Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” isn’t just a great video game movie. It’s a great movie. It’s an explosive horror experience which, unlike every other “Resident Evil” adaptation, captures the strange dichotomy of this popular video game series. It starts out terrifying, gradually becomes ridiculous, and totally gets away with that tonal shift. It may not be a faithful adaptation of a classic “Resident Evil” storyline but it’s a faithful adaptation of what it feels like to play a classic “Resident Evil” game.
The new “Resident Evil” stars Austin Abrams, that scene-stealer from “Weapons,” as a medical courier named Bryan. He’s just delivered the last vital organ of the evening when he’s told to make one last run, transporting an important package to Raccoon City. It’s the end of his shift and he knows he should get back home to his girlfriend, who literally just told him she’s pregnant. But he takes it anyway and drives off into the mountains, without snow chains, and crashes right into a zombie.
Bryan doesn’t know she’s a zombie. He thinks she’s dazed and confused and mangled, and he assumes that last part is his fault. He tries to do the right thing and it backfires, hilariously and horrifically, and soon he’s stranded on the outskirts of town, in the freezing cold, determined to deliver the damned package and apologize to his girlfriend if he ever gets cell phone reception again. It’s a horror movie, so he probably won’t.
But it’s not just a horror movie. “Resident Evil” is a survival horror movie. Like survival horror games, it relies on the constant threat of impending demise, coupled with an uncontrollable need to press forward, hamstrung by extremely limited resources, and punctuated by expertly timed jump scares. Bryan is completely out of his element. He keeps finding guns but doesn’t know how to use them. He tries to solve puzzling predicaments but never has the right key for the right lock, often literally. If he survives this monster-filled evening, it’ll be by the skin of his teeth. Paul W.S. Anderson’s live-action “Resident Evil” movies were about a larger-than-life action hero. Cregger’s is about a working-class guy who accidentally wandered into the wrong genre.
Zach Cregger loves, loves, loves heaping punishment on Bryan. Like Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” movies and the Looney Tune “Duck Amuck,” the latest “Resident Evil” is an uncomfortably funny existential experience. The hero doesn’t just have to survive the torments of the plot, he has to survive the wicked whims of the director, who thinks Bryan’s pain is comedy gold. He’s right about that; Bryan’s suffering is dark and twisted but exceedingly enjoyable. His plight may not mean much to the world at large but his determination to survive at all costs, in spite of the sick jokes Cregger throws his way, is oddly reassuring. If Bryan can find the strength to keep going, when God himself (read: Zach Cregger) literally wants him dead, I’m pretty sure I can work up the nerve to do all the annoying chores on my “to-do” list today.
The brutal, frightening, laugh-out-loud simplicity of “Resident Evil” is a welcome change for Cregger, whose previous horror films “Barbarian” and “Weapons” buckled whenever they took themselves too seriously. Cregger brought up disturbing themes, like misogyny and child abuse, but had very little to say about them. The stunning cinematography and incredible performances make “Barbarian” and “Weapons” look and feel important, and that’s enough to make them involving, but not enough to hide how shallow they are. Ironically, it’s only when Cregger abandons all pretense that he makes his most mature film. “Resident Evil” may be a rollercoaster ride but it never pretends it’s a field trip to a museum, which makes the experience more honest and meaningful.
“Resident Evil” distills the sprawling world of the video games into a primal, human experience. So much so that when someone finally says the words “Umbrella Corporation” it’s a little jarring, because Cregger’s film doesn’t play like a commercial for the rest of this hit franchise. It references the games, but mostly in little ways that wouldn’t stand out if you don’t recognize the iconography — a typewriter in a lonely room, a silver case with guns in it — but you could remove them and change a few names and pretend this was an original film and it would be just as fantastic. You can’t say that about the “Super Mario” movies, which are so full of Easter Eggs that if you don’t pick them all up they’ll go rotten and stink up the joint.
Zach Cregger directed an Oscar-winning horror movie, yet it’s his video game adaptation, the project with the words “sell out” written all over it, that turns out to be his best film. So far. He employs every scary trick at his disposal, every ridiculous idea in the back of his head, and every sensitivity towards his characters, all in service of a breathless motion picture that never stops thrilling us, not for one second. “Resident Evil” is an incredible movie, Austin Abrams is an incredible leading man, and Zach Cregger cements his credibility as a modern master of horror.
“Resident Evil” opens exclusively in theaters on Sept. 18.
