Back in August, whilst I was in cinemas watching Obsession, the trailer for the new Resident Evil movie came onto screen. At that moment, I turned to my boyfriend next to me and squealed like an absolute fangirl. As a super fan of the resident evil franchise, I knew that this could be the movie for me.
THE PLOT
The movie follows Bryan Hodukavich (portrayed by Austin Abrams), a medical courier who is tasked with delivering an important package to Raccoon City — a fictional town located within the snowy Arklay County of Midwestern United States. His journey takes a terrifying turn when, in the middle of nowhere, he accidentally hits an odd woman with his car. As he attempts to carry on with his emergency delivery, one horrifying incident after another leads the rest of his night to become a fight for survival against a biological outbreak.
what’s actually different?
Zach Cregger, the director of Resident Evil (2026), never wanted to make an exact live-action adaptation of the games. It’s been done before. With Anderson’s Live-Action series in the early 2000s to late 2010s, where (in the later instalments) familiar characters – such as Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, appear. And Roberts’ Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City (2021), a more faithful adaptation of RE1 and RE2, which completely bombed when it came out.
Cregger never wanted to portray Leon Kennedy or Ada Wong or Ethan Winters within his movie. Instead, Cregger wanted to produce an entirely different Resident Evil film that embodied the experience of playing the games. And I truly believe he succeeded in that!
EASTER EGGS only real fans caught
Whilst the Resident Evil movie does not follow any of the Resident Evil games, with Bryan being a new, original character within the franchise, there are definitely many similarities between them.
VIDEO GAME CINEMATOGRAPHY
One thing that truly had me amazed whilst watching it in cinemas was the cinematic angles throughout the movie. Throughout the film, there were a variety of shots that combine third-person and first-person camera perspectives to adapt the visual style of the Resident Evil games. The movie’s director, Zach Cregger, and cinematographer, Dariusz Wolski, intentionally created an over-the-shoulder view which sat upon the protagonist’s shoulder. During filming, the camera was synchronised with Abrams’ movement, meaning that it moved alongside Bryan’s own motions; for example, if the character looked right, so would the camera. This was done to directly draw comparison with the angles from the video games, making me feel as though I was back at home playing RE2R on my PS4.
VIDEO GAME REFERENCES
There were also several more easter eggs throughout the film that made me, and I’m sure many other Resident Evil fans, shriek with excitement. When Bryan is fumbling around the farmhouse near the beginning of the movie, he comes across a vintage typewriter. To mainstream viewers, this scene would’ve meant nothing but to establish the oldness of the house. But to any resident evil fan, it’s a clear nod to the saving stations within the original games. There are tons of little hidden features like that throughout the movie, such as the continuous locked doors (which can’t be forced open no matter how many times Bryan attempted to shoot it), first aid sprays, green herbs, and the exact shot gun shells seen within the games. Each of these secret features alluded to the games, creating little easter eggs for fans of the games to seek out!
It wasn’t just the physical aspects of the movie that were in reference to the games though. Even the literal structure of the film felt as though it was in tribute to the original series. Like the games, Bryan moves through different difficulty levels for each location he was in – from the farmhouse, to the streets of Racoon city, and finally to the Hospital where the climax of the film takes place. The adventure that Bryan undergoes feels linear, similarly to the storyline structure of the Resident Evil games.
Does it pass the super fan test?
So, as an ultimate Resident Evil fangirl, what is my decree on this movie? Well, I liked it. I liked it a lot actually.
While I can understand why a lot of people were frustrated with the ending, I personally felt as though almost every aspect of this film was fantastic. It contained tons of easter eggs from the original games, whilst strongly holding an identity as a great film on its own.
Zach Cregger’s goal was to create a movie that paid tribute to original games without being a play for play replica. He wanted Resident Evil to be its own thing whilst embodying the feeling that playing these incredible games brings about, and I believe that he accomplished this. I consider Resident Evil (2026) to be a great contribution to one of my favourite franchises and if Cregger decides to create a sequel, I will be right there in the cinema to absolutely relish it!