Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland…with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, the townspeople are forever…changed…and a small group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night.
Working with a moderate budget of $25.0M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $41.9M in global revenue (+68% profit margin).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) showcases deliberately positioned plot construction, characteristic of Johannes Roberts's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 47 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.2, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes 1998 flashback: Young Claire at the Raccoon City orphanage witnesses a disturbing girl in the hallway, establishing the horror and trauma that has haunted her. The city is already tainted by Umbrella's presence.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Claire tries to warn Chris about Umbrella's conspiracies but he dismisses her. Meanwhile, the S.T.A.R.S. Team receives a call about a disturbance at the Spencer Mansion, splitting the team. The zombie outbreak accelerates visibly throughout the city.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Claire and Leon choose to enter the R.P.D. Station basement to find answers, while Chris's team decides to penetrate deeper into Spencer Mansion. Both groups cross the point of no return into the heart of Umbrella's horrors., moving from reaction to action.
At 52 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat False defeat: The teams discover William Birkin has injected himself with the G-virus and transformed into a monster. Wesker's true allegiance to Umbrella is revealed as he betrays the S.T.A.R.S. Team. The stakes escalate from survival to stopping a bioweapon catastrophe., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 79 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Major casualties among the supporting cast. Chief Irons is killed by Birkin. The survivors are cornered with escape routes cut off. Claire confronts the infected girl from her childhood memories, symbolizing her darkest fear realized. All hope of containing the outbreak is lost., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 84 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 78% of the runtime. Claire finds evidence that can expose Umbrella and chooses to fight back rather than flee. The siblings reunite and combine their knowledge. They learn of an underground laboratory that holds both escape and the means to stop Birkin permanently. New resolve to end this., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City against these established plot points, we can identify how Johannes Roberts utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City within the action genre.
Johannes Roberts's Structural Approach
Among the 5 Johannes Roberts films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Johannes Roberts filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Johannes Roberts analyses, see The Strangers: Prey at Night, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged and 47 Meters Down.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
1998 flashback: Young Claire at the Raccoon City orphanage witnesses a disturbing girl in the hallway, establishing the horror and trauma that has haunted her. The city is already tainted by Umbrella's presence.
Theme
A character mentions that "some things are better left buried" and warns about digging into the past, foreshadowing Claire's need to confront both Raccoon City's dark secrets and her own childhood trauma.
Worldbuilding
Present day setup: Claire arrives in the dying town of Raccoon City to find her brother Chris. The city is being evacuated as Umbrella pulls out. We meet Chris and the S.T.A.R.S. team (Jill, Wesker), establish the two parallel storylines, and see the first signs of infection spreading.
Disruption
Claire tries to warn Chris about Umbrella's conspiracies but he dismisses her. Meanwhile, the S.T.A.R.S. team receives a call about a disturbance at the Spencer Mansion, splitting the team. The zombie outbreak accelerates visibly throughout the city.
Resistance
Claire reluctantly teams up with rookie cop Leon Kennedy as they navigate the overrun police station. Chris, Jill, and Wesker investigate the mansion and discover Umbrella's illegal experiments. Both groups debate whether to flee or investigate deeper as they encounter infected creatures.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Claire and Leon choose to enter the R.P.D. station basement to find answers, while Chris's team decides to penetrate deeper into Spencer Mansion. Both groups cross the point of no return into the heart of Umbrella's horrors.
Mirror World
Claire bonds with Leon as they share their motivations. Chief Irons appears as a corrupted authority figure who knows about Umbrella's secrets, representing what happens when you turn away from the truth that Claire must confront.
Premise
Classic Resident Evil horror survival: both teams explore their respective locations, solve puzzles, battle zombies and B.O.W.s (Bio-Organic Weapons), and uncover evidence of Umbrella's experiments. Claire faces the infected orphanage children, confronting her past. Discovery of the T-virus and G-virus programs.
Midpoint
False defeat: The teams discover William Birkin has injected himself with the G-virus and transformed into a monster. Wesker's true allegiance to Umbrella is revealed as he betrays the S.T.A.R.S. team. The stakes escalate from survival to stopping a bioweapon catastrophe.
Opposition
The situation deteriorates rapidly. Birkin hunts the survivors as he mutates further. Wesker's betrayal splits the team. Claire and Leon are separated in the chaos. The city-wide infection spreads beyond control. Chris and Jill barely escape multiple encounters with B.O.W.s and must survive both monsters and Wesker's manipulations.
Collapse
Major casualties among the supporting cast. Chief Irons is killed by Birkin. The survivors are cornered with escape routes cut off. Claire confronts the infected girl from her childhood memories, symbolizing her darkest fear realized. All hope of containing the outbreak is lost.
Crisis
The survivors regroup in despair, realizing the city is doomed. Claire has her dark night moment where she must decide whether to run like she always has or stay and fight. Chris confronts his failure to believe his sister earlier.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Claire finds evidence that can expose Umbrella and chooses to fight back rather than flee. The siblings reunite and combine their knowledge. They learn of an underground laboratory that holds both escape and the means to stop Birkin permanently. New resolve to end this.
Synthesis
Final battle in the underground Umbrella facility. Claire and Chris fight together against the fully-mutated Birkin. Confrontation with Wesker who escapes with samples. The team plants explosives to destroy the lab. Race against time to reach the escape train before the facility self-destructs.
Transformation
Claire, Chris, Leon, and Jill escape on a train as Raccoon City explodes behind them. Claire has faced her past and emerged stronger, no longer running. The survivors vow to expose Umbrella. A mirror of the opening but transformed: Claire is no longer the scared orphan but a fighter who confronts evil.