"Resident Evil" REVIEW

Published on 9/20/2026 

Written by: Braylon Mitchell 

Directed by: Zach Cregger 

Cast: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, etc. 

Plot: Follows a hapless courier tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. He soon finds himself caught in the middle of an outbreak and must fight through hordes of mutated creatures to survive.

REVIEW 

When it comes to the Resident Evil franchise, the video games and the Milla Jovovich film franchise, I had about as close to no prior connection or exposure as I could. Therefore, heading into this film I didn't have the exact anticipation or expectations I'm sure many familiar with the games/movies have. However, I'm not uneducated when it comes to the growing filmography of Zach Cregger—writer/director of 2022 sleeper horror hit "Barbarian" and Oscar-winning 2025 phenomenon "Weapons". Cregger is a filmmaker who's already left a mark in establishing himself as one of Hollywood's hottest young directors and a major player in the field of 2020s horror movies, branding his style around an absurdist sense of comedic leverage and an eager strife for the type of shock value that gets audiences squirming in their seat. It's no surpise to me, espeically only a little over after a year since the release of "Weapons", that Cregger continues to advance as a filmmaker and solidify that he's here to stick around. Taking on a property as popular as Resident Evil and having the automatic targeted expectation to flop that most all video game adaptations have floating over their heads is no easy feat, but Zach Cregger pulled the trigger and for the most part landed a headshot. Brisk within its hour-and-a-half runtime, this film's biggest strength is its simplicity. Within the first ten minutes or less than that we're introduced to our protagonist, he's given a goal/mission, personal motivation is established, and he's set off on a night of intense escalation that's so chaotic it's funny. There's not much to the plot, but what's there is strongly utilized. Cregger has a knack for making his horror films borderline, or full on, horror comedies—that's the case with this one, as humor is very prevalent throughout. A lot of the comedic drive and relief simply comes from the hilariously fed up attitude that our protagonist Bryan (played brilliantly by Austin Abrams) has towards his situation; his reactions and line deliveries hilariously sell all of the comedic value attached to following the film through the perspective of an everyday idiot. The humor is so much of this film's identity, that when the humor starts to dip a bit into being laid on too strongly after the knockout first act, my overall impression of the film did as well. Not to say after the first act the film gets significantly worse—it certainly maintains the same level of craft, tone, and dedication—but the first act of the film in particular is so strong on so many levels, that the rest of the film can't compare. I had a blast with "Resident Evil"; it's another thrilling roller coaster of a film from Zach Cregger and one that I'm eager to recommend to horror fans. 

THREE BEST ELEMENTS

• Austin Abrams' performance. His performance as the druggie in "Weapons" was a fan-favorite aspect of the film for sure, and it was absolutely the right decision to cast him as the lead of Cregger's next film. He is flawlessly cast in this role as a reliable guy who's loveably ticked off and stupidly resilient. He plays this idiot character with all the dedication of an idiot, and it's hilarious. Abrams carries this film on the back of his excellent performance, comedic as hell with just the right amount of emotional pull. Loved this performance so much.  

• Zach Cregger's direction. As I alluded to in my review quite strongly, I hope, I'm a fan of Cregger's brand of direction and how much he's made a name for himself in Hollywood as a prominent new horror director. 

• The cinematography. The camera-work very much makes the film feel like you're watching a video game level with it's impressive long takes and useage of POV shots. The lighting is great, especially in the first act which uses a lot of car headlights. 

WORST ELEMENT 

• The second and third acts of the film aren't as strong as the excellent first act, especially once the reliance on a certain plot device in the final twenty minutes or so soured the film for me. The ending isn't as solid as it could've been either. 

RATING

7/10

If you're a horror fan you've got to watch it, buddy!