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Filmmaker Zach Cregger has carved out an impressive career as a horror auteur. After the critical and commercial success of his 2022 Airbnb nightmare Barbarian, he found award-season acclaim and box office glory with Weapons, cementing his status as a master of horror in just four years. Now the filmmaker brings his trademark dark humour to survival horror video game IP with the relaunch of Resident Evil.
Widely considered the top survival horror video game franchise, Capcom’s Resident Evil defined the genre when it launched on PlayStation in 1996. The game series follows the fight against deadly biological viruses created by corrupt pharmaceutical companies like the Umbrella Corporation, whose T-Virus outbreak effectively transforms humans and other biological matter into mindless zombies – or worse.
Taking place in the early days of the outbreak, Cregger’s Resident Evil sees medical courier Bryan (Austin Abrams) accept one last run to transport a top-priority container to the ill-fated Raccoon City.
Zach Cregger Finally Breaks the Video Game Curse
The auteur behind Weapons and Barbarian co-writes and directs a brisk 95 minutes that manages a faithful take of the Resident Evil universe while also feeling distinctly Cregger. The director’s sensibilities for horror yield a variety of encounters, puzzles and situations true to the game that serve as an excuse for some terrific horror set pieces.
Unlike this year’s lacklustre Return to Silent Hill and Sony’s recent (terrible) take on Until Dawn, Resident Evil feels immersive. Camera movement is often directly tied to character, providing point-of-view shots as Cregger toggles the joystick to maximum effect.
The straightforward narrative lends an immediate hook to the story and a clear premise that drops the audience into the world and the character’s shoes without feeling like a series of exposition-laden video game cut scenes.
Austin Abrams also gives us the perfect hero to anchor on in Bryan, a regular joe in way over his head.
It’s easily the best survival horror video game adaptation ever made – not that the bar was very high. Still, Cregger shows real gristle in adapting the IP, confidently pulling audiences into a story that advances like increasingly challenging levels of a video game.
The Darkly Funny Resident Evil Reboot Fans Deserve
Resident Evil also has way more laughs than you might expect. Which may come as a surprise, considering Cregger stated that he cut most of the jokes from the film after test audiences found it too funny. Landing on just the right playful tone, it’s reminiscent of something like Zombieland in the ways it uses humour to comment on and play with the tropes of the genre.
Fans of the video game series will note a number of effective Easter eggs. In early Resident Evil games, a player couldn’t save their progress until they found a typewriter, which turns up here.
Bryan also scavenges drawers looking for supplies and finds a box of ‘Heavy Field’ shotgun shells straight out of Resident Evil 4. Extra points to anyone who spots the green herb buckets.
The Resident Evil universe is a bleak one, but at least you’ll leave the theatre knowing the odds of making it to the car are actually pretty good.
Four Stars ★★★★ | Resident Evil is in cinemas now.
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