

And there-in lies the curse.

It appears that Mulchay can't escape his past. Where the likes of Riddley Scott have progressed beyond their origins, Mulchay (much like McG) seems intent on producing nothing more than theatrical length music videos.

And, much like Highlander 2, this latest film in the Resident Evil franchise is a turkey...

However, it would be remiss of me rest the blame squarely on Mulchay's shoulders. Paul W.S. Anderson, writer of the first 2 films, returns to pen this latest part of the trilogy.

The action takes part after the events of the second film. Umbrella Corporation has infected the world with the T Virus. The zombies still hunger for living flesh. The evil scientists are still evil.

And, unfortunately, Mulchay and Anderson still want the audience to suffer amnesia... and forget that you've ever seen Mad Max, Dawn of the Dead, The Stand...

Anderson and Mulchay have 1: Replaced the Humungi from Mad Max 2 with Zombies
2: Replaced the missle silo from Day of the Dead with Umbrella's underground lab
3: Replaced Bub from Day of the Dead with a horde of Bubs
4: Replaced the "rage virus" from 28 Days Later with enraged zombies that can run
5: Replaced Neo from The Matrix with Alice

This film just doesn't borrow from Romero and Kennedy/Miller - It breaks into their house at night and sodomises the scripts...

To completely dismiss the film as derivative tripe would be selling the film short... Where the film ultimately fails is in the finale. Based on the films unsatisfactory conclusion, it appears that the film studio also grew tired of the plagarism and, fearing a lawsuit, decided to finish the film with a rushed, tacked-on ending.

Mulchay's next project, due for release in 2008, is The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian... and I don't think the curse will be broken. He may not be Uwe Bowl, but it's a close race.