There’s no way to describe Zach Cregger’s RESIDENT EVIL, it’s something you simply have to experience. An absolute roller coaster that never lets you know what its next move will be. It’s hilarious, visually stunning with its effects, and leaves your heart pounding with a series of incredibly solid jump scares. If there was ever a movie that was meant to be seen in a theater with a large crowd, this is it.
The film follows Bryan (played by Austin Abrams), a medical courier who has a simple task to deliver a package within one hour. Pretty simple, right? Not quite. This film has been compared to Martin Scorsese’s AFTER HOURS, which could not be more apt. With a film of this layout, it’s critical that you have someone who can lead the entire thing by themselves. Luckily for us, Abrams does that and more. I have been a fan of the actor for 6 years at this point, ever since I first saw him in the Netflix television series DASH AND LILY (which I highly recommend, it might be the most charming rom com we’ve gotten in decades and Abrams shines in it). He’s so pathetically charming… a man who has the entire world against him and still keeps going. His comedic timing is excellent and manages to keep the entire runtime feeling electric, even in the moments when he has no other character to interact with.
The balance between comedy and horror is something that I feel we’ve seen an uprise of in recent years. However I find there aren’t many films that balance the blend of the two genres as clear as RESIDENT EVIL does. Cregger is on a generational run. I first witnessed his genius artistry when I saw an early screening of BARBARIAN in 8th grade. I went in completely blind and knowing nothing about it. It scarred me for a very long time… After the success of his solo directing debut, he followed it up with the highly anticipated WEAPONS. Though it did not quite live up to my expectations, I deeply appreciate it for what it is. Then to continue his series of horror projects, we have RESIDENT EVIL. A film that has Cregger’s name written all over it. I can’t express how much he gets to flex his creative muscles here and do what he does best. It’s cinematically intriguing, exceptionally well edited, but most importantly it’s something we are lacking- 90 minute films that get the ball rolling. No time is wasted on exposition or world building, we jump right into the plot and I was so thankful for that. In a world of movies that run on for so much longer than they need to, experiencing a tightly fast paced film felt like a breath of fresh air. I think that we could use more of these types of films in the world.
RESIDENT EVIL did something that very little films have achieved… it made me want to play the video game. I’ve never been much of a gamer or knowledgable of the lore when video game adaptations are released. I suppose the closest I’ve come is FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S, which might be the only video game I’ve played prior to watching the movie. I have no comments on how close this film is to the game itself and I look forward to doing more research on the similarities, but boy would I love to find some way to play this. I’m often ecstatic when book, musical, or video game adaptations get people into the theaters, but I’m equally as overjoyed to be a film fan who could be inspired to play a video game.
I watched the film in awe as we saw the visual effects of the zombies. It reminded me a lot of THE LAST OF US, which obviously holds some similarities to this film. There was even a sequence that had to be inspired by THE SUBSTANCE, which was epic to see how that is already influencing cinema. The zombie design was absolutely terrifying, and felt like nothing I had ever seen before. Moments of the film also felt very spiritually connected to STRANGER THINGS, specifically the opening scene in the show. The whole film felt like a tribute to not only the game, but also an homage to a whole jumble of other films which makes it so charming and exciting to watch. I’m sure on another rewatch I could pick out even more details and similarities to other horror films.
I say this often, but I’d highly encourage you to make a theater trip to see this one. It’s worth the time, and I promise your viewing will certainly be heightened if you experience it for the first time with others. It would be awesome if this got some love for it’s technical elements during the award season, but I highly suspect that this will live on for a long time due to the fan base it will acquire. If you enjoy comedy, horror, or just want a really good theatrical experience, then I promise you that RESIDENT EVIL is the film for you.
RESIDENT EVIL is now playing in theaters.