Resident Evil Review
Many video game adaptations are bogged down by the need to stay true to the story or characters of the title they adapt. They often shoehorn in as many references, characters, and locations from the source material as they can to feel authentic. Resident Evil is not one of those movies, it’s less of an adaptation and more of a translation. It answers the question of “What if we translated the experience of playing a Resident Evil game to the big screen?” with a resoundingly positive experience true to the franchise. Resident Evil isn’t about Leon, the T-Virus, or other key story elements from the games, but rather the experience and style of playing through the series.
The film plays out like you’re playing one of the games. The closest example that comes to mind is Resident Evil 7, where you play as Ethan, who is immediately dunked into the insanity of the Resident Evil world with little to no knowledge of what he is in for. Bryan (Austin Abrams) is the exact same way, including the muttering to himself about the bullshit that he has to go through. We follow Bryan as he transports a package to Raccoon City General Hospital from out of town. That is his mission from start to finish. As with the games, the plot itself doesn’t need to do the heavy lifting because the goal is really to survive the horrors of what unfolds.
Without going into spoilers, we watch Bryan struggle with elements we have all faced in the games, as well as the triumphs. The film references items from the series, and we often see Bryan struggle to figure out where to hold things on his person to get around. But the most Resident Evil-y thing in the whole film was the entire scene with the shotgun. When you get a shotgun in Resident Evil, it feels like the heavens open and a choir of angels sing to you that you are safe. When Bryan spots his shotgun, there is a moment of relief that only a Resident Evil fan can truly understand. Sure, pistols and automatic weapons can handle monsters, but nothing is as satisfying as blowing away a ghoul with the blast of a shotgun. One kill with this weapon is so satisfying it may be my favorite shot in the film.
Another element often overlooked in the Resident Evil games is that they’re often funny. Funny dialogue, interactions, or from the pure insanity that you are faced with. The film itself is so well paced that the timing of humorous bits lands like the bang of a gong. They hit harder when every other moment is chomping at the bit to wonder whether your main character will survive what is lurking around the next corner. Bryan, as a lead, has moments where he curses under his breath or at the monsters themselves, reminding you of the games’ leads who make similar quips.
While the monsters in the film aren’t exactly what we are used to in the franchise, they combine the best elements of the games. No two games have the same exact vibe because they all go balls to the wall with their monsters, bosses, and creatures that stalk the night. There are elements of the Los Plagas from the RE4 and the zombies of the original, but one element of the monsters feels most familiar to the Resident Evil franchise – the stalking horror that’s ever-present in your rear view. I won’t go into details, but Bryan has his own Nemesis/Tyrant that is always behind him, pushing him forward with no choice but to keep moving. It’s the most impressive element of the translation of a Resident Evil game to the big screen because it is the exact feeling that you get from playing so many entries in the franchise.
The freedom of filmmaking lets director Zach Cregger shift the film’s perspective from third person to first person, which the franchise has done as well. The elements of the original forced perspectives of the original games show up in some of his framing choices as Bryan moves about in the world. It makes the environments feel static as he traverses through, with a nostalgic feeling for those who played the originals. But then we get some really great over-the-shoulder shots that lead into some of the film’s first-person perspective moments. One of the biggest revolutions of the last few games, starting with RE7, is the inclusion of first-person. Facing horrors through someone else’s eyes is much scarier, but putting it into an FPS (first-person shooter) view in a movie is always a win for me, especially when it feels of a whole with the film itself.
Zach Cregger doesn’t seem interested in the fan service we are used to, and that is why Resident Evil is one of the best video game adaptations without a blue hedgehog. It’s about translating what the games are and what it’s like to play them into film. Resident Evil is on its own merit a fantastic horror film, but when you come at it as someone who has been playing the games for a very long time, you see so many of the things you have played through and experienced that it becomes an instant classic.
