2026 Directed: Zach Cregger, Written: Zach Cregger, Shay Hatten

Score 4.5/5

Hoolllyyyy what a movie. I really enjoyed this. I haven’t played many of the Resident Evil games (I only just finished Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom, 2017) a week or maybe 2 before seeing this movie), but honestly I would rather this style of video game adaptation. Something that tries to catch a vibe rather than retell a story already told better in a different medium.

It’s pretty spooky. And it’s pretty fun. Austin Abrams is fantastic as Bryan (the protagonist) here. He’s nailed a perfect blend of comedy, horror, and relatable misery. So many scenes wouldn’t work half as well if they weren’t played as they were. The cinematography was very interesting. I’ve been watching interviews and such after seeing the movie, and they talk about how the camera was meant to be reminiscent of a video game camera. It follows behind Bryan often as if a player was navigating these spaces, and swings to match his gaze as if an in-game cutscene was playing.

The story in the first half is fantastic. Still full of mystery. As the second half begins we’re given an info-dump on the why behind it all. I didn’t need the why to stay a mystery, but it was kinda the weakest part of the film for me (although talking about it after with friends, it did feel very video-gamey in a “I know you’re a nobody but you need to know these really confidential, out-of-your-league things if you’re gonna end up being the hero that saves everyone”).

I was let down by the ending a bit. Not that it was bad really, but it wasn’t, satisfying. Still, I would definitely watch this again, I had a lot of fun.