I’m a big fan of (nearly) all the Resident Evil video games and I probably should be ashamed about how many hours I’ve spent playing them (particularly part 4 & its remake). If you follow these pages you probably also know I think Zach Creggers’ BARBARIAN (2022) & WEAPONS (2025) are top tier when it comes to modern horror (I may have even spent most of last year obsessed with the iconic character Aunt Gladys and pretty much filled KT’s Instagram with back to back photoshopped tributes to her). All this to say I was very much looking forward to the new RESIDENT EVIL film. Cregger had kindly warned in advance that he wasn’t going to concentrate on beloved characters from the game series but would rather tell his own original survival story. Thankfully, that turned out to be a great idea because this movie delivers a purely unique vision of horror and is a contender to be my personal favorite in an unprecedented banner year for the genre (it certainly will be the film I will return to the most). This tour de force is truly something to behold; it’s sorta like DAWN OF THE DEAD meets AFTER HOURS (lead actor Austin Abrams even looks a bit like Griffin Dunne) meets THE THING (’82) & THE BLOB (’88) with a little bit of Lovecraft leaning WE LOVE KATAMARI thrown in.
Poor, put upon courier Bryan (Abrams) makes the rookie mistake of being a nice person and agrees to make one last delivery of a mysterious (and game accurate) package to a hospital in the notorious Raccoon City. He has recently heard news from his girlfriend (voiced by Cregger spouse/horror royalty Sara Paxton) that she may be pregnant so it’s likely he imagines that he’ll need some extra money in the future. Interestingly, much of the perpetual horrors he’ll soon encounter appear to be ripped directly from his psyche and grotesquely mirror his anxieties of becoming a parent, growing older, and being forced into new responsibilities. En route, a crazed woman jumps in front of his car on a dangerously snowy road and of course Bryan’s goodhearted nature is to help her. Unfortunately, as per life, his penchant for proving he’s up to the task and doing the right thing only snowball into increasingly terrifying and surreal monster strewn nightmare predicaments. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished (although usually the penalty doesn’t involve so many tentacles).
Now, when I mentioned before that I play the RESIDENT EVIL games repeatedly I sorta left out the part that my skill level is highly questionable or at least uneven. I’m not one of those sharp shooter guys that can plow through and own the game with ease. I’m more the type to freak out and get incredibly lucky once in awhile and see the closing card reading “YOU DIED” or “YOU ARE DEAD” often. Therefore, I really relate to and appreciate Cregger’s approach, he does a masterful job of putting the viewer right into the heart of the frequently exasperating events.This movie bypasses the usual heroics of previous RE adaptions (no shade to that fun series) and resembles how an ordinary person might react when faced with overwhelming situations. The result is, it’s more like actually playing a game than any other previous game based movies that I can think of; drawers are empty, weapons are scarce and the perfect shot is not guaranteed. Helping the relatability factor to the nth degree is Abram’s incredible performance as Bryan. He’s hilarious, sympathetic as hell and he’ll no doubt be remembered as one of the most lovably human characters in horror. He even has a little winter hat with sheep on it and places a seatbelt around the vulnerable parcel! Movies need more Bryans and frankly so does the world.
