Resident Evil (2026) Review!!

Synopsis – Follows a hapless courier tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. He soon finds himself caught in the middle of an outbreak and must fight through hordes of mutated creatures to survive.

My Take – While the Resident Evil franchise began in 1996 and quickly grew into one of the most recognizable video game series worldwide, its popularity surged further when director Paul W.S. Anderson brought the first film adaptation to the screen in 2002, starring his wife Milla Jovovich, a film birthed a series that continued with five more action heavy sequels that were continuously critically maligned but yet each proved to be financially successful.

With Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) effectively ending the story of Alice, writer-director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) rebooted the series with Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), which incorporated the game’s characters and story-line, resulting in a warmer reception. Still, its profits fell short of what Constantin Film’s producers expected. Netflix followed with a 2022 series that failed to win over fans or critics, while the animated films barely registered. Now, another reboot arrives.

After establishing his horror cred with two impressive, original features, Barbarian (2022) and Weapons (2025), the former Whitest Kids U’ Know comedy troupe member actor-turned-horror-filmmaker Zach Cregger takes charge, stripping away the tangled lore and familiar faces like Jovovich’s Alice or Leon Kennedy.

Instead, he leans into the games’ core premise: surviving hordes of infected with limited ammo. Even better, he imbues this mood with his own brand of suspense, humor, and situational immersion that, much like the tone in his previous films, unfolds with an engrossing and exhausting degree of unease.

Led by a very good Austin Abrams, the film doesn’t directly adapt the games but captures their playful, exploratory spirit. Leaving us with something that is viscerally charged, dementedly playful, masterfully orchestrated, and wildly entertaining.

Co-written by Cregger and Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 4), the film feels like a natural extension of Cregger‘s past films—packed with shocks and riotous humor. This one is a terrific example of how to adapt a video game into a film: complete with bold choices, inventive creature designs, and laugh-out-loud moments. It may not be a faithful copy of the source, but it’s a big win for video game films and a promising step for the genre’s future.

The story follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier, is having the worst day of his life. His girlfriend Michelle (Sara Paxton) has just revealed she’s pregnant, and his clumsy reaction sparks a bitter argument. On top of that, no one will sign off on his delivery so he can finally head home. Just as he’s about to clock out, a doctor dangles double pay for one last run: transporting a package to Raccoon General Hospital in the snowy mountains of Colorado.

Bryan reluctantly agrees. But the job unravels almost immediately. A strange woman steps into the path of his vehicle, setting off a chain of events that plunges him into a terrifying nocturnal odyssey where nothing goes according to plan.

Here, the story’s momentum relies on well-timed jump scares, with infected zombies sprouting endless, deadly tentacles, and director Zach Cregger largely delivers, aided by cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (The Martian), who uses snow, light, and shadow to striking effect. Cregger, known for his puzzle-box narratives, strips things down here. This is his midnight flick: a straight A-to-B mission, built on set piece after set piece, less about logic than about blood, guts, and spectacle.

In Bryan, he finds his best lead yet. Not heroic, but plucky and relatable, Bryan’s journey unfolds like a video game—each level harder, each weapon newly acquired. Unlike Jovovich’s invincible Alice, Bryan is constantly undone by practical obstacles. A padlocked fence doesn’t yield to his truck; he’s forced to continue on foot.

Even when faced with grotesque horrors like a tentacle-faced dog or Cronenbergian masses of flesh, his mix of terror, denial, and slapstick charm keeps the audience hooked. Bryan’s chatter, peppered with curses, could have grated but instead lands as comic relief. His attempts to use a gun, learned only from video games, are hilariously inept. Visually, this is the most striking installment yet. Wolski crafts dread with flickering light and shadow, like the upside-down patrol car scene, where red and blue flashes feel violently alive.

Director Cregger’s monsters go beyond zombies: half-bodies used as lures, acid-spewing abominations, and grotesque maternity wards. The VFX is convincing, and even when it isn’t, the confidence of the filmmaking carries it. However, the brisk pace is both strength and weakness. The film never drags, but some ideas feel underdeveloped, and the finale rushes to resolution.

Still, it knows exactly what it wants to be: a compact, funny, adrenaline-fueled horror ride. Imperfect, yes, but director Cregger succeeds in giving the franchise a fresh identity that is leaner, nastier, and laced with irony, without losing its spirit.

Performance wise, Austin Abrams is terrific. He makes Bryan’s vulnerability believable without slipping into caricature. Bryan runs, stumbles, improvises, and simply tries to stay alive. His arc—from unprepared courier to reluctant survivor—anchors the film, and Abrams leans fully into the mix of situational comedy and terror, unafraid to play every beat with charm and conviction.

In smaller roles, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, and Johnno Wilson are good enough. The supporting cast keeps the story lively, though not all are given equal space to shine. On the whole, ‘Resident Evil‘ is a compact, blood-soaked thrill ride that is visually striking, darkly funny, and easily the most satisfying game-to-film adaptation yet.