After nearly three and a half decades of trying, Zach Cregger has done the impossible and made a great video game adaptation.
Things looked bleak. “Mario” and “Sonic” movies have come and gone, reducing the iconic franchise to the level of any other 90-minute time waster. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” got two films, both of which were dumb fun–emphasis on dumb–but cluttered, nonsensical and altogether dissatisfying.
“Resident Evil” itself has a long history of failed movies, first springing forth in the early 2000s (a notoriously awful time for video game films) up to a failed relaunch in 2021. At long last, the director of “Barbarian” and “Weapons” pulled it off. How does he do it?
Step one is not trying to adapt any of the series’ stories directly but creating one that suits the cinematic medium. Bryan is a deliverer of medical supplies, a simple gig that leaves him perpetually underappreciated by others (the opening scene is the most hilariously accurate depiction of nurses treating workers as beneath their notice that I’ve ever seen).
One night, he’s paid double to deliver a mysterious package to Raccoon City–which should clue fans of the game as to where things are headed. He drives out onto the icy roads to deliver the goods and return to his pregnant wife as quickly as possible, but crashes into a mysterious passerby who seems… off. Little does he know how off she is, or what horrors the night has in store for him.
I had no knowledge of “Resident Evil” prior to watching this film; I consider myself more of a “Silent Hill” type. Regardless, I found myself instantly smitten. From my understanding, “Resident Evil” pulls from the general idea of the games along with some familiar locales, but the core story is all new.
Because of this, you never feel like you’re missing context from the games. What sparing in-jokes there are purely add to the experience for longtime fans without isolating those unfamiliar. It’s a tricky line to walk, as video game movies have made the missteps of both devolving into easter egg compilations and capturing virtually nothing of the source material. But Cregger did his homework as both a player of the games and as a filmmaker.
The next great decision: make the audience feel like they’re playing “Resident Evil.” “Resident Evil” follows Bryan with laser-focus precision, many times simulating a third or first-person perspective on him.
The movie puts you in his shoes on a near-literal level, recreating what makes horror video games so effective. You peak around the creaky trailer from his eyes. You worry about just where exactly that zombie could be as Bryan swings around his gun in fear. Cregger, crucially, doesn’t just adapt the game itself, but the experience of playing the game.
Complementing this is a great performance from the always likable Austin Abrams, a “Weapons” alumni with a long career ahead of him. For at least two thirds of “Resident Evil,” Bryan’s basically by himself as he fends off monsters, a tall order for any actor to pull off.
Abrams is tasked with, in a sense, portraying a player of the “Resident Evil” games, terrified but prone to pointing out the absurdity of what he must endure (and dropping countless F-bombs along the way). Also, he’s kind of an immature loser. In many other hands, he’d be grating and obnoxious, and the movie would have died faster than the infected. With Abrams, Bryan comes across as dorky but utterly charming and rootable.
Cregger continues to prove himself as horror’s most promising director, now three for three for films that hit with critics, audiences and the box office. Here, he might be at his most confident. The tension is relentless, but he keeps the tone squarely in the tier of “bloody good time.” The endless fight for survival, the nausea-inducing tentacles/misplaced teeth/blood-soaked limbs of the zombies and our protagonist’s mounting exasperation always cohere.
Cregger knows the tropes. He knows we know the tropes. He doesn’t waste our time by pretending otherwise or pointlessly dancing around them. What Cregger does is barrel right on through and gives us an edge-of-your-seat blast.
“Resident Evil” doesn’t aspire to be anything more than a great time at the movies, and you know what? That’s wonderful. We all could use an un-pretentious romp. Granted, the ending pivots from that expectation in a way that left me feeling cheated and unsatisfied. But it’s not about the destination: it’s the funny, terrifying, grotesque, awesome journey.
