Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie offers a unique take on Capcom's survival horror series, blending aesthetics from the games with unflinching slapstick comedy. Rather than a faithful adaptation, the film functions as a "vibes-based homage," drawing more from Cregger's sketch comedy background than the franchise's typical tone.
The film follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier tasked with delivering a high-priority package to the origin point of the Raccoon City outbreak. Bryan's stressful night, juggling work and personal responsibilities, is amplified when he picks up an infected woman, unaware of her condition. This scenario sets the stage for the movie's distinctive approach, which may alienate fans of the games' more serious or campy elements.
Instead of replicating the zombie soap opera tendencies of the games, Cregger opts for an Evil Dead-like absurdism. Bryan is portrayed as an incompetent protagonist, ill-equipped to handle the horrors he encounters. The film largely focuses on Abrams' reactions to nightmarish scenarios, emphasizing his character's panic and attempts to escape rather than heroic actions. While there are underlying themes reflecting Bryan's real-life anxieties manifested in the monsters he faces, the movie is primarily presented as a grotesque comedy.
Fans expecting a traditional Resident Evil narrative might find the film's lack of consistent tension and its embrace of absurdity off-putting. The movie contains numerous gross-out moments and creature designs that rival those in recent game entries, but the overall mood leans towards the comical rather than the terrifying. Bryan's character often reacts to horrific events with disbelief and exclamations, treating monstrous encounters like a Looney Tunes scenario where he miraculously escapes harm, with only his inner demons posing a true threat.
Ultimately, the film captures the spirit of playing a Resident Evil game by channeling the experience of a scared player trying to maintain composure. It's a meta-commentary on the act of intentionally scaring oneself for entertainment, presented as an adaptation of the experience of playing Resident Evil rather than a direct recreation of its specific story elements. The reviewer found the film most enjoyable when approached as a meta-commentary, rather than as a direct justification to existing fans.