Capcom's Resident Evil series remains one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, but the property has not fared nearly as well in other media.
The Paul W.S. Anderson/Milla Jovovich movies do have their fans, but are generally viewed as throwaway time-wasters.
The last Resident Evil feature was Johannes Roberts' (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night) Welcome to Raccoon City, starring Kaya Scodelario (Crawl) as Claire Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Jill Valentine, and Robbie Amell (Upload) as Chris Redfield. It was not well-received by fans or critics.
More recently, a live-action Resident Evil series starring the late Lance Reddick (John Wick, The Wire) as Albert Wesker was released on Netflix and was met with an even worse reception.
Zach Cregger's reboot arrives in theaters this weekend, and while some gamers may not be overjoyed with his decision to avoid utilizing any recognizable characters or storylines, the filmmaker behind Barbarian and Weapons clearly understood the assignment when it comes to delivering a nail-biting survival horror experience.
Right from the start, this movie puts the pedal to the metal and barely lets up for 90 minutes, as our woefully unprepared protagonist is forced to run the gauntlet from Hell. Bryan (Austin Abrams) is a medical courier tasked with delivering what he assumes to be a vital transplant organ to Raccoon City General Hospital. After lying about his vehicle being equipped for the adverse weather conditions, Bryan begins his journey while arguing with his pregnant girlfriend over the phone. Distracted, he hits a woman who runs onto the road, and the nightmare begins.
Though there are a few surprises along the way, Cregger keeps things very simple as Bryan moves through various locations, encountering all manner of monsters (as well as a few humans) as he inches closer to his destination. Bryan isn't an idiot, exactly, but he's definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and the fact that he is so out of his depth (he can barely even hold a gun... at first) only heightens the tension.
What qualifies as "scary" will obviously vary from person to person, and while Resident Evil does feature a few creepy moments, it's having too much fun to ever feel genuinely unsettling. The movie more than makes up for this by ratcheting up the suspense to almost unbearable levels, while pummeling the audience with lashings of gore and some incredibly effective jump scares.
It takes a lot to catch this seasoned horror hound off guard, but Resident Evil got me several times, and the guy sitting in front of me at my screening spent the majority of the movie with his jacket in front of his face.
The movie is also surprisingly funny. Cregger's previous films did include some black humor, but it probably wouldn't be a stretch to describe his latest as a horror comedy. The filmmaker said that he actually cut a lot of the jokes following negative test screening feedback in a recent interview, which was probably a smart move! The comedic elements don't offset the horror to any significant degree, but a couple of gags do feel a bit out of place, especially in the final act.
Ironically enough, it's when Resident Evil does lean closer to the games (I'll need to be as vague as possible here to avoid spoilers) that the movie begins to run out of steam, and the ending is certain to split opinions. At one point, Bryan shouts "video game!" after (finally) getting a shot on target. This is a callback to an earlier conversation, but it's hard not to wonder if it may also have been Cregger's meta way of warning certain fans to be careful what they wish for.
Resident Evil is a blood-soaked blast from start to finish, and while it may not directly adapt the source material, by focusing on replicating the relentless, anxiety-inducing intensity of playing the games, Zach Cregger has delivered the faithful take fans have been crying out for.