When you bring up video game adaptations to people, it’s usually followed by negative chatter surrounding their usual failure. It’s not often that you find yourself getting a faithful adaptation, let alone one that’s even good. Recently, we’ve been lucky in the film and TV department to receive some real stars. The only problem that comes with a new Resident Evil movie is what has come before it.
Resident Evil is the one franchise that has failed to break into live-action media time and time again. Paul W. S. Anderson took it upon himself in 2002 to adapt the beloved Capcom franchise into a live-action movie series. While the film itself wasn’t anything to write home about, it spawned an additional 5 movies and also starred his stunning wife, Milla Jovovich.
After the failure of Anderson’s films, we tried again in 2021 with Johannes Roberts taking a shot. This version tried to follow the games a little bit more than the previous films but still managed to get it all wrong and relied heavily on fan service and these popular game characters selling the story.
It’s now 2026, and rising horror director Zach Cregger is the latest to attempt at making a good Resident Evil movie adaptation. After the success of Barbarian and Weapons, it was looking good that fans of Resident Evil might’ve finally gotten exactly what they’ve been waiting decades for.
It’s safe to say that Cregger is exactly what was needed to deliver that resounding success to Resident Evil, as he creates an experience that doesn’t let go of the gas from its opening minutes to the very last scene.
While Cregger has opted to not directly adapt one of the game’s stories 1:1, he’s taken it upon himself to create a story that feels like it could take place in the world of Resident Evil. A story that transports the audience into its world and makes you live the horrors of Raccoon City. We follow Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who’s tasked with taking a high-priority delivery to Raccoon City.
Instead of heading home to talk with his wife about the recent pregnancy news, he decides to take one last job for the night. A job that ends up in him running over a woman in the steep snowy roads and leads him into a journey of unrelenting terror.
Austin Abrams was fantastic in Weapons and was easily the highlight of that movie. His comedic prowess comes naturally to him and helps to elevate Cregger’s writing. Abrams brings that with him into Resident Evil, which at times works as a horror comedy, but thankfully, unlike Weapons, which struggles to balance the two genres, Cregger finally masters how to control the two without one outweighing the other.
Admittedly, the movie can be hilarious. Bryan’s reactions to the horrors around him and his anxious behavior of trying to get out of every situation he finds himself in help to build the tension in this movie. There isn’t a single moment where it feels like you can relax because even when Bryan finds himself in safety, there’s danger lurking right around the corner waiting to jump out at him.
Resident Evil doesn’t play it safe with its story, as it puts Bryan in situations that dictate the entire fate of his character. Even by the film’s end, it fully commits to these risks and doesn’t once dare go back on it.
It’s the one instance where Zach Cregger’s major flaw in filmmaking actually works for once. With Barbarian and Weapons, Cregger fails to land their third acts, and unfortunately those films begin to fall apart personally, but with Resident Evil, he’s able to stick that landing a little better and leave a lasting effect on the audience once those credits roll.
There’s a lot for Resident Evil fans to enjoy when it comes to the fan service. From the first-person shots that replicate playing the game to items such as the typewriter, shotgun shells, and green herb making an appearance. Despite the nods that make this feel like Resident Evil, it’s a film that can be watched by anyone, whether their knowledge of the franchise is strong or nonexistent.
Unlike previous adaptations of Resident Evil, Cregger opts not to include any major characters from the video games that either work for R.P.D., Umbrella, or S.T.A.R.S. The movie is honestly better off that way, as it’s able to focus on its simple point-A to point-B storyline. Bryan works as a self-insert character for the audience.
Every action he makes in this movie is exactly how it feels for a newcomer to play the Resident Evil games. As someone who’s unable to deal with the horror in those games, it felt representative of my own gameplay. Panicking, missing crucial shots, and injuring myself constantly.
The tension and anxiety that’s created from Cregger’s choice in storytelling and Abrams’s performance wouldn’t be complete without the grotesque monsters that Cregger has brought to life with the help of Legacy Effects, who helped with the creature creation.
Resident Evil has its fair share of zombies and other T-Virus-related creatures, but what we find in this film feels more similar to what we see in Resident Evil 7 and beyond. The designs are outstanding, and the VFX team does a great job of amplifying the horror and making me stay alert at all times. That with the combination of well-timed jump scares makes for an entertaining horror film, which Resident Evil is for its entire 95-minute run time.
Despite being sat down while watching this movie, it felt like I was also running from monsters trying to make my way to Raccoon City General. The horror, humor, story, tension and anxiety are blended and crafted so expertly well that Zach Cregger has managed to deliver his finest horror movie yet.
It’s his second collaboration with Austin Abrams, and if this movie has proved anything, they’re a duo that needs to return for more movies, as Abrams brings life and energy into Cregger’s script that no other actor has managed to do.
Cregger showcases how to handle a video game adaptation without touching and ruining what fans hold so dearly to their heart. Resident Evil stands tall as the best of th franchise and overall just simply one of the best video game adaptations.
