Reinvention of Evil

Review of Resident Evil (2026) by nezzkobdamned: 👍 8.2/10

Once again, Zach Cregger tries to meld separate pitches into one film, only this time, the monster it creates is actually very effective.

A 'One Bad Night' film that's After Hours by way of Evil Dead II with a heavy dollop of video game satire on top. A film with an exquisite doofus of a protagonist (Austin Abrams very much channeling Griffin Dunne) and a narrative that is almost entirely aimed at this fumbling fool 'failing upwards'.

The Resident Evil aspect of the film is interesting. It's effectively a retelling of Resident Evil 2 in a different time and from a different direction and perspective. In a way, it's a film that's like focusing on the whole story of an in-game note while the established chaos erupts around it. By the time we reach the slapstick bloodbath of a finale, that story has drawn a lot closer to the epicentre of Resident Evil history.

The little nods and winks to the playing of a survival horror game fit the comedic tone nicely. The running gags about a lack of weaponry education and the abundance of padlocks were consistently funny.

I do think it loses a step around the hour mark as Cregger lets convenient stupidity slide past in an otherwise well-structured comedy of errors, and I'm a little unsure about the way it actually ends, but the important thing is this is a very good movie and the best Resident Evil one by miles. Mainly by doing a better job of reconfiguring the Resident Evil series than the Anderson-era films and that dogshit Netflix live-action show managed.