Capcom’s Japanese TV commercial for Biohazard 2 — the domestic title for Resident Evil 2 — was directed by George A. Romero, shot in late 1997 in Los Angeles at the Lincoln Heights Jail, dressed as the Raccoon City Police Department. George is credited as special effects and makeup designer, responsible for the zombie horde and the practical elements built to represent the Licker. On screen, the zombies are painted in dark browns and blacks rather than bright theatrical red, with peeled latex that resembles dried, coagulated blood rather than fresh gore.
Romero’s involvement, the roughly $1.5 million budget, and the casting of Brad Renfro are independently confirmed. Two adjacent claims are not: the casting of Adrienne Frantz, and a rejected Romero-scripted Resident Evil feature that supposedly followed. Treat those two as reported, not confirmed.