Resident Evil Movie Review: Zach Cregger's 97-Minute Monster-Filled Good Time

Resident Evil is a 2026 survival-horror film directed by Zach Cregger, who co-wrote the screenplay with Shay Hatten. Starring Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson and Paul Walter Hauser, the film offers a new take on the popular Capcom franchise rather than adapting one specific game. It released in theatres on September 18, 2026, with a 90-minute runtime.

The film follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier whose routine delivery sends him into a terrifying night in Raccoon City. Cregger combines gruesome creatures, jump scares, dark comedy and a video-game-inspired structure to create a fast-moving creature feature. While the second half loses some of the momentum built early on, Resident Evil largely succeeds as a fun and chaotic horror ride.

Resident Evil Movie Details

Resident Evil Story Overview

Bryan (Austin Abrams) works as a medical courier and is trying to get through an ordinary night. He accepts an important delivery to Raccoon City, expecting to complete the job and return to his girlfriend. Instead, the journey quickly turns into a nightmare. Bryan encounters strange people and increasingly disturbing creatures as he makes his way through the deserted city.

What initially appears to be a simple delivery becomes a fight for survival as a terrifying outbreak unfolds around him. Bryan is not a trained action hero. He is an ordinary man who has to figure out how to survive one horrifying situation after another. The rest of the story follows his increasingly desperate attempts to complete his mission while escaping the monsters surrounding him.

Resident Evil Review: A Bloody, Fast-Paced Creature Feature

The biggest strength of Resident Evil is its simplicity. Instead of getting buried under franchise mythology, the film puts Bryan in a dangerous situation and keeps moving. The mission-based structure also gives the movie the feel of playing through a survival-horror game, with each new location bringing another challenge.

Cregger also understands how to balance horror and comedy. The scares can be genuinely nasty, but the film frequently breaks the tension with absurd situations and Bryan's reactions. That tonal shift gives Resident Evil a personality of its own.

The first half is particularly effective. The movie establishes its strange world quickly and keeps the threats coming without wasting much time. The jump scares work because the film is often more interested in making viewers wonder when something will attack rather than simply showing the monster immediately.

However, the second half is not quite as sharp. Some repetition creeps in, and the underground drain sequence stretches longer than necessary. The film also moves away from the tightly controlled tension of its opening portion as it becomes increasingly monster-heavy.

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Austin Abrams Leads a Likeable Cast

Austin Abrams carries most of the film as Bryan and is one of its biggest strengths. Rather than playing a conventional action hero, Abrams makes Bryan feel like an ordinary person who has suddenly been dropped into an impossible situation. His confusion and nervous humor make him easy to root for. Zach Cherry and Kali Reis provide solid support, while Paul Walter Hauser makes an impression despite having a smaller role.

The ensemble works well because the characters are not presented as invincible heroes. Their vulnerability keeps the danger feeling immediate. The decision to focus on new characters instead of bringing back familiar game figures such as Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield may disappoint some longtime fans. However, it also allows the movie to tell a self-contained story without requiring extensive franchise knowledge.

Horror and Visual Appeal

The film's visual approach is closely tied to its video-game inspiration. Cregger uses changing locations, mission-like objectives and increasingly dangerous creatures to make the movie feel like a playable horror experience. The creature effects, gore and production design are major attractions. Dariusz Wolski's cinematography helps create an eerie atmosphere, while the music by Hays Holladay and Ryan Holladay adds to the tension.

The VFX and creature work also support the film's increasingly wild second half. The 90-minute runtime is another advantage. The movie gets into the action quickly and rarely feels weighed down by unnecessary exposition, even if a few later sequences could have been trimmed further.

What Are The Weak Points?

• Uneven second half
• Repetitive sequences
• Limited character depth
• Missing legacy characters

Is Resident Evil Worth Watching?

Watch it if you:

• Love survival horror
• Enjoy creature features
• Like video-game adaptations
• Want fast-paced scares

Skip it if you:

• Expect game characters
• Prefer slow-burn horror
• Dislike dark comedy
• Want complex mythology

Final Verdict

Resident Evil is not a straightforward adaptation of any particular game, but Zach Cregger clearly understands the appeal of the franchise. By treating the film like a playable survival-horror experience, he delivers a compact mix of monsters, gore, scares and dark humor.

The film does lose some steam in the second half, and fans expecting familiar franchise heroes may be disappointed. Still, Austin Abrams' engaging performance and Cregger's energetic direction make this a surprisingly entertaining reboot.

Rating: 3.5/5

For viewers looking for a short, bloody and monster-filled theatrical experience, Resident Evil delivers plenty of fun.

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