The Resident Evil franchise has been through quite a few iterations over the years. We’ve gotten the Mila Jovovich films, animated movies, a Netflix series, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Now, director/co-writer Zach Cregger (Barbarian) is unleashing his own brand of horror on Raccoon City with Resident Evil. This time, Cregger strips things down to the bare essentials, delivering an unapologetically lean, mean survival horror movie that feels like it understands what makes the games so damn fun. And, of course, he adds plenty of zombies, monsters and twisted situations waiting to ruin someone’s day.
The film is set in modern times and centers around Cregger alum Austin Abrams (Weapons), who plays Bryan, a medical courier on his way home to see his girlfriend after dropping off his last package. But when he gets an enticing offer to drive a time-sensitive package to Raccoon General Hospital in Raccoon City, his ordinary night takes a very different turn. What ensues is a hellacious thrill ride filled with blood, freaky mutations and a third act finale that is sheer carnage and mayhem.
But what really makes Cregger’s Resident Evil stand out is just how much he simplifies things. Instead of following several characters on a mission to take down the Umbrella Corporation, only to watch them be picked off one by one amid explosions, elaborate fight sequences and sequel setups, Cregger’s Resident Evil gives exactly what Resident Evil was from the very start: pure survival horror. It’s simply about one character trying to survive a horde of unspeakable evils.
So, ultimately, is the new Resident Evil worth a trip to the cinema? Yes. But much like the video games, proceed with caution. If you’re going in looking for familiar video game characters like Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine or Claire Redfield, you won’t find them here. What you will find is a fresh original story set in Raccoon City that still has all the things you’ve come to love about Resident Evil.
The movie is loaded with cool callbacks that’ll have you pointing at the screen thinking, “Look, there’s the typewriter!” Or “There’s a green herb!” Cregger doesn’t hold back when it comes to the weird mutations and general nightmare situations he throws at Bryan. Some are genuinely pulse pounding, while others feel like they were pulled straight out of the games and dropped into the movie. The pacing allows enough time for a horrifying moment to land before giving you another one. The practical effects throughout are well done, and the terrifying creatures that Bryan encounters show up when you least expect them, which adds a lot of great moments.
And thankfully, Abrams is at the center of all this chaos. He absolutely carries the film as Bryan, an average joe trying to deal with his own personal matters with his girlfriend when he, unbeknownst to himself, drives directly into a situation from hell. What makes Bryan’s character work so well is that he isn’t some badass, unstoppable action hero who suddenly knows exactly what to do when sh*t hits the fan. Instead, Bryan is a regular dude who gets thrown into an increasingly insane nightmare, navigating frustrating moments that’ll have you yelling at the screen, telling him to run or asking what he’s thinking, as he does make some questionable decisions, like putting a bleeding zombie woman into his car.
Abrams completely sells it. He brings a natural vulnerability to Bryan that makes you feel like you’re experiencing this bizarre journey right beside him. He also has great comedic timing that never takes away from the fear and terror surrounding him. One minute you’re laughing out loud, the next you’re sitting on the edge of your seat wondering if he’s actually going to make it out alive.
That feeling of being right there alongside Bryan is also a credit to Cregger’s fantastic direction. Cregger constantly plays with the perspective in ways that keep you wondering what the hell could be lurking around the next corner. One moment, he’s using tight, uneasy camera angles that make even an empty room feel dangerous, and the next, he’s framing the action in a way that feels like you’ve stepped into the video game and you’re watching Bryan bring it to life. From finding shotgun ammo to stumbling across areas that are locked and realizing you need to find a key, this movie reeks of the little details that make the Resident Evil games so freaking addictive.
And then there are the jump scares. Cregger gets surprisingly creative with them, using the camera and the environment to make you think you know where the scare is coming from before pulling the rug out from underneath you. The best one comes inside a bedroom, and Cregger knows just when to make you think a character is safe before reminding you that this is Resident Evil and no one ever is.
Extra kudos goes to composers Hays and Ryan Holladay who create a killer score for Resident Evil. Written in collaboration with Cregger, the soundtrack adds an awesome layering of eerie horn sounds that have a melodic tension that helps escalate the horror in every scene. Cregger and the Holladay brothers previously collaborated on Weapons, and that chemistry clearly carries over here.
Overall, Resident Evil is a bloody good time at the cinema. At 95 minutes, the film gets straight to the point pretty quickly and doesn’t really let up until the credits roll. Austin Abrams is an absolute delight as Bryan, combating the forces of evil. Hopefully, Cregger’s film garners enough attention that we’ll get to see him unleash this crazy world on us again with a sequel.
