Director Zach (Barbarian/Weapons) Creeger has succeeded yet again, thanks to his "everyman" adaptation based on the famed, Resident Evil games. This isn't a remake of a previous, film adaptation, but a redesign of the concept's creepy, catch-and-grab formula.
Creeger, who cowrote the movie with Shay (Army of the Dead/John Wick 3) Hatten, presents a young, medical-organ transporter named Bryan, played by Austin (Weapons) Abrams, who's dispatched to deliver a mysterious package to Racoon City Hospital, as a snowstorm mounts and a sweeping, Umbrella Company-launched, T-virus moistens one and all. In conjunction with these (pardon the understatement) maddening conditions, Bryan's ordeal plays out in "real time," as he slips through mishap upon mishap, embellished by over-the-shoulder shots and whenever it feels right, plenty of edgy, identifiable humor. (Bryan is rather like Bruce Campbell's Ash, though without the rubbery, epic-hero lampooning.)
Lovecraftian/"Who Goes There?"/Alien-ish-assembling mutants comprise his prime obstacles, and these sickly specimens cement the story's George A. Romero, claustrophobic fuel, though mind you, the outside world is as suffocating as any blood-splattered chamber.
Beyond Bryan, there are several others involved. We get Paul Walker Hauser's Carl and Zach Cherry's Dave, a couple of bumbling, Umbrella higher-ups; Kali Reiss' Pauline, an Umbrella security officer; Molly Daisy's little, infected girl and Johnno Wilson's Sheriff Max, who comes upon Bryan early on, after our devoted emissary strikes Andrea Milternova's Deadite-like woman with his car.
Though the story stays basic throughout, the intersecting characters put steam in its stride, much like those of any given, Romero movie, where even the supporting players resonate. However, some may miss the stylized spunk of Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich's high-contrast passages. This Resident Evil, despite its fast, lean pace, is driven more by a subdued palette, coupled with the escalating dread of The Walking Dead and 28 Days/Weeks/Years Later.
Furthermore, though the redux has Creeger's fingerprints all over it, it doesn't embrace those crafty, shifting reveals that distinguish his other horror movies. Again, his Resident Evil abides by a tiering, beat-the-clock narrative, akin to The Setup, High Noon, Three O'Clock High, Rope and Running Time. Depending on one's disposition, that may be good or bad. (In addition, the story springs an inconclusive ending, which may trigger a comparable, controversial effect, though it also invites a sequel.)
For giving its customary premise a new spin, I believe Resident Evil (2026) is, indeed, good, or at least a timely, raw-nerve example of the "infected" genre, which makes it rather relevant, considering the updated, COVID narrative that now populates the news.
If one desires a solid, pre-Halloween sojourn, this one should do the trick. If one is a Resident Evil fan, whether of the games or the prior movies, there's still enough tradition installed in Creeger's restart to hit the mark; so why not give his bold revision a generous, biohazard shot?
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