Film Review: Resident Evil

Resident Evil (2026)
Director: Zach Cregger
Constantin Films, Sony Pictures
In Theaters: 09.18.2026

Let’s not sugarcoat it: In regards to the Resident Evil fanbase, Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons) was stepping on a landmine when taking this project on regardless of the quality of the end product. When Resident Evil was announced back in 2025 with Cregger at the helm, fans were displeased with the choice of director. When the first trailer was released, fans were displeased that rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy wasn’t the protagonist. Fans were displeased to hear that Cregger took creative liberties in the setting of Raccoon City, or how the monsters were seemingly not based on any in-game creatures, and what few fans exist of Paul W. S. Anderson’s films were disappointed that Cregger had chosen to deliberately avoid continuity with any other films in the franchise, stating in an interview he had never seen them prior.

On the other hand, there was no way this film wasn’t going to be at least of measurable quality; the Whitest Kids U’Know cast member had already struck pay dirt with his two prior horror films, both of which received critical acclaim and accolades for their good writing. The film follows Bryan Hodukavich, a medical courier for Lightfoot Medical Transport delivering an alleged heart transplant to Raccoon City General Hospital, when things go horribly wrong as Hodukavich accidentally hits a woman in the middle of the icy road. He discovers truly graphic horrors, the doomed state of Raccoon City and the serious implications behind his high-priority cargo. The setup on paper sounds like the setup to an excellent zombie horror flick but proves to have great difficulty maintaining continuity with the rest of its franchise and falls short in its execution.

First, this movie is funny. It’s almost inappropriately funny considering the grim franchise that the film is based on. It makes sense looking at Cregger’s previous writing: His formative years were defined by Whitest Kids, with some of the setups and punchlines feeling similar to the sketches of Trevor Moore. The movie is almost slapstick at times, with many of the stunts in the first act appearing akin to Buster Keaton or The Three Stooges. It’s an odd approach to take with a horror film but one that fans of Cregger are all too familiar with. The mental whiplash of comedy and graphic horror is a frequent through-line of his films, looking at the comedic fate of the witch in Weapons, or the homeless man’s death in Barbarian. As I said, though, the approach feels inappropriate for a franchise like Resident Evil, where much of the comedy comes from over-the-top seriousness and B-movie cheese as opposed to intentional humor. It’s something that Cregger himself noted, stating when interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter:

“I learned that people really liked the movie, but they thought it was too funny. So over the course of my testing, I stripped out as much of the jokes as possible. I then found that not only did the audience enjoy the movie more, but I also liked the movie a lot more. A little bit of humor goes a long way in a horror movie, and there’s not a single joke I took out of this movie that I miss.”

I find that to be an interesting thing to say with how often the characters find themselves quipping through the film; I cannot imagine what the original cut looked like. While the humor proves to be funny, it fails to read the room. For a film that’s advertised as a horror film, the humor proves to be excessive.

That brings us to the jump-scares; I hope you like jump-scares, because there’s a jump-scare every six or so minutes, ranging in effectiveness from jumping out of my seat to general malaise. That isn’t to say there isn’t some stellar horror done here, though. The RV and the maternity ward scenes are very good horror writing, and the elevator in the hospital, although not very closely resembling anything we see in Resident Evil and having a rather cliched setup, was very fun in its spectacle. The problem with the horror of this film is just how poorly it plays out in execution when placed alongside segments of comedy.

The writing is very lackluster at times in that sense; I would argue that from Bryan exiting the tunnel to him arriving at the hospital, the film is written far less like a progression or journey and more like lapses of loosely connected writing with no through-lines or continuity. Then there’s the ending: I won’t spoil it here, but any resemblance of good writing comes entirely to a halt here. I can’t help but feel like Cregger had the idea for the final shot very early on, and instead of writing a narrative that naturally drags itself to that scene, he shoehorned it in rather haphazardly. If you like every other aspect of this film, the ending will prove to be a disappointment.

Then there’s the seemingly intentional disconnect from the source material. If you’ve played any Resident Evil games at any point in your life, it will be quite plainly obvious that this film has very little to do with the actual source material. The film is supposed to take place in an alternate universe alongside the events of Resident Evil 2. Regardless of the “alternate universe” tag, this film makes no clear effort to align itself with any of the content within that game. The film is almost presented as a prefabricated script with the Resident Evil namesake attached in post.

I know it sounds like I’ve ragged on the movie a bit here, but I will say that this movie was very fun. “Fun” and “well-written” are not necessarily mutually exclusive, though, and viewers need to take that grain of salt in mind when viewing this. I went into this film having liked Cregger’s previous works, and having played some of the Resident Evil games myself. Then I left the theatre thinking, “That was very fun,” but as I began to realize my thoughts and feelings on the film, I couldn’t help but find myself more and more disappointed by the scathing issues. Look: if you’re a fan of the Resident Evil franchise, you will be very disappointed by this film because of its lighthearted nature and severe disconnect from the actual source material, but if you’re a horror movie buff and like films akin to Evil Dead, I’d be willing to bet you’ll enjoy the film. –Ezra Smith

Read other film reviews by Ezra Smith:
Film Review: Animal Farm: A Cautionary Tail
Markiplier’s Iron Lung Proves to be a Once-in-a-Lifetime Hit for Independent Filmmaking

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