Resident Evil

It’s snowing. The white powder coming down more and more as the night stretches. You make a delivery to a hospital and are ready to call it a night. Return home to your love one and sleep to start the day all over again. But…the hospital needs one last urgent run and will pay extra for the delivery. You learn the location is…Raccoon City. For a courier, struggling with money and soon to become a parent, the choice is obvious. You grab the delivery and hop into your car. Hours later, the horrors of the night engulf you and your mission shifts from delivery to survival.

Welcome to Resident Evil! The umbrella corporation embarks on a new line of horror with this classic reboot to the 2002 film based on the popular video game under the direction of Zach Cregger. Here’s your spoiler free review. Let’s dive in.

Marvelous Mutated Moments

Let’s start with the plot. It’s simple enough to follow, and the Cregger does an excellent job of slowly unfolding the events of Raccoon City without ruining the storyline. Every scene becomes a piece to the puzzle, forcing the audience and main protagonist, Bryan (Austin Abrams), to figure out what is happening (or what has happened). Bryan probe deeper into the debacle feels like the next level to a twisted game.

Speaking of Abrams, his performance as Bryan held throughout the film. From the first scene, the audience learns Bryan’s job choice and the decisions he must make. Cregger introduces the struggles Bryan faces both with his work and his personal life. Bryan background spills like infested rats little by little with each deadly encounter adding new layers to his character. By the end of the film, the audience develops empathy for Bryan and wonders what his fate will become based on life-changing events in the film.

The camera follows Bryan and never leaves his side, denying the audience of what happened to what. This third-party perspective becomes the film’s strong point. Holding Bryan as the only focused character limits distractions of other characters and provides a unique viewing experience which feels similar to playing the actually video game.

Failed Trials

The film relies heavily on jump scares and a possible overabundance of comedy. to the point in almost every scene once Bryan reaches the outskirts of Raccoon City. Both through music and sound foleys prepare for them. At some point, the attempt to create the scare may become more of an annoyance than an appreciation. It raises the question of whether the scene required a jump scare or not. Some may argue how comedy floods the film, transforming it more into a comedic horror than straight horror. Think of Nightmare on Elm Street Dream Warriors level of comedy. Bryan seems to crack a one-liner like he’s starring in an 80s action film.

Overall Rating

I was excited to see this film as a deep Resident Evil fan. Truthfully, I was expecting to follow the dangers of Raccoon City’s undead dilemma, but learning the films strays away from the zombie troupe provided a different aspect to this body horror. I liked how it centers on Umbrella’s mistake. Watching the plot slowly unfold from Bryan’s perspective and Bryan’s character becomes 3-D as his character develops. I could pass on the jump scares, though. I feel it was a bit too excessive, and every scene didn’t need a quick rise in volume for some unnecessary moments. Finally, I appreciate how this version of Resident Evil embedded a more comical moment strengthening the “video game” vibe to the film. It’s a wonderful rollercoaster ride with various mutated moments providing you a balance of scare and silliness. There are some scenes the film easily could have done without, or I questioned why the character walked that direction, or performed that act in a given the situation. However, my hypothesis is to maintain the “video game” vibe to the film it was necessary. Final score 4/5.

Let me know what your thoughts in the comments below.