Cregger's "Resident Evil" ditches the icons and still nails the vibe

Let’s talk about the new Resident Evil (2026). While I don’t claim to be the biggest Resident Evil fan, I can comfortably say I’m at least well acquainted with the series. I haven’t ever beaten one of the games in my own right (unless you count the rare Japanese-only Code Veronica Arcade Machine), but I’ve watched several of them played to completion through my friends.

I can also say that I’ve watched almost all of the movies as well, many of them in theaters. Mainly the Paul W. S. Anderson ones, which are mostly just outright awful. Same can be said for Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City too. Granted, I liked that one more; it’s somewhat of a guilty pleasure nowadays.

Naturally, when a new film was announced, it only seemed fitting that I would once again be back in theaters to catch it when it dropped. Helen and I opted to catch the opening night showing at the local Marcus Cinema on IMAX. We snagged a small poster on the way in to the show and then managed to track down the lunchbox at a nearby theater since ours was sold out. It was only $12, which was a phenomenal deal considering most merch like this is double, if not more.

Among the interesting details revealed for the film was the project being attached to director Zach Cregger. The Whitest Kids U’ Know alum has become known for his recent pair of successful horror films, Barbarian and Weapons. I’ll be completely honest when I say that I was firmly mixed on both of the films heading into this week.

Cregger has something of a signature style that is a blend of dark comedy, gore, and impeccable visual storytelling. However, there was just something about his movies that didn’t initially land well with me, but I’m starting to come around on it. It took me up until a recent rewatch of Barbarian combined with seeing this movie to understand that Cregger is somewhat of a modern Sam Raimi. Framing his movies in that context has changed my perspective a bit and opened my opinion up a lot more. I still think he’s a bit weak in the ending thirds of his movies; ideas tend to be a little underbaked. But I digress, perhaps I’m also due for a rewatch of Weapons as well.

Anyway, shifting the focus over to his newest flick and without diving too much into spoilers, the movie can be summed up as the story of Bryan, a medical delivery worker who is tasked with a mysterious priority gig to everyone’s favorite apocalyptic hellhole - Raccoon City. Early on, Bryan is subjected to a rollercoaster of events that take place over a single night. The main protagonist is something of an Everyman. His relatability is palpable throughout the film in a way that I can only describe as what happens if you literally dropped a video game fan into a literal horror game. His reactions and comedic timing drive a lot of the storytelling since he is effectively the only character for large portions of the film. Some of that may rub audiences the wrong way if they’re expecting a more pure horror romp, but I didn’t mind and clearly neither did the theater I was in as several moments got genuinely loud laughter across the auditorium. Again though, that might not be for everyone. Your mileage may vary.

The pacing of the comedy is actually pretty consistent throughout the film, but so are the scares. While it mostly likes to rely on jumpscares, it wouldn’t be completely fair to say that’s the only way it gives you any sort of terror. Several moments in the movie do like to chew on the scenery and generate some tension as well. It’s not a one-trick pony; I’d say the film is fairly well-balanced in many of its nuanced aspects. It even hits on a few touching aspects that I won’t go into depth on, but given my age and current mindset about my future, it hit me hard.

While the movie obviously shares the title of Resident Evil, most of the similarities are limited to some well-placed references along the overall theme. The movie is not a straightforward adaptation of any of the games. The closest iteration it can be tied to is a partially reimagined version of Resident Evil 2. The characters and story are completely original to this iteration outside of the notable presence of the Umbrella Corporation towards the midway point and onwards.

This was a sticking point with much of the fanbase when more of the movie was revealed through interviews and teasers. I’m not in that camp though; I think it was a bold and nice move to stay out of the lane of the pre-established character pool. If it were someone like Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, or Leon S. Kennedy, there would no doubt be conflicts about whether the character was represented accurately. All of the live action movies have struggled with this in some capacity. To pull a character out of thin air and try to make a story about them is very much akin to what Resident Evil 7 did with another random guy in Ethan Winters, which was another move that initially rocked some boats with the fanbase.

If you’re not intimately acquainted with the series, it honestly won’t bother you. But for fans sitting on the fence, you shouldn’t let it bother you either. It still feels like Resident Evil: the atmosphere is on-point, the grinding game-like conflict resolution is like what you’d deal with in the games, and the T-Virus mutations/monsters like the Katamari Ball of Death and the (attempting to avoid spoilers here) ending monster are very much like the Nyx and William Birkin. The biggest thing to look past is the fact that they effectively soft-rebooted Raccoon City into the modern timeline since it doesn’t have, well ya know, a giant nuclear crater in it.

I personally find it to be small potatoes comparatively. The movie is objectively a good one; it does everything it needs to do, which is why I’ll leave it with a final score of 8/10. I’m already looking forward to rewatching it.