Resident Evil may not please die-hard fans, but to a casual horror consumer, it firmly hits the mark

Whether Resident Evil is loyal to its source material is ultimately irrelevant to how good the film is. The zombies wouldn’t act like that? Well, in this they do. The Umbrella Corps best agent would never get merc’d like that? Well, in this she does. Like the majority of viewers, I haven’t played Resident Evil and I don’t give a shit. I wanted a tense and terror-filled thrill ride, and I think this delivers on that hope. Resident Evil is a box office smash. It deserves to be. 

Director Zack Cregger creates a contained and immersive world in which an infectious zombie disease is sweeping Raccoon City and its outskirts. Placed unwillingly smack dab in the center of this world is an unsuspecting medical courier named Bryan, played by Austin Abrams. Bryan accepts a delivery that pays unusually well and is unusually far. What awaits him is horrific and deeply saddening, but we as the audience can’t help but keep our eyes on the disaster. Abrams is fantastic. If he wasn’t, the movie wouldn’t be able to function. His wit, physical humor, and horror-reaction acting are superb. He’s the perfect avatar for the audience without being a stock character. He’s pushing for survival, not just for himself, but for his girlfriend and potential unborn child. What unfolds throughout his story is truly compelling. 

Movies based on video games can be hit or miss, and they can sprawl in any number of directions. This one opts to place you in the POV that an actual player would relate to. Whether it’s first-person shooter frames or sequences that make Bryan feel like he’s joystick-bound, RE is built to be a video game chapter inside a movie. It makes content based on shooter games feel inauthentic by comparison. It’s just so creative. The superb craftsmanship of the design doesn’t hurt, either. 

Resident Evil isn’t just a horror flick, and it isn’t just a survival-adventure flick. It’s both of those plus an emotional (if not slightly cliché) character study. It’s a nice change of pace compared to the countless video-game-inspired films that have to (or choose to) make their protagonist a “chosen one” figure. It’ll give you goosebumps and make you laugh out loud in the same 100 minutes, and it shows that thinking outside of the box can often take you farther than sticking to what the source material provides. 

8.8/10