Resident Evil
2026
***½
Director: Zach Cregger
Cast: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, Johnno Wilson, Will Merrick, Isla McRae, James Beaumont, Sara Paxton, Shaun W. Loeser, Magdalena Šittová, Alice Sramková
While Bryan, a medical courier, is driving along a snowy mountain road to make a delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital, he enters an area overrun by terrifying creatures. Zach Cregger's short and streamlined horror comedy is the eight feature film based on the Resident Evil video game franchise, and the first one I have seen. His take on this material has no higher aspirations than to entertain for 90 minutes, and it does just that. Bryan is a clumsy and amusing protagonist (I would be reluctant to call him a hero) who must learn to wield weapons, fight through the chaos, and survive the night. He also has a habit of constantly talking to himself, which gradually started to wear me down. The story progresses much like a first-person shooter, and the the final third, set in Raccoon City, particularly feels as though Bryan is passing through levels of the game.
