Photo Courtesy of IMDB

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Over the course of the decade, Zach Cregger has made quite the name for himself in the horror space, over just the span of a few movies. From the surprise hit of “Barbarian” to the Oscar-winning, acclaimed “Weapons,” Cregger has had a great track record in horror. As a live-action movie franchise, “Resident Evil” hasn’t exactly made the same impression. It began as a solid, if flawed first entry, which only led into a series of drastically diminishing returns. So, when it was announced within the last year that Cregger would be taking his own swing at the franchise, I was certainly interested. It’s an interest that paid off, as after seeing Cregger’s interpretation of “Resident Evil,” I can say that it’s well worth any of the hype surrounding it.  

The movie overall takes a similar structure to movies like John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York” or Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead,” in the sense that once the action begins, it never fully comes to a stop. You’ll see most of the events that Bryan, the protagonist played by Austin Abrams, is a part of over the course of the movie. However, while the movie may have the most in common with “Escape from New York” in a structural sense, Bryan is far from a stoic, unstoppable Snake Plissken, as he has much more in common with Ash Williams from “The Evil Dead,” an everyman-style character. His nature as an everyman means he doesn’t only work well as an audience surrogate, but he also reflects many people’s first time playthroughs of a Resident Evil game. He’s easily spooked, inexperienced, and swears up a storm, both to curse the threats he faces, and to revel in his successes. In Cregger’s signature style, he’s able to use this ineptitude for humor, while never sacrificing the horror of the situation. 

As is to be expected from a Resident Evil adaptation, the movie features many creative creature designs, along with many creative ways for those creatures to be removed from Bryan’s path. Many of the monsters in the movie lead to gasps from the audience I was with, gasps that were followed by cheers when those same monsters were destroyed. One recurring one will potentially remind fans of the franchise of various different ones from across the franchise. 

Furthermore, Zach Cregger injects the movie with much of his own visual flair. The direction of the movie is honestly stunning, and there are several points throughout where the style can shift from stunning, hauntingly beautiful visuals to intense action. Along with that, Cregger is able to keep the style of the survival horror games intact. At several points in the movie, the camera will shift into a third-person angle akin to many of the mainline games, and a first-person angle primarily found in Resident Evil 7 and Resident 8. While an excellent way to pay homage to those games, and keep their signature style intact, it also helps to keep up the intensity and the fear of the movie. Throughout the movie, there will be several moments where you will be counting alongside the protagonist how many bullets he has remaining, a near-universal experience among those who have played a survival horror game.  

Finally, while the movie doesn’t directly adapt the events of a singular game, it does loosely adapt the outbreak in Raccoon City as seen in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. The movie does share more in common with Resident Evil 3, as it also follows a character covering a large portion of Raccoon City with a loosely similar antagonist. (Also, a sewer section that left me feeling like I’d need to burn my clothes after it.) Fans of the franchise like me will have a fun time spotting the various visual Easter eggs hidden through Bryan’s nightmare.  

Overall, if you’re a fan of the survival horror games, or any of the movies I’ve mentioned prior, I would say that “Resident Evil” is well worth your time and money. In fact, as I’ve written this review, I’ve only wanted to go see the movie again more and more. It’s rather infectious in that way. 

– Colin Fiscus

Zach Cregger, who directed hit films “Barbarian” and “Weapons” is back and is as good as he always is. Keep in mind I have not played the Resident Evil games, so I know nothing about the games or the story of the movie. 

“Resident Evil” honestly might be the best movie Cregger has ever made! For someone who knew nothing about Resident Evil, he sure makes it enjoyable. Cregger’s go-to actor, Austin Abrams, who was also in “Weapons,” does an amazing job portraying what it would look like if an ordinary person got thrown into the world of Resident Evil. He knocked it out of the park.   

I also think that setting it in winter added a weird, cozy element to it that I didn’t think would be there. It would be the perfect movie to watch over the holiday season. Just get cozy under a blanket with some hot chocolate and enjoy it!  

I usually don’t get scared by horror movies, but this one actually scared me a few times. It also had a great sense of humor throughout it, which I did not expect at all. I thought it was going to be all serious.  

 If you’re on the fence about wanting to check it out, I would say go because I did, and I knew nothing about it, and it was awesome! 

-Hunter Eagan