Imagine just doing your job and a zombie outbreak happens.
That’s what Resident Evil is. As luck would have it, something interesting happened with this film. Since Sony Pictures have owned the distribution rights for the franchise since the 2002 live-action debut, it can only mean one thing. This is now a PlayStation Production. And it might just be the best from them yet.
You’re having a falling out with your missus. The hospital isn’t signing for the organ you just dropped off. You hope there’s a chance to catch your breath. A moment to figure it out. Then the hospital offers you one more job. Double the pay. Out of zone. And make sure it’s secure.
Except you’re delivering to Raccoon City.
Which is based in the mountains.
And it’s Winter.
This is just the beginning of Bryan’s very bad, not good night. Portrayed by Austin Abrams, who appears to have entered into a great partnership with Director Zach Cregger, he’s tasked with a brilliant job from the script of Cregger and Shay Hatten. Make the inevitable seem evitable. The general audience loves Resident Evil. Which is why we’re getting another movie after the forgettable 2021 reboot. We know what goes down in Raccoon City. Therefore, Cregger and Abrams ask the audience: What if we’re not so sure what’s going to happen, happens?
We expect horror. Camp. Weird things, and verticality. And survival! Oh we want survival. Thankfully it’s delivered in spades. Which is good because our favorite card suits are one of many references throughout. To put it simply, this film feels like Resident Evil. Made by someone who ‘gets’ Resident Evil. The sheer attention to each individual choice by Bryan, feels like something that not only would take place in the game. But also in real life. And I feel like that’s something the previous films never really captured.
How strange all of it would have been.
And this is where a lot of the comedy comes from. The comedy is in the weird of it all. Why is this happening? How is this happening? Why did they do that? All carried with ease by Abrams, continuing on their very bad, not good night.
With a ballistic 90 minute runtime, Resident Evil joins OBSESSION at the top of this year’s horror films. It embraces what it is, while surprising and scaring you as much as it makes you laugh. Offering an ending which creates excitement for what else Cregger could do with the franchise, I’d love to see them continue exploring the stories we haven’t heard of or seen yet.
Thank you Zach Cregger. You did indeed, make this resident. Evil.
Cregger legitimizes himself as not only one of the best modern voices in Horror, but also as a hardcore fan of Capcom's long-running Resident Evil series. Every game gets its moment. And that final scene? NIGHTMARISH (which is to say, DREAMY).
