After years of a beloved horror property being changed to action with the influence of shlocky films that even affected the video game series, current horror champion Zach Cregger launches Resident Evil into the realm it never should have left.
While the CAPCOM games always focused on exceptional individuals in horrifying scenarios of mutations and zombies, Cregger has leaned into a regular person encountering the nightmares unleashed by the Umbrella Corporation.
It is a massive risk by the team to use a beloved franchise and incorporating zero legacy characters, but the film does such a service to the horror of the games that I believe this Resident Evil may be the best game adaptation ever put onto film. At minimum, it is my favorite by an incredibly wide margin.
The entire movie plays out identically to the survival horror that has captured the gaming world’s love for many years. It engages the audience to the point of the separation from the screen disappears and presents an almost “choose your own adventure” structure that is so difficult to replicate. This becomes even more impressive when the horror becomes more present while equally becoming more outlandish. It would be easy to be cynical about the believability of the creatures encountered, but there is so much subtle realism and groundwork in all aspects that it builds its foundation incredibly stout.
One of Cregger’s greatest accomplishments in Resident Evil is his direct homage to the chiaroscuro that intensified the horror of the games. Playing with light and dark to toy with suspense and relying on the imagination to make many shots feel like a chainsaw would be required to cut the tension. It is bizarre to say about a gory horror film, but the cinematography for Resident Evil is award worthy on every level.
It would be a misstep to not highlight the genuinely brilliant performance of Austin Abrams (Weapons) throughout the picture. He elevated a very genuine script with emotion and reaction that would leave any sane person understanding every choice and mannerism to make even the most preposterous situation feel authentic. Horror movies don’t often include this much honest humor and heart, but Abrams and Cregger deliver.
I would love to go on about how Resident Evil took the most difficult route to making an enjoyable adaptation, but it would be dangerously close to spoiling how the film exists in congress with the game series. Gamers and horror fans alike will love the intelligence bubbling just beneath the surface. My recommendation is to see for yourself why this was made the way it was and absolutely in IMAX where even the simplest shots fill the theater with terror when it comes out on September 18th.