Resident Evil finally hits screens this week, and the early reviews are in. Horror director Zach Cregger has made a movie that critics say channels the spirit of the Capcom games without getting bogged down in their minutiae. The film currently sits at 96 on Rotten Tomatoes, and almost nobody hated it.
The movie follows a medical courier named Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, who stumbles into a zombie outbreak during a delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital. Cregger dropped some of the comedy from the theatrical version after test audiences gave feedback, which suggests the film leans heavily on Abrams carrying the emotional weight.
Cregger’s Vision For The Screen
David Ehrlich, writing for IndieWire, praised the film’s approach to merging video games and cinema. “This is I.P. cinema with vision and verve… This is how movies and video games can merge in a way that makes them stronger for sharing their DNA rather than disfiguring them both,” he wrote.
Jesse Hassenger, writing for The Guardian, noted the film’s single-minded focus. “Resident Evil has a streamlined single-mindedness, and as it barrels through its gamified plot, the tension and entertainment value never flag,” he wrote.
Cregger’s previous work includes Barbarians and Weapons, and critics say he understood the assignment. The movie benefits from his sensibilities, according to Tom Jorgensen of IGN. “With a laser focus on putting its hero through the worst night of his life, Resident Evil is a simple and exciting survival horror story that benefits greatly from Zach Cregger’s sensibilities,” Jorgensen wrote.
Abrams Carries The Weight
Abrams is on screen for pretty much every minute of the film, and critics credit him with owning the role entirely. Liz Shannon Miller, writing for Consequence, said his performance is key to the movie’s success. “Beyond a clever script and nuanced direction is star Austin Abrams. He’s not the only actor to appear in this film — Zach Cherry, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kali Reis of True Detective: Night Country also star,” she wrote.
“But he’s on screen for pretty much every minute, and owns it entirely. Bryan’s far from a perfect guy, making plenty of bad decisions out of frustration or flat-out fear, but right from the beginning he demonstrates a genuine urge to be a good person, keeping us invested in his survival.”
Miller’s review focuses on Abrams’s range, noting that he plays a flawed character who still earns the audience’s investment. She describes Bryan as someone who makes plenty of bad decisions out of frustration or fear, but shows a genuine desire to be a good person.
The Review Split On Tone
Not everyone is convinced the movie holds together at full scale. Jacob Oller, writing for The AV Club, found that the film’s momentum falters once it enters Raccoon City proper. “It’s when Resident Evil heads into Raccoon City proper as Bryan’s final run of the day takes on world-altering significance, that it threatens to get away from its creator,” he wrote.
“The momentum hitches and idles, making too much time for extended riffing, unearned emotion, and embodied sub-Cronenbergian themes. The effects, which start off as sinewy, Thing-adjacent organic messes, then morph into unwieldy blobs of pixels, mimic the narrative.”
Oller describes the effects as shifting from organic, Thing-adjacent messes into unwieldy blobs of pixels, mirroring a narrative that loses clarity. He notes that a confident camera that swapped between coy third-person and bodycam-like perspectives loses its clarity in the escalating FX spectacle.
The Wrap’s Big Picture Take
William Bibbiani, writing for The Wrap, argued that the film succeeds precisely because it captures what playing a classic Resident Evil game feels like. “Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil isn’t just a great video game movie. It’s a great movie. It’s an explosive horror experience which, unlike every other Resident Evil adaptation, captures the strange dichotomy of this popular video game series,” he wrote.
“It starts out terrifying, gradually becomes ridiculous, and totally gets away with that tonal shift. It may not be a faithful adaptation of a classic Resident Evil storyline but it’s a faithful adaptation of what it feels like to play a classic Resident Evil game.”
Bibbiani’s review frames the film as a faithful adaptation of the player experience rather than a literal retelling of a classic storyline. He credits Cregger with capturing the series’s strange dichotomy, moving from terrifying to ridiculous while maintaining its explosive horror.
The Guardian’s Journey Concern
Hassenger raised a concern about Bryan’s character arc. He notes that Weapons had a creepy, evocative aversion to simple metaphorical reads that ultimately increased its effectiveness; the same isn’t quite true here. “Resident Evil foregrounds one obvious bit of character change for Bryan, but after doing a great job making us care about him for more than 90 minutes, Cregger seems to abandon him a few steps shy of completing any real journey,” Hassenger wrote.
“Is he awaiting a level up that never arrives? Hard to say. But maybe bringing a video game sensibility to the big screen while keeping any gamer cheesiness on the margins is journey enough.”
Hassenger’s concern is that Cregger sets up Bryan’s development but never finishes it. He wonders if Bryan is awaiting a level up that never arrives, and suggests that simply bringing a video game sensibility to the big screen while keeping gamer cheesiness on the margins might be enough of a journey.
The Effects And The Puzzles
Ehrlich praised Cregger’s attention to local geography, comparing it to creating an invisible mini-map for the audience in real-time. “Cregger ensures that we’re always acutely aware of where Bryan is in relation to where he’s going and whatever’s trying to kill him, and that attention to local geography — per the rhythm of the games — allows the movie to derive its scares from the process of getting from one place to another instead of alternating between exploration and combat,” he wrote.
“Case in point: This movie boasts some of the grossest monsters you’ll ever see on screen, but its hero’s most terrifying nemesis might be the padlocks that block his progress at every gate. The answers to Bryan’s problems are never far out of reach, but solving easy puzzles under pressure is as Resident Evil as it gets.”
Ehrlich’s review highlights the film’s commitment to the franchise’s core mechanics. He notes that the hero’s most terrifying nemesis might be the padlocks blocking his progress, not the monsters themselves.
Macabre Daily’s Mixed Feelings
One reviewer expressed reservations about the film’s tone. “I don’t dislike that Resident Evil is funny, but I also don’t jive with how unserious the whole movie is,” they wrote. “The moments of tension are often interrupted with a zinger of some sort that not only takes you out of the moment, but often doesn’t land with the intended impact.”
“It’s a shame, because there are some outstanding setpieces in the first house Bryan encounters, but the closer he gets to his goal, the more absurd and messy things become.”
Kotaku’s review acknowledges that the film has outstanding setpieces but worries that its tone undermines its own scares. They note that the closer Bryan gets to his goal, the more absurd and messy things become.
The Bottom Line
Resident Evil is a strong adaptation of what playing a classic Resident Evil game feels like. It’s a confident, funny, focused movie that respects the source material without obsessing over its minutiae. The film’s 96 on Rotten Tomatoes is a reflection of that critical response.
Critics are right to celebrate Cregger’s vision and verve. This is how movies and video games can merge in a way that makes them stronger for sharing their DNA rather than disfiguring them both. The movie hits screens this week, and the reviews are pouring in.
- Rotten Tomatoes: 96
- Critical reception: Mostly positive, with a few caveats
- Lead actor: Austin Abrams
- Director: Zach Cregger
- Setting: Raccoon City General Hospital
The reviews are early, but the splits are visible. Some reviewers love the film’s confident, single-minded approach, while others worry it loses focus in Raccoon City. Those disagreements are worth noting, but they don’t change the overall picture.
The question of whether Bryan completes his journey is open, but the ride so far is worth the ticket.
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