Resident Evil Review: Zach Cregger Finally Lets the Franchise Be Scary Again

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil does something deceptively simple—and, for this particular franchise, surprisingly rare. It understands that the best version of Resident Evil is not a lore encyclopedia, a barrage of Easter eggs or a slick action showcase. It is the feeling of standing in a dark hallway with too little ammunition, a bad flashlight and the absolute certainty that moving forward is a terrible idea.

That survival-horror instinct powers this new, standalone story set in the world of Capcom’s games. Austin Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier whose routine delivery becomes a nightmarish race toward Raccoon City. Cregger, who co-wrote the film with Shay Hatten, keeps the premise lean and lets the dread do the heavy lifting. The result is a sharply entertaining horror ride that feels more faithful to the experience of playing the games than many adaptations that have been busier recreating their surface details.

It is not a perfect film. A few narrative swings arrive more abruptly than they should, and the movie’s attempt to give its very slight plot added emotional weight never quite deepens the story. But as a dark, nervous and often funny 95-minute trip through one bad night, it is a serious step forward for the live-action franchise.

A New Story That Knows the Games

Cregger wisely does not try to replace Leon, Claire, Jill or any other beloved game character with a look-alike. Bryan is an ordinary guy with no tactical training, no carefully cultivated cool and no clue what kind of world he has wandered into. That choice gives the movie its best weapon: the audience is generally a few steps ahead of him.

Fans will recognize the shape of the danger long before Bryan does. A location name, a mysterious delivery or an unsettling stranger can be enough to make an experienced player tense up, and Cregger knows how to let that awareness do the work. He builds scenes around hesitation, bad decisions and the grim comedy of someone realizing far too late that a simple errand has become a survival scenario.

The film is an original story, but it never feels disconnected from the games. Raccoon City, the Umbrella shadow and the escalating threat all create a familiar pressure cooker. More importantly, Cregger captures the series’ essential rhythm: explore, listen, conserve what you have and pray the next room is empty. The camera sometimes adopts a distinctly game-like point of view without turning the film into a gimmick, and the set pieces understand that anticipation is often more frightening than the reveal.

Fear First, Then the Chaos

Cregger came to this assignment after Barbarian and Weapons, and his comfort with uncomfortable waiting is the movie’s biggest advantage. He makes a barking dog, a dark doorway or a limited number of bullets feel like a genuine problem. The early stretch is especially effective because it treats Bryan’s vulnerability as the point, not an obstacle to get past before the action begins.

There is gore, creature work and franchise-scale mayhem here, but the film does not rush to spend all of its scares. It keeps returning to the uneasy thought that Bryan is making the only reasonable choice available to him and it is still almost certainly the wrong one. That is where the movie most resembles a great Resident Evil playthrough: every decision is compromised, and the relief of escaping one nightmare only puts another door in front of you.

The humor also lands more often than not. It is dry and panic-struck rather than overly self-aware, which keeps the film from drifting into parody. Cregger understands the B-movie DNA that has always been part of the franchise, but he does not use irony to stand outside the material. He enjoys the absurdity and the danger at the same time.

Austin Abrams Carries the Panic

Abrams is a smart choice for Bryan. He can play anxious, open and slightly overwhelmed without making the character irritating, and the movie needs that balance. Bryan is not meant to be a superhuman action figure; he is the person trying to keep his voice steady when nothing around him makes sense. Abrams makes the panic readable while leaving room for the audience to root for him.

The supporting cast—including Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser and Johnno Wilson—enters a more stylized version of the story, but the film benefits from the distinct energy each actor brings. Cregger keeps the movie moving rather than stopping to explain every piece of the Umbrella machinery, so the performances become part of the texture: odd, tense and occasionally very funny.

Where the Movie Stumbles

The trade-off for all of that momentum is a story that can feel a little undernourished. Resident Evil has a clear emotional idea for Bryan, but it does not always give that idea enough room to breathe before returning to the next danger. The film’s later turns are bold, and fans will have fun discussing them, yet they are more effective as genre gestures than as a satisfying payoff to everything the movie has set in motion.

That does not erase the fun of getting there. Cregger keeps the tension high, understands when to let a set piece stretch and gives the games’ signature atmosphere a real cinematic pulse. The film may be slight, but it is not disposable. It knows exactly how it wants you to feel in the moment, and it delivers that feeling again and again.

Final Verdict

Resident Evil is the rare video-game adaptation that gets the difference between copying a game and recreating the sensation of playing one. By following a new, deeply unprepared protagonist through a Raccoon City nightmare, Zach Cregger makes room for suspense, dread and pitch-black laughs instead of treating fan service as the main event. The story is thinner than the filmmaking, and the final stretch will not work equally well for everyone, but the movie is tense, inventive and genuinely scary in the ways that matter. It is easily the most convincing argument yet for what a live-action Resident Evil movie can be.

Where to Watch Resident Evil

Resident Evil is now playing exclusively in theaters. Directed by Zach Cregger and written by Cregger and Shay Hatten, the film stars Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser and Johnno Wilson. For tickets and local showtimes, visit the official Resident Evil site.