Resident Evil (2026) Columbia/Horror RT: 95 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence, gore, language throughout) Director: Zach Cregger Screenplay: Zach Cregger and Shay Hatten Music: Hays and Ryan Holladay Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski Release date: September 18, 2026 (US) Cast: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, Johnno Wilson, Emily Piggford, Jo Martin, Andrea Miltner, Sara Paxton (voice), Will Merrick, Zoe Bellas, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Griffin Newman, Magdalena Sittova, Isla McRae, Karel Dobry.
Rating: ***
Not that it’s a very high bar, but the new reboot of Resident Evil is the best of the RE movies. This isn’t a back-handed compliment either; it’s actually a pretty decent horror flick.
Although it shares the name, this incarnation of Resident Evil isn’t based on any of the Capcom video games and has no connection with any of the previous films. It’s a beast all its own. Directed by Zach Cregger (Weapons), it’s basically a fun B-level horror movie that openly borrows ideas The Thing, Night of the Living Dead and Alien. It has the zany sensibility of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2. It has frightening creature creations and buckets of gore, all served up with a knowing wink. The movie knows it’s inherently silly and just goes with it. I had a blast.
The plot is simplicity itself. Medical courier Bryan (Abrams, Weapons) is tasked with delivering a time-sensitive package to Raccoon City General Hospital during a blizzard. On the way, while distracted on the phone with his pregnant girlfriend (voice of Sara Paxton), he hits a woman who runs in front of his car. He tries to take the injured woman to the hospital only to discover his troubles are just starting.
What follows is a night of terror as Bryan fights for his survival against monsters of all kinds. It starts with the woman, continues with a mutated dog at a farmhouse and gets worse from there. I guess it wouldn’t be too much of a spoiler if I told you that the Umbrella Corporation is responsible for the whole mess.
Cregger keeps the story lean and mean at a relentless 95 minutes. He doesn’t waste time developing characters that probably won’t be around for very long. He doesn’t even tell us too much about the protagonist Bryan. All we know about his life beyond the immediate crisis is the girlfriend who just wants to have a real conversation about her unplanned pregnancy. We don’t even need to know that. It’s just a way of humanizing Bryan so he doesn’t feel like a video game character. In the role, Abrams does a good job. He doesn’t try to turn Bryan into an action hero. He’s just an ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation. It’s a very physical performance. He’s always on the move running, screaming, shooting and fighting while reacting like an ordinary guy would. It’s freaking him out and he’s not equipped to handle it. He more than once admits to not being a gun person.
The supporting cast, such as it is, includes Kali Reis (Mercy) and Paul Walter Hauser (The Naked Gun) as a couple of Umbrella employees who show up at the exact right time to offer help and an explanation and Zach Cherry (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as the scientist for whom the delivery is intended. Again, I’ll say that no one other than Bryan sticks around very long. They do well with what little they get to do though.
I took the time to talk about the acting even though nobody comes to a Resident Evil for that reason. No, they’re here for the gore and the effects. Well, let me tell you. They’re GREAT! Cregger relies almost solely on practical effects with only a few digital enhancements. He teams up with FX artist Shane Mahan to create real, tactile creatures like the one made up of different victims and the one in the sewer that turns into something(s) even more terrifying. The creature effects are reminiscent of John Carpenter’s The Thing. The gore, which is plentiful by the way, is good old-fashioned stage blood. The scene with bodies falling from buildings and splattering on impact is especially messy. Now this is what I want to see in a bloody horror movie!
I’m going to take it a step farther. Resident Evil isn’t just the best of the RE movies. It’s the one of best movies adapted from a video game (along with the recent Mortal Kombat films). To be fair, this isn’t a high bar either. Some of those movies are God awful. However, it’s significant because it shows a good movie can be made from a video game. It has the feel of a game with Bryan making his way through one challenge after another trying to achieve his objective. At the same time, it’s very much a horror movie with the “BOO!” scenes and the Carpenter-esque score by experimental musicians The Holladay Brothers (Weapons).
Admittedly, Resident Evil isn’t perfect. It’s clunky in parts and the ending leaves you wanting more. Also, it’s not as ambitious as Cregger’s other films (Barbarian and Weapons). But let me ask you this. Are we really looking for perfection here? There’s nothing wrong with an imperfect horror movie as long as it’s fun and entertaining and maybe even a little scary. I enjoyed Resident Evil thoroughly. I hope it does well enough to get a sequel. I want to see where it goes from here.
P.S. There are no mid or end credits scenes so there’s no need to hang around. When it’s over, it’s really over. Go home.
