Resident Evil
September 18th, 2026
MOVIE: RESIDENT EVIL
STARRING: AUSTIN ABRAMS, PAUL WALTER HAUSER, KALI REIS, ZACH CHERRY
DIRECTED BY: ZACH CREGGER
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 2 ½ STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 90 MINUTES
It feels weird to be on the outside of all the fun that everyone else is having. That’s what has happened for me with the newest Resident Evil movie, directed by Zach Cregger. There is a lot to praise about Cregger’s previous films, Barbarian and Weapons, but instead of digging deeper into his creative mind, he aims for sheer horror-action fun. The final result will certainly scratch your zombie-outbreak itch, but it is also an action movie we’ve seen countless times before. Resident Evil is a straightforward story about one man trying to survive the night, based on the beloved video games and filled to the brim with zombie gore. It’s cool, but it also feels limited.
The story begins at Point A with Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical organ courier who has just learned from his girlfriend that she’s pregnant. It’s a snowy day, but because he needs more money, Bryan agrees to deliver an urgent package to Raccoon City Hospital, regardless of the road conditions. This sets him on a journey toward Point Z, and when Bryan accidentally hits a person in the road with his car, he begins to realize that something is very wrong. Soon, he is being hunted by zombie tentacled dogs and trapped inside a terrifying farmhouse, yet he continues his pursuit of the hospital and his goal of delivering the package. Nothing can stop a motivated courier with a very important package.
As far as video game movies go, this Resident Evil is one of the better versions- not because its approach hasn’t been done before. Hardcore Henry wasn’t based on a video game, but it did many of the same things Cregger does here. Our hero picks up various weapons along the way, we’re made aware of how many bullets he has left, and he follows a predetermined path toward each new destination as if the game itself were laying out the next objective. It’s the POV cinematography that creates genuine tension, placing viewers directly in the protagonist’s shoes. But eventually, I understood the formula, and I began to feel the repetition as the story moved along.
Written by Cregger and Shay Hatten, the strongest aspect of Resident Evil is that it doesn’t feel obligated to follow the classic characters from the games. Instead, it crafts a new scenario within the structure of the video game. There isn’t much depth here, but Abrams succeeds at playing a lovable loser, making the audience laugh with his sharp quips while keeping us prepared for whatever monster might pop out next. It’s that suspension of disbelief- and the sheer stupidity of some of the characters- that will either charm audiences or annoy them. I found myself wishing Cregger had stuck with making smart, original horror films rather than diving into the IP-driven world of cinema. He has crafted a film that is both dumb action and an inventive creature feature, but I can’t help feeling there is something more interesting lurking beneath the surface.
That’s not to say that Resident Evil is a total miss. I’m not a player of the video games, so the film’s loyalty to the source material matters little to me. The truth is, at a lean 90 minutes, it’s hard to dislike something this straightforward. The creature creations are quite excellent, with humans becoming mutated globs that would make David Cronenberg proud. My disappointment comes from the fact that when Cregger delivers a powerful, Oscar-worthy film like Weapons and follows it with a straightforward video game adventure, I can’t help but feel this is a step backward rather than forward.
Resident Evil is a video game movie, and it feels like watching someone play the game. That will be fun for some, but it’s not for me. I prefer my horror to be original and thought-provoking. For now, I’ll just be on the outside, jealous of everyone else enjoying their zombie fun.
2 ½ STARS
RESIDENT EVIL IS PLAYING IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2026.
Written by: Leo Brady
