In Resident Evil, we follow lowly medical courier Bryan (Austin Abrams) as he’s given the seemingly simple task of transporting a valuable medical item to Raccoon City General Hospital. Unfortunately for poor Bryan, his task will take him through literal hell. Raccoon City is dealing with a deadly viral outbreak that turns the infected into terrible monstrosities. Bryan is challenged in unforeseeable ways as he will have to find a way to defend himself and protect his precious cargo during his increasingly dangerous journey.
Zach Cregger had one aim in making his take on the Resident Evil franchise: Recreate the experience of playing one of the games. He excels in his task. Watching Resident Evil is like watching a newcomer to the Resident Evil games or survival horror do a play-through. For anyone who has ever played a Resident Evil game, Cregger’s take is very entertaining, funny, and relatable. There isn’t much meat on this film. It’s pretty straight-forward as Bryan is, for all extents and purposes, the sole character in the movie. The plot is basic and simple.
Austin Abrams is superb as Bryan. Bryan is a lovable idiot and a loser. The little meat there is to this adaptation comes from his backstory. Bryan’s girlfriend, Michelle, has just found out she is pregnant. Unfortunately for her, Bryan is afraid of change. His trek through Raccoon City brings him face-to-face with rapidly changing infected. In short: Bryan’s journey is metaphorically forcing him to confront and contend with his fear of change.
It is highly entertaining to watch Bryan’s reactions to each new threat and impossible situation. It’s unfortunate, then, that he never really gets better at playing this game. He continually makes terrible decisions and costly mistakes throughout. While playing any of the Resident Evil games, you inevitably adapt and get better at defending yourself, making choices, and surviving. Not so for Bryan. He’s an idiot at the start of the film and is still an idiot by the time the end credits roll. That’s not to say he doesn’t experience some character growth and transformation, but it’s still a little frustrating to never see him fully get a handle on the art of how to survive this fresh new hell.
As previously stated, despite his flaws, Bryan is a very likable, relatable, and empathetic character. It's immense fun to watch how he deals with each escalating situation. The film is mostly accurate to the Resident Evil games. The lore presented is a tad bit spotty, but the monsters and environments feel like ones you might encounter during a play-through.
There are some Easter eggs not-so-hidden within this movie that eagle eyed long-time fans should immediately recognize. There are two notable monsters that feel like ones found in Left 4 Dead, which might upset some but I found to be thoroughly enjoyable. There’s also a scene in the first act that will likely remind most of John Carpenter’s The Thing.There are some recognizable actors in surprise roles and certain elements from the Resident Evil games make an appearance as well. Most of the effects are CGI, though practical effects are occasionally used during the third act.
The cinematography by Dariusz Wolsky is cool and fun. Resident Evil utilizes POV shots at times to mimic the first-person perspective of some of the games. Each instance of this is used to great effect and works exceptionally well. The score by Hays Holladay, Ryan Holladay, and Hays Ryan Holladay is minimalist, synth-y, and effective. It often matches the beats of the film, to the point where it can often feel like the film itself or the characters within it are moving to the rhythm of the score. The Holladay triplets previously worked with Cregger on Weapons, and I’d say the score for RE is the superior one. It’s easily worth a purchase or download.
Resident Evil doesn’t suffer from many issues. As I said earlier it is a fairly sparse tale with little meat on the bone. The film essentially throws audiences directly into the action. Here’s your main character, here’s his mission, aaaaaannnddd...GO! My biggest issue with the movie is the way it ends, which I absolutely hated. Without going into spoilers, I can understand why Cregger and co-writer Shay Hatten chose to go the unconventional route, but it doesn’t make the end result any less frustrating and disappointing.
Resident Evil garnered much backlash from “fans” after the first trailer was released. I can confidentially say these “fans” were wrong. While Cregger’s Resident Evil is far from a perfect adaptation of the beloved property, what it does well it does extremely well. It’s also often incredibly tense and scary (and surprisingly funny). Despite my opinions on the ending, this is easily the best Resident Evil movie we’ve received, and real fans should be grateful for Cregger’s gift.
4 STARS
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