As the horror genre opens the pits of devils and demons upon us between now and Halloween, one of the first franchises to try out 3D is “Resident Evil Afterlife.” Anticipating a mountain of blood drained bodies and thirsty zombies, “Afterlife” pleasantly surprise me — after about the first 30 minutes.

When civilization seems lost, Alice ( Milla Jovovich), an apparent lone survivor, lands in Alaska seeking a land of hope. The snow and ice have not become a new beginning, but the radio voice can still be heard — a place called Arcadia is free of disease. Much like Cold War “last man/woman on earth” melodramas of the ’60s/’70s, the survivor(s) set a course for Los Angeles, where the diva heroine first makes a rooftop landing on a former prison compound.

“Afterlife” concentrates on escaping L.A., which proves juicier than the early spurting jugglers. Divas (Ail Larter joins Jovovich) outplay and out act the men of the species. It’s refreshing to see them in the slicing, dicing and kicking spotlight, rather than curling up and waiting to be bitten.

3D completes this moderately thrilling zombie feast by complimenting the end of the world imagery and avoiding cheesy movements solely designed to optimize the third dimension.

Incidentally, the following signal to hopeful survivors has its roots in a classic — the last American sub in Australia traveled to San Francisco searching for a Morse Code signal in “On the Beach.”

Contact Tony at trutherford@graffitiwv.com