Follows a hapless courier tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. He soon finds himself caught in an outbreak and must fight through hordes of mutated creatures to survive.
I was a devoted fan of the first three RESIDENT EVIL video games: “Resident Evil” (1996), “Resident Evil 2” (1998), and “Resident Evil 3: Nemesis” (1999). Few games from the early PlayStation era were as frightening. They all used clever hardware limitations and fixed camera angles to build intense psychological dread. As the games progressed, though, I felt that they became less scary and traded the dread of a “haunted house” narrative for a more action-oriented tension.
While Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2002 big-screen adaptation was a big hit and was entertaining, the sequels were abysmal. Thankfully, co-writer and director Zach Cregger brings a fresh perspective to his big-screen adaptation, featuring an entirely original story set within the video game universe and canon. Instead of adapting a specific plotline or following established game protagonists like Leon S. Kennedy or Jill Valentine, Cregger’s version is brand new and works well as a standalone story. While no sequel has been announced yet, Cregger has said that he has ideas for where a second film could go.
The film centers on Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who gets caught up in the initial T-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City. He is tasked with delivering a mysterious medical cooler that he believes contains a human organ for transplant, but it actually holds something crucial that could change the state of the city’s outbreak. On his way from the hospital to Raccoon City, he encounters a myriad of strange beings and creatures that lead him to believe the end of the world is upon him. Once he arrives in Raccoon City, though, he is tasked with bringing the cooler to the mysterious Umbrella Corporation’s Raccoon City General Hospital, where a group of scientists eagerly awaits the delivery. But Bryan quickly learns that this task is easier said than done, as he discovers the streets and sewers are teeming with zombies and grotesque monsters.
Instead of adapting a particular game, Cregger chooses to create a brand-new story and narrative set within the confines of the RESIDENT EVIL universe. Direct adaptations invite inevitable comparisons, particularly from devoted fans eager to catalog every difference between the game and its cinematic counterpart.
The horror genre goes through cycles, alternating between major periods of creative achievement and phases of commercial decline or repetition. I think it is definitely on the upswing right now, thanks in part to Cregger himself. With the success of last year’s “Weapons” and 2022’s “Barbarian,” he has proven himself a new voice in horror, alongside fellow horror filmmakers Robert Eggers, Mike Flanagan, Ari Aster, and Danny and Michael Philippou.
In his take on “Resident Evil,” Creggers infuses it with dark humor reminiscent of Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead II.” While many filmmakers have tried, unsuccessfully, to capture that magic in their own films, none have come close. Creggers, on the other hand, doesn’t just match Raimi’s visceral gore, maniacal comedy, and inventive dark satire; he improves upon it. Star Austin Abrams delivers a performance comparable to Bruce Campbell’s physically tortured protagonist, blending serious horror with lively physical comedy. I have rarely enjoyed films in which a solitary protagonist talks to himself, as the device often feels like a cheap way to explain the character’s thoughts to the audience, but only Bruce Campbell ever pulled it off. You can now add Austin Abrams to the fold. He is not your typical action hero; instead, like Campbell’s Ash, he is an ordinary, average, and deeply unprepared medical organ courier who responds to the horrifying, game-accurate monsters with genuine panic, hesitation, clumsy firearm handling, and complete confusion. While his reactions and overall demeanor elicited much laughter from the press screening I attended, it also made him more relatable, considering everything going on around him. When in danger, his first instinct is to run away rather than face it, a reaction most people would likely share.
The creatures are also new to the RESIDENT EVIL universe, although the visual language draws heavily on the body horror, tentacles, teeth, and parasitic growth seen in the games. One creature, in particular, is a crawling mass of merged human limbs, and it is genuinely frightening at first glance. Watching the creature come together is terrifying, and the image stays with you long after the credits roll. Other creatures include infected dogs that split their faces apart, and acid-spitting mutants. The crawling mass evokes the alien organism in “John Carpenter’s The Thing,” and the film also pays homage to many other movies, including “Die Hard.”
“Resident Evil” is pure escapist entertainment, packed with outrageous scares, grotesque imagery, and inspired set pieces. Within the first ten minutes, one sequence had nearly the entire theater screaming. For a horror enthusiast, this shared reaction is part of the enjoyment. It’s been a long time since I watched a horror film this good with a packed audience, and watching and listening to them scream and shriek throughout the entire runtime was half the fun. Austin Abrams’ Bryan is an ordinary guy with a charming, Bruce Campbell-esque quality who constantly struggles to process the bizarre, horrifying chaos unfolding around him. Amid all the bloody mayhem, one scene shows him learning that his girlfriend is pregnant. While his earlier reaction to her over the phone is panic, avoidance, and a failure to give her the supportive answers she wants, the later scene has him reveal his true feelings, especially since he thinks he might not escape the zombie outbreak. It’s a surprisingly touching moment that demonstrates Abrams’ range.
I have no idea how devoted fans of the RESIDENT EVIL games will respond, but if you approach it with an open mind, then you’re bound to be amazed. I hoped I would enjoy the film, as I have with Creggers’ last two movies, but the sheer magnitude and inventiveness blew me away. There is blood, gore, savage humor, relentless suspense, and even genuine emotional resonance, and for a horror film, that is quite a feat. Now I can’t wait for Creggers’ next film, a sci-fi horror called “The Flood.”
In Theaters Friday, September 18th
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