Resident Evil Review: Zach Cregger’s Latest is a Horror Game Come to Life

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Horror movies have never really scared me. They have their moments, don’t get me wrong, I’ll recoil at a jump scare or feel uneasy at the long walk down the hallway. But I don’t go to bed thinking that Freddy Krueger is going to pop into my dreams like some do. For me, the scariest horror media comes in the form of video games. I can’t handle being in control of it all; every little moment of terror coming directly from your own choices and movements. It is due to this that I have always avoided Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise. No matter how many people told me how good they were, I just couldn’t stomach playing them. 

However, with Zach Cregger, director of last year's box office and Academy Award winning surprise Weapons, comes a new film based on the gaming franchise — a complete reboot from the Mila Jovovich starring films of the same name — and so I forced myself through hours of Resident Evil to prepare. 

Maybe none of that was necessary, as Cregger’s Resident Evil is very much its own thing. There’s no Leon Kennedy or Jill Valentine. Instead, the film introduces us to Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier, struggling with an important decision in his relationship, who’s tasked with making one last delivery for the night. Unfortunately, Bryan has to deliver right into the heart of Racoon City, and it doesn’t take a Resident Evil super fan to know that trouble lurks there.

While not directly adapting any of the original source material, Cregger does take from the games, most notably through making his film feel like a video game. Whether it’s the choice to circle the camera around Abrams’ character like one could by moving their thumb on a controller’s right stick, or paying homage to the newer games in the franchise like Resident Evil: Biohazard and Village by filming in Bryan’s point of view, crafting wonderful horror movie tension. 

It’s not uncommon for zombie media to take itself seriously, with gritty and grounded stories, i.e. The Walking Dead and World War Z. Resident Evil rejects that notion, taking place in an environment that could only be realistic inside of a game. The gore is hyperbolic and the monsters very much are too, but this works in the film’s favour and is a true testament to its great visual effects. There were even moments that reminded me of the kind of CGI that you’d see in a video game cutscene, and though it may not sound like it, I mean this in the most complimentary way possible. 

Much too like a video game, we’re stuck with our protagonist. It’s a relief then that Austin Abrams — who after his role in Weapons is seemingly becoming a muse to Cregger — is incredibly fun to watch. He knows exactly what the film needs of him; act scared, act confused, and say ‘f**k’ as much as humanly possible. While I do think Cregger and his co-writer Shay Hatten’s screenplay at times really reaches for cheap laughs when the film would play far better as serious, there are moments when Abrams’ deliveries really do warrant praise in the form of a chuckle.

My personal favourite part of Resident Evil? The brisk 90 minute runtime. Cregger knows this film only has the legs to stand for so long, it’s where Weapons went wrong for him; the bloated film failed to live up to its great promises. But this film, you’re thrown right into it, and once the film's title card comes along, there’s no turning back, and what follows is a fast paced, anxiety filled, jumpscare packed journey with an incredible end. Imagine Scorsese’s After Hours but as a horror film…and without the sexual tension.

For anyone that may have been turned off by franchise commitment, do not fret, you don’t need to have beaten Nemesis on Inferno difficulty in the Resident Evil 2 remake to enjoy the film. But for those who have, even though it might not be the exact Resident Evil film that you super fans have hoped for, you’ll undoubtedly get a kick out of its numerous references and details.

Resident Evil opens in cinemas on Thursday the 17th of September. For tickets and more info, click here.

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