‘Resident Evil’ review: Zach Cregger’s masterful love letter to the games

Movie review

Some might consider me a “Resident Evil” fan. I’ve been playing the games since “Resident Evil 4” released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2005, and have played just about every game in the series since. I’ve watched every movie and show, live-action and animated, since the Milla Jovovich-starring original movie premiered in 2002. I own collector’s editions, statues, box sets — you name it. So trust me when I say this: The new live-action “Resident Evil” movie is the best nongame entry in the franchise, bar none. It’s also one of the best films of the year.

Directed by Zach Cregger of “Weapons” and “Barbarian” fame (he co-wrote the script with Shay Hatten), “Resident Evil” strikes the perfect balance between homage and creative license. The film tells an original story that happens parallel with the events of the “Resident Evil 2” game (though set in modern day, rather than 1998). Medical courier Bryan (a gut-bustingly hilarious Austin Abrams, who also starred in “Weapons”) is already having a tough night: His girlfriend tells him she’s pregnant, he can’t get a proper signature on whatever he just delivered last — maybe a kidney, maybe a liver — and he’s very clearly over it all. But then he’s offered some serious cash to take a Very Important Package to Raccoon City General.

If you’ve played the games, you probably have a good idea of what happens next. (Not that you need to have played the games or seen the previous movies to understand and enjoy this one.) And for the most part, you’d be correct: Bryan just wants to complete his delivery, but an outbreak has turned people and animals into nightmarish monstrosities hellbent on killing him in increasingly gory ways, and it means Bryan’s night is about to get a whole lot worse.

But it’s how Cregger tells Bryan’s story that makes the film so bloody fantastic — and surprisingly funny. Bryan is no Leon S. Kennedy, super-competent protagonist of “RE2,” and that’s a good thing. When Leon roundhouse kicks a zombie in the face, that’s awesome, but not really practical for your everyday guy. When Bryan misses all his shots and screams artless vulgarities at the relentless monsters tailing him and cries in the face of impending death, that’s relatable. He’s more hapless than hero, but he feels so much more real for it, even if he’s in a world where a dog’s face can sprout tentacles. 

Then there’s the comedy. It’s honestly shocking how funny this movie is — even more so that that humor doesn’t distract from the horror. “Resident Evil” never stops being scary, but it rarely stops making you laugh. It revels in absurdity from its unnerving start to its unexpected gut-punch of a finish — Bryan’s reactions to the nonsense happening around him are absolutely justified — but so does its namesake. Remember, this is a video game franchise in which someone can punch a giant boulder into a river of lava as he’s fighting a mutated superbeing, but can’t deal with a simple padlock without the right key (one of a few ongoing canon-related gags in this movie that lands every single time).

Cregger is rightly judicious with those kinds of “RE” Easter eggs. This is as far from fan service as you can get in what’s now the second live-action reboot of the movie franchise (2021’s “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” is as soulless as its undead monsters), but there’s enough to make game fans point in recognition.

Cinematography and score play an important role in linking the movie to the games. Director of photography Dariusz Wolski’s camera work, which bounces between first person and third person, often makes you feel like you’re playing a game, something that should be gimmicky but instead just further sucks you in. And its restrained use of light and color — red primary among them — makes it all the more impactful in a film that’s dark both visually and thematically.

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And the score? A little more drum-heavy than a typical “RE” game, but heart-poundingly tense all the same. 

At a taut 90 minutes, “Resident Evil” is everything I’ve ever wanted in a “RE” film: It’s scary, it’s clever, and it feels like it could be an “RE” game but doesn’t just do a shot-for-shot remake of an already existing game. It’s easily the best “based on a video game” movie I’ve ever seen, and it adds to a year already stuffed with fantastic horror releases. Fan or newcomer, go see it, and thank me later (after your heart has stopped racing, anyway).

‘Resident Evil’ ★★★★ (out of four)
With Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson, Paul Walter Hauser. Directed by Zach Cregger, from a screenplay by Cregger and Shay Hatten, based on a video game franchise by Capcom. 90 minutes. Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore and language throughout. Opens Sept. 17 at multiple theaters.

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