Resident Evil (2026) (United States, 2026)

Untethered to any of the previous seven live-action films and only loosely entwined with the video game series, Zach Cregger's reboot offers a completely fresh take on the franchise. While maintaining a few foundational elements—presumably enough to avoid fan backlash—he spins a yarn that doesn’t require the uninitiated to do any homework. The movie avoids getting mired in a continuity swamp, delivering a self-contained story that fits seamlessly into the current indie horror craze. Cregger, who previously helmed Barbarian and Weapons, brings his own unique aesthetic to the Resident Evil neighborhood and has crafted a much better movie than I anticipated.

As was evident in Weapons, Cregger has a gift for melding horror with intentional comedy. A strong case can be made that the laugh-out-loud humor in Resident Evil actually surpasses the traditional horror elements, such as the gore and jump scares. I occasionally found myself wishing the film had pushed for an even more demented approach, while simultaneously recognizing that working within the confines of an established property means certain rules must be followed, at least in a general sense.

Thankfully, there are no Milla Jovovich cameos; Cregger wisely avoids direct call-outs to the earlier films. (There may be Easter eggs, but I'm not sufficiently indoctrinated to recognize them.) Instead, he starts fresh with a new protagonist: Bryan (Austin Abrams), a beleaguered organ transplant courier who makes the mistake of ignoring an icy road while speeding through a snowstorm and talking to his pregnant girlfriend on the phone. This sparks an unlikely chain of events that leaves him trying to deliver a MacGuffin to a bunch of white-coated scientists in a super-secret lab on the top floor of a Raccoon City hospital. He is, of course, pursued by monsters that look like something my six-year-old daughter might build using broken action figures and a tub of Play-Doh.

The creature work boasts a decidedly old-school feel, recalling John Carpenter's The Thing. The Resident Evil menagerie looks more like the handiwork of practical makeup artists than CGI creations, although Cregger may have used the latter to enhance the former. The result is delightfully cheesy, feeding perfectly into the overall unserious tone. Even if the horror elements aren't genuinely frightening, the brisk pace keeps the tension level high, and the jump scares still land despite being telegraphed. A barn scene involving a demon dog and a ladder represents Resident Evil at its most irreverent.

Austin Abrams (who previously worked with Cregger on Weapons) does a solid job portraying Bryan as clueless and irresponsible—qualities that stick around until the end credits roll. He doesn't suddenly morph into a heroic type, nor is he Ash Williams, although I was reminded of the tonal similarities to Evil Dead II on more than one occasion. By playing up Bryan's penchant for doing remarkably stupid things, Cregger is clearly poking fun at one of horror's most enduring tropes. Abrams' aptitude for physical comedy is an underrated asset here.

Although Resident Evil isn't based on any specific entry in the video game series, its progression feels decidedly game-inspired. It features a linear trajectory packed with obstacles to overcome, bosses to defeat, and hordes to mow down. Bryan is given opportunities to upgrade his weapons, but he must also scavenge for ammo. This nod to the franchise's interactive origins should please some of the fanbase without being so forceful that it alienates everyone else.

The open question is whether the Resident Evil name is so closely associated with a specific type of blockbuster that a significant portion of the potential audience will simply ignore it. I'm here to tell you that this iteration is something completely different, beholden only to foundational plot elements and much closer in spirit to Cregger's previous work than anything featuring Jovovich. The movie is tailored for a horror-comedy audience and delivers its gory laughs in slightly under 90 minutes, making it the perfect length for a picture of this sort. Regardless of whether it manages to revive the faltering franchise, it stands out as an entertaining standalone chapter.

Resident Evil (2026) (United States, 2026)