Resident Evil: Achievement Unlocked
By Jasmine Edwards
There is no end credits scene in Resident Evil (2026). But if I had to add one, an achievement trophy badge would pop up in the corner as the credits roll, proclaiming the film a solid video game adaptation. Admittedly, the bar is not high within the genre, yet Writer-Director Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil continues his solid run of horror films well-suited to the modern age, injecting the correct combination of silly, serious, slapstick, and scary into almost every scene.Capcom’s first Resident Evil (also known as Biohazard in Japan) game was originally released in 1996. If you’re not familiar with the lore, that’s fine; this film adaptation is set to easy mode. New fans will be delighted by the jokes and jumpscares alike, while longtime fans can look forward to references made specifically for them. The first-person point-of-view shots, meant to replicate gamers’ POVs by mounting a camera on the actor’s guns and phone, are outstanding. From visual cues to the original games, such as the save room typewriter and weaponry “level ups,” to in-world locations like Raccoon City, Resident Evil remains faithful to an established franchise without sacrificing original storytelling.
Terrified of a future with his pregnant girlfriend, the hapless protagonist agrees to take on a high-pay, high-risk job where he is unreachable. That story is good and ultimately, simple. Surrounded by action-adventure choreography and blood-soaked set pieces, it kind of has to be. As conditions worsen, Bryan (Austin Abrams) represents an intriguing and familiar dichotomy. He’s a medical courier—an objectively challenging and vital job—charged with an incredibly important mission. And he also behaves like an immature young adult. Even as signs of the outbreak, including mutated animals and shambling corpses, become increasingly impossible to ignore, Bryan tells himself it isn’t real and it isn’t happening. He prefers intentional escapism over harsh reality. He literally drives deeper into remote wilderness and an infested city in order to avoid prospective fatherhood.
Despite all this, Bryan is far from unlikable. The character is adorably naive and incompetent as he fumbles his way through an apocalypse. His charming goofball personality as well as his understandable reaction to unexpected horrors feel incredibly realistic. Abrams, of course, whose performance was an audience favorite in Cregger’s Weapons (2025), is an energetic, relatable lead. His job is a great excuse to run around and play the “everyman” goofy, young, white, male hero—until the nightmarish consequences catch up to him, of course.
In Resident Evil, Cregger and his co-writer Shay Hatten ask how far you would go to avoid an inevitable change. Would you run and hide? Stand, fight, and survive? Perhaps you won’t know until you’re backed into a corner and forced to make the decision, wasting ammo, energy, and precious time.
From Barbarian (2022) onward, Cregger’s work continuously impresses because of the subtle sociopolitical messaging hidden under layers of goofy, gory gimmicks. The average human would hardly be prepared for the responsibilities thrust upon Bryan. The average human has also gone above and beyond for a job and reaped no reward. Plus, the Umbrella Corporation’s complicity in the outbreak is laughed off, treated like an accident. Audiences probably laugh because the truth is too uncomfortable to bear; for the 95-minute runtime, we too can ignore the state of the world, our government, and the pieces of our lives that are in goopy, gloomy disarray.
It’s arguable whether or not Cregger intends to give Resident Evil any deeper meaning beyond his typical gross gags. The tone is undeniably playful, featuring some bizarre banter that misses the mark every so often. The female characters are essentially nonexistent. But just like the video games, and any art, really, audiences will find something to love about Resident Evil, whether the film moves them or just cracks them up for a couple of hours.