Every entry in Capcom’s mainline Resident Evil video game series, even more recent departures like the seventh installment, adheres to the basic formula first introduced in the 1996 original. They begin with the slow build-up to the intense first zombie encounter, then the training wheels come off as mutating monsters get more grotesque and deadly, all while players contend with resource scarcity, puzzle solving, key and ammo hunting, and backtracking through common stages like homes, city streets, sewers, crumbling buildings, and secret laboratories.
Resident Evil set the blueprint for survival horror video games, and it’s that basic blueprint that director Zach Cregger, who co-writes with Shay Hatten, adheres to in his original story set in Raccoon City during its initial outbreak. That means that while Cregger’s Resident Evil doesn’t duplicate the games’ popular characters and story, it encapsulates the survival horror and gameplay mechanics more thoroughly than any other RE adaptation to date while welcoming unfamiliar newcomers with open arms.
That begins with Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier already dealing with relationship turbulence when he’s tasked with a last-minute rush job straight to Raccoon City. To say that Bryan is an everyman ill-prepared for the horror ahead would be an understatement, first signaled by his acceptance of the job itself that sends him up into the snowy mountains while fully aware his car isn’t equipped for those conditions.
Enter the first zombie encounter, which Cregger mines for every bit of nail-biting tension possible before unleashing the scares in earnest. It’s only the start of Bryan’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
While Resident Evil is a lean, propulsive adrenaline rush that never stops moving in its efficient 90-minute runtime, Austin Abrams is the glue that holds it all together and ensures the audience remains at the edge of their seat, anxious yet hopeful the plucky protagonist can somehow evade the next gruesome attack. Not only is Bryan the rare type of horror antagonist who can and will make the wrong decision at almost every turn, but Abrams’ natural affability injects a surprising amount of humor that acts as a pressure relief valve when the horror gets too intense. And it gets intense extremely fast. It never stops.
Zach Cregger’s intimate, less-is-more approach puts emphasis on nail-biting, visceral horror. It’s a series of terrifying escalations across multiple set pieces, emulating the game’s progression. Each comes with its own unique gory hells that introduce suitably deranged, fleshy mutated beasts brought to life via Legacy Effects‘ practical effects and Wētā Workshop‘s VFX. While Cregger and Hatten keep explanations to a minimum, their original monsters adhere to familiar G-virus tactics in ways that, as Bryan often points out, are increasingly messed up.
In true Resident Evil fashion, though, it all barrels toward a final act and set piece that’s not nearly as strong as the horror onslaught that preceded it. Even still, it leads to a thematically fitting conclusion for its lead and provides one last opportunity to dazzle with a final monster.
It is, as the games are, more about the ride versus the destination, and what a ride Resident Evil is. Zach Cregger captures the primal experience of playing the games, and it’s an absolute breathless blast. Subtle nods, like frantically searching for ammo in drawers or stumbling upon a diamond key, feel like a natural extension of this hellish journey versus overt shoehorned Easter eggs. The creature escalation and scenery changes also get translated to screen with plausibility via stunning cinematography. Cregger utilizes every scare tactic and tool in his arsenal to recreate the unease and sometimes visceral feeling of playing the games, including a brief POV switch, but the originality means it’s harder to predict what Bryan will encounter next.
That means that Resident Evil is full of surprises, Abrams’ unlikely screw-up chief among them, as well as potent scares. Cregger’s most straightforward feature yet may also make for his biggest crowd-pleaser, one that leaves its audience gasping and laughing in equal measure.
Resident Evil releases in theaters on September 18.
