Zach Cregger is one of the most talented creators in today’s genre cinema. Like Jordan Peele, Cregger is a comedic performer who became a horror filmmaker. Both men had critical and commercial hits with their inaugural movies and both crafted works that won Oscars. For his third horror feature, Creggar resurrects a film series in dire need of a good movie. Resident Evil is the film fans have been waiting to see.
While 1932’s White Zombie and the 1943 Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur picture I Walked with a Zombie are respected classics, director George A. Romero was rightfully crowned the father of zombie cinema. The filmmaker changed horror (and created the blueprint for every zombie film to follow) with his 1968 masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead. Over the next 41 years, Romero would do five sequels in his signature style; 1978’s Dawn of the Dead, 1985’s Day of the Dead, 2005’s Land of the Dead, 2007’s Diary of the Dead, and 2009’s Survival of the Dead. The slow-moving undead who can only be stopped by destroying the brain is all Romero and his influence is front and center in films such the 28 Days Later saga and the AMC series, The Walking Dead.
In 1998, video game developer Capcom hired the horror master to create a television promo for the Resident Evil 2 game. Impressed by the cinematic short, Sony Pictures offered Romero the chance to write and direct a feature film adaption of the original. After all, it was designed in his honor.
By all accounts, the filmmaker stayed faithful to the game’s plot. Sony and Capcom disliked Romero’s script, balked at his slow-moving zombies, and removed him from the project.
Firing the godfather of modern zombie cinema from a film based on a popular game created because of his influence? For shame.
P.W. Anderson’s misguided 2002 version (and its terrible sequels), morphed the game into a ridiculously inept horror hybrid of The Matrix and zombies, complete with misplaced slo-mo action and subpar scripts. Johannes Roberts’ 2022 Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was an abysmal offense toward the game and its fans. It seemed the gamed would never receive a proper big-screen adaptation.
Zach Cregger is the knight in shining armor who comes to rescue PlayStation’s beloved creation. The director keeps the essence that makes the game so special and designs a movie that is 90 minutes of pure fun.
Cregger and co-writer Shay Hatten do not pillage the original stories from the video game series. Their screenplay creates its own narrative set within the well-established world. Rather than a retread of what gamers can get at home, Cregger and Hatten create something fresh that celebrates the game and honors its fans.
Resident Evil stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a courier tasked to deliver an important medical cargo to a research facility in, you guessed it, Raccoon City. Dealing with a pregnant girlfriend and their failing relationship, the courier stumbles into a night of pure terror. Scared and confused, he lands in the midst of a viral outbreak that turns people into zombies and other monstrous creatures.
Where Cregger’s previous horror films (Barbarian and the Oscar-winning Weapons) had a macabre humor, they were unsettling horror pieces that succeeded due to their effective atmospheric pull. For his Resident Evil recharge, Cregger goes for pure popcorn-chomping fun.
The film’s best moments are found in its incredible opening 30-plus minutes. Bryan is en route to Raccoon City. On a dark, snowy, mountain road, he hits a woman who has emerged from the darkness. Once he stops to get the woman to a hospital, the film begins a non-stop, edge-of-your-seat, thrill ride that refuses to let go.
Cregger knows pacing. Resident Evil’s first half shows his skill at audience manipulation. The style is Hitchcock and Tobe Hooper combined, as the director toys with his audience while unleashing unexpected bursts of horror.
The screenplay has a humorous undercurrent brought about by Bryan’s “What the hell is happening?” demeanor. This isn’t comedy, but there are many comforting laughs. Abrams gives a performance infused with a natural sense of humor about the absurdity of his situation.
The film’s second half gets Bryan to the research facility in Raccoon City. While still a blast of a good time, this is where the movie leans into its video game origins. Hordes of monstrous entities chase Bryan through the city and through the Umbrella Corporation’s (the company responsible for creating the virus) high rise research lab. What ensues is a gleefully bloody struggle for survival with an 80s horror vibe.
Hays and Ryan Holladay compose an eerie, pulsating, synth score that is pure John Carpenter. Director Cregger tips his hat to the horror legend by using every inch of the frame to show the terrifying realities of Bryan’s surroundings.
The picture is beaming with nods to John Carpenter’s The Thing, James Cameron’s Aliens, Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and, of course, Romero’s zombie movies. There may even be a clever hat tip to John McTiernan’s Die Hard thrown in for good measure.
Cregger doesn’t allow his film to become a mere pastiche of influences. Too many filmmakers spend time overloading their works with homages, they forget to find their own voice. Zach Cregger uses these nods to enhance his creation, keeping his own style at the forefront.
Resident Evil is unrelenting in its quest to terrorize its audience. Cregger and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski keep the camera moving to enhance suspense. Viewers are with Bryan every second as his night unfolds into something unimaginable. Wide shots and fluid visuals ramp up the tension and create a breathtaking pace.
Gore fans unite! There is gore and lots of it. The special effects are a blend of the practical and CGI. Cregger’s FX team creates a good mix of both to ensure many memorable scenes of blood-splattered excitement. Bryan even gets to a few “Ash” moments.
Resident Evil shouldn’t work. The zombie genre has been done to death. Seven terrible movies and a failed Netflix series had buried any hopes of a fully successful adaptation. Zach Cregger is too smart to sleepwalk through yet another retread. A fan of the game, he wanted to do it justice.
Through clever direction and a good script, Cregger takes us into a funhouse of chills, humor, and bloodstained fun. Justice has been done. Cregger was the right man for the job.
To quote a David Cronenberg classic, “Long live the new flesh!”
Resident Evil
Written by Zach Cregger & Shay Hatten
Directed by Zach Creeger
Starring Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, Johnno Wilson
R, 90 Minutes, Columbia Pictures, PlayStation Productions
