Title: Resident Evil
Describe This Movie In One Dawn of the Dead Quote:
KENNETH: Is everyone there dead?
STEVE: Or dead-ish.
Brief Plot Synopsis: The gig economy just keeps getting worse.
Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: 4 biohazard stickers out of 5.
Tagline: “Witness the origin of Evil.”
Better Tagline: “Ever have one of those days?”
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: Bryan (Austin Abrams) is a medical courier who’s about to have a very bad night. After making what he thinks is his last delivery, he’s convinced (for double the usual fee) to take a high-priority parcel to Raccoon City General Hospital. Unbeknownst to him, the parcel is desperately needed by the Umbrella Corporation. Seems there was a bit of a cock-up in one of their secret government programs. And Bryan is about to run into (literally) the terrifying results.
“Critical” Analysis: It’s easy to forget that once upon a time — before A Minecraft Movie (chicken) jockeyed ahead of everyone — that the Resident Evil movies were the highest grossing video game adaptations of all time.
Caveats apply, of course. First, it took RE seven movies to do it. Second, the films (most written by Paul W. S. Anderson) aren’t what you’d call “faithful” adaptations. They don’t follow the games’ storylines, and major characters like Claire and Chris Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy are largely absent. Point of fact, they mostly seemed like an excuse for Anderson to put wife Milla Jovovich in apocalyptically unlikely apparel. Then again, where else are you going to see Alice drive a motorcycle through a stained glass window and pin a licker under a crucifix?
Resident Evil gets its second reboot* this decade with Zach Cregger at the helm. The writer/director behind Barbarian and Weapons eschews the convoluted storytelling of previous RE efforts. Instead, he gives us Bryan; a guy who’s just trying to finish a job before returning home to have a distinctly uncomfortable conversation with his girlfriend.
Things start on an anxious note and never let off the gas pedal. Bryan’s initial visit to the hospital smacks of the opening moments of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, for example. Once he’s on the way to Raccoon City (yes, it’s a stupid name, let’s move on), Resident Evil is a real edge of the seat situation for the ensuing 80+ minutes.
Cregger, a Resident Evil player himself, understands the advantage of concentrating on the little details. The games rarely indulged in the humongous action set pieces so typical of Anderson’s movies. And Cregger and co-writer Shay Hatten keep the proceedings intimate, focusing on Bryan-as-avatar to the audience contemplating how they’d react in similar circumstances.
But the parts they get right — the terror of unopened doors, an inability to shoot locks — translate well even if you’re unfamiliar with the games. We even get a van full of what look like healing green herbs, not that Bryan knows this. Our lead character is a bit of a dipshit, sure, but he’s got a good heart. Abrams, previously seen playing the hapless addict James in Weapons, is a perfect choice. Bryan’s befuddlement gradually morphs into resolve, and his lack of firearms proficiency is a welcome (if inconvenient) characteristic. Especially for a movie like this.
And Resident Evil is funny. Most of this is thanks to Bryan’s reactions to the horror confronting him. But the supporting cast (Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry) deliver some laughs as well. The humor balances the horror admirably, which makes you wonder how different Cregger’s initial joke-forward cut of the movie would’ve played.
But the horror itself doesn’t disappoint. Few directors can generate dread from empty spaces and inadequate lighting as effectively as Cregger. It’s a style that fits perfectly with the game’s aesthetic (aided by Kami Asgar’s chilling sound design). At the same time, he gives us some new twists on RE undead and a plot that parallels game arcs without aping them.
He also gives us a third act hospital scene that’s almost disturbing enough to be in a Jonathan Glazer film. You’ll know it when you see it.
I wasn’t as high on Barbarian as many others (though I’ve come around somewhat), but I did love Weapons. That aside, you can’t deny Zach Cregger’s skill at teasing both scares and laughs in unique ways. This may be his first foray into franchise IP, but damn if he doesn’t make it his own. This is the best Resident Evil movie yet and it’s not even close.
Still love you, Milla.
Resident Evil is in theaters today.
*2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City being the first. The less said about that Netflix series, the better.
