It is unfair that so much talk about Resident Evil has to do with director Zach Cregger’s decision to tell an original story over adapting video game lore. Fans of the franchise have been waiting for a good film adaptation for years, and now that it’s here, served on a silver platter by a great filmmaker, they don’t want it because beloved video game characters like Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong are not in it.
In lieu of familiar names, the film’s protagonist is an ordinary medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams), who should be on his way home to have an important conversation with his girlfriend but instead is en route to Raccoon City to deliver a package. He’s given one chance to turn the job down, but not knowing what perils lie ahead, he goes anyway. The moment his car hits the icy road, there’s no turning back, and he finds himself being pulled deeper into the bowels (and I mean bowels) of a city that’s been devastated by a viral outbreak. But despite being ill-equipped to face danger, Bryan charges on, resolved to deliver the mysterious package and return to his girlfriend.
Cregger is just the right director for an RE film. His past work, like Barbarian and Weapons, demonstrated his ability to find the humor in all the gore and suspense of horror, which perfectly matches the game’s tone. And with this film under his belt, Cregger has been set on a trajectory towards horror auteurdom.
General cinema audiences aren’t inundated with references meant only for fans to point at the screen and go “Oooooh.” But fan service isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and the video game nerds will find that there is still a handful of gratifying moments to enjoy, with Cregger focusing on elements that call back to gameplay. For one, Bryan discards a ladder he could have used for something else (and haven’t we all done that). He also opens multiple drawers to search for ammo, and then wastes said ammo on trying to destroy padlocks. At one point, we even get a brief but thrilling sequence shot in first-person.
In this film, the jokes aren’t cloyingly quippy one-liners à la Marvel; they emerge naturally from Bryan’s stupidity and the absurdity of his situation. The film also captures the sheer nastiness of the games. Its monsters, victims of the mutagenic T-virus, are freaks of nature, chunks of human bodies threaded together by their innards, fingers and toes growing into tentacled appendages. One of Bryan’s enemies is an exaggeratedly large man not unlike Stellan Skarsgård’s Vladimir Harkonnen from Dune. His other enemy is a hospital patient who vomits highly corrosive acid.
But said monsters aren’t just designed to disgust; I also found them quite heartbreaking. One of the freakiest parts of the film is that the virus doesn’t completely take hold of its host right after they’re infected. It takes a while for a person to become a zombie, and when they do, they’re still partially conscious, the human part seeking to be saved while the monstrous part takes over. Beyond the matter of survival, the visceral and fleshy tug-of-war of the will gives the film heart and an emotional stake.
A Great Movie, A Good Adaptation
So much of what makes a great survival horror movie is the lingering suspense, and Resident Evil soaks in it. There’s enough darkness in cinematographer Dariusz Wolski’s (Pirates of the Caribbean and Prometheus) work here to incite wonder about what lies beyond the beam of Bryan’s flashlight, but you never have to squint. The film swings between dread and action, very rarely giving its protagonist — and audiences — room to breathe.
Abrams’ Bryan is also an endearing hero, an everyday man more akin to Ethan Winters when we meet him in RE7 than Leon in RE2, which is the game that this particular film parallels. He is scrawny, doesn’t know his way around a gun, and constantly makes foolish decisions. And yet we root for him and also feel exhausted for him.
The one thing I take issue with is that Kali Reis is criminally underutilized as the highly skilled and brawny Umbrella agent, Maxine. I thought that after playing opposite Jodie Foster in True Detective Season 4, more would be done with her acting skills, so it was frustrating to see her disappear just as quickly as she’d stomped onto the screen. The only way I could come to terms with her lack of screen time is that Bryan must carry out this mission alone, because it’s how the games have always worked.
Cregger’s Resident Evil is a thrilling ride the whole way through, packed with action, laughs, scares, and just enough heart. As a survival horror film, it stands well on its own. But as a Resident Evil adaptation, it’s still a fun and satisfying watch.
If there’s one thing from the games that I really wish this movie had, it’s the powerful, all-healing First Aid Med from Resident Evil Village. You’d have to watch to understand why.
Resident Evil premieres in Philippine cinemas on September 16.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil skips established characters but borrows gameplay elements and matches the games’ gore, humor, and horror tone, earning praise despite pushback from fans.
Zach Cregger, known for Barbarian and Weapons, directed Resident Evil, bringing his horror-comedy sensibility to the franchise’s signature blend of gore and suspense.
Austin Abrams plays Bryan, an ordinary medical courier turned reluctant hero, described as more akin to Ethan Winters than Leon Kennedy. Abrams also plays a supporting role in Weapons.
No. The film follows an original protagonist, Bryan, rather than adapting established game characters, which sparked some fan criticism ahead of release.
Resident Evil, directed by Zach Cregger and starring Austin Abrams, premieres in Philippine cinemas on September 16.
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