The Resident Evil franchise has gone through many ups and downs. Starting as a video game franchise in 1996, this series has gone through an absurd number of changes and styles.
With the release of “Resident Evil 9: Requiem” in February 2026, its critical and commercial acclaim is all but confirmed to still be holding strong. The same cannot be said, however, of the film series and television shows, which started in 2002. Aside from a few animated straight to video releases, the films have never seen commercial or critical success. Until now, at least.
Last Friday on Sept. 18, 2026, Sony pictures released “Resident Evil” an entirely new story taking place in the modern day, co-written by Zach Cregger and Shay Hatten, and directed by Cregger. The film follows “Bryan”, played perfectly by Austin Abrams, a medical courier tasked with reaching a hospital in the dead center of a city infested by zombies, monsters and every other terrible thing that can come to mind.
This film is an absolute thrill ride from start to finish. The first creature appears under 10 minutes into the film, and the brakes don’t stop for rest of its crisp 95-minute runtime.
For the marketing of the film, Cregger discussed how for the film, rather than following the characters or the events of games, he wanted to implement gameplay mechanics and overall style into a movie’s lens. This includes inventory management, weapons progression and other mechanics ripped straight from the video games. This is also brought through by the main character, Bryan.
Austin Abrams plays Bryan as an everyman. He represents every fan of the games. He knows next to nothing about guns and is screaming and crying through everything. This character could’ve easily fallen into annoying territory, but he never really does. Aside from some poor decision making in the third act, he is a character you cheer on and root for the whole time.
This also is part of the film’s sense of humor. This movie is funny as all get out. The majority of the film is Bryan alone, talking to himself, muttering and terrified at what he sees around him. It is almost reminiscent of John McClane in the original “Die Hard,” quipping to cope with the terror around him.
Speaking of terror, the monsters and creatures are a sight to behold. Instead of just the traditional zombie route, the film shows the “monster” side of Resident Evil. It takes concepts from a wide variety of the games,and dials it up to 11. As the film goes on, each creature Bryan meets becomes more monstrous. Each time he enters a new area, I found myself saying “How the heck is he getting out this?” Specifically, there is a creature that follows Bryan for a majority of the film always popping up at the worst time imaginable. Each time we see it, it’s more insane and absurd than before. By the end, it looks like an amalgamation of limbs, tentacles, eyeballs and blood. Almost a “human tumbleweed” for lack of a better term.
One of the problems I do have with this film is the third act. It doesn’t stop the momentum, but poor character choices and leaning too hard into the humor leads it to stumble up until the final five minutes of the film. The ending is crazy! It gets back on track and doesn’t hit the brakes even after the credits roll.
Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” is a crazy good time at the movies. Funny, absurd and terrifying, it is the perfect way to start the fall season with a bang.
Austin Kieckhefer can be reached at [email protected]