Resident Evil is directed by Zach Cregger and the cast includes Austin Abrams, Paul Walter Hauserm Zach Cherry, and Kali Reis.
TL;DR: I had pretty good time with this film - it's fast, bloody, funny in the right places and actually feels like a horror movie rather than another action film with zombies thrown into it.
A Different Take on Resident Evil
I seemed to be one of the few people who went into watching Resident Evil with some decent hope, as yes, we've been here before with the Paul W.S. Anderson films, Welcome to Raccoon City and the various animated adaptations, and while some of them have been entertaining in their own way, but Zach Cregger's version feels like a different beast.
That probably has a lot to do with Cregger himself, as after Barbarian and Weapons, he has developed a style that gives his horror movies their own personality, and that comes through here in a way which doesn't make this feel like a generic studio horror movie with the Resident Evil name stuck on it, nor does it spend the entire runtime desperately trying to prove how much it knows about the games.
There is a definite sense here that Cregger was allowed to make his own movie within the Resident Evil world, and I think that's exactly what the franchise needed, where the smartest thing Cregger does is avoid simply turning one of the games into a two-hour movie.
There are also obvious connections here for fans and plenty of familiar ideas, but this isn't trying to recreate a game scene by scene, because Cregger has taken the things that make Resident Evil work and built his own horror movie around them, which means you're not spending the entire time waiting for the next reference or wondering when a particular game moment is going to appear.
The games have always been about more than zombies anyway, as it's the feeling of being trapped somewhere you don't want to be, discovering that things are much worse than you initially thought, dealing with increasingly horrible creatures and never quite knowing what you're going to find around the next corner.
This movie understands that side of Resident Evil, while also remembering that the franchise has always had a slightly ridiculous streak running through it, and that balance between horror and humor works particularly well.
There are some funny moments, but thankfully this doesn't turn it completely into a horror comedy that constantly undercuts its own scares, as most of the humor comes naturally from the characters, so the movie can be horror one minute and funny the next without either side feeling completely out of place.
Austin Abrams Is Great
I loved Austin Abrams, and I'd say he is one of the biggest reasons the movie works as well as it does, where he's not playing the typical horror protagonist who walks into obviously dangerous situations looking completely comfortable with everything that's happening.
There is a nervous, slightly awkward quality to the performance that makes the character feel more believable and gives the movie some personality without making him irritating, and Abrams also handles the comedy well because his reactions generally feel like genuine reactions rather than somebody waiting for the audience to laugh.
The rest of the cast are also solid enough, but Abrams gives the movie the energy it needs.
The Horror Actually Works Well
This is obviously the most important part, and I'm happy to say that the horror generally works here - it's not terrifying from beginning to end, but Cregger yet again understands that Resident Evil is at its best when you don't know exactly what is waiting for you - there are jump scares and plenty of blood, but the movie also doesn't rely entirely on either of them to keep things moving.
Some of the better moments in the film come from simply making you wait, where you know something horrible is probably coming, but you're not necessarily sure what it will be or exactly when it will happen.
The creature work is also handled well, because this isn't just another zombie movie- the wider monster side of Resident Evil is a huge part of the appeal of the games, and the film makes good use of that without turning every creature into a giant CGI showcase, with enough variety in the horror to keep things interesting.
And around 90 minutes, there isn't much opportunity for the movie to disappear up its own backside either, with unnecessary exposition or long stretches of characters explaining what has already happened - it gets moving and keeps moving, which suits this particular story and makes it an easy watch.
The atmosphere was another thing I liked - there's a unpleasant quality running through the movie that fits the franchise, and the locations don't feel overly polished or artificial - things look dirty, damaged and generally like somewhere you wouldn't want to spend much time.
The whole thing also benefits from being made for the cinema, and this is a film I recommend you watch on the big screen - there is plenty of noise, blood and mayhem, and it feels like a film designed to be experienced on a decent-sized screen rather than something that could just as easily have gone straight to streaming.
It's not reinventing horror visually, but it looks and sounds like a proper theatrical genre movie.
Where It Falls a Bit Short
The main issue I had was that the movie is stronger before the final stretch, as early on, there's a nice feeling of discovery because you're still figuring out exactly what Cregger is doing with the material, and that uncertainty gives the horror some actual impact because you're not completely sure where the movie is going or how far it is willing to take things.
As it progresses, some of that unpredictability disappears, where the film becomes increasingly focused on moving from one big sequence to another, and while most of those sequences are entertaining, I think a little more breathing room would have helped.
Then there's the ending, which is probably going to be one of the more divisive parts of the movie - I didn't hate it, but I wasn't completely sold on it either, but I understood what Cregger was going for, and I don't mind an ending that leaves you with something to think about, but after enjoying so much of the movie I wanted those final moments to land a bit harder and leave me with a stronger feeling than they did.
But this is very much Cregger's interpretation, which I enjoyed, and anyone wanting to see one of the games reproduced faithfully on screen may find themselves wanting something different.
Final Thoughts
I came away pretty happy with Resident Evil, and most importantly, it finally feels like someone remembered that Resident Evil is supposed to be horror first, so after so many attempts to take the franchise in different directions, that alone makes it worth a watch.