These days, there are so many movies and TV shows focused on zombies that it’s almost hard to pick. Chances are, if you’re here, you love The Walking Dead, and zombies are your go-to type of horror. While there are so many zombie movies and shows of media to choose from, I’m going to single out a new one — Resident Evil.
No, I’m not talking about all those old adaptations that barely resembled the games. I’m talking about the brand-new film from Zach Cregger starring The Walking Dead veteran Austin Abrams.
It’s not exactly The Walking Dead, but it’s almost better in a way and worth the movie ticket price.
Resident Evil's zombies are actually terrifying
There are some zombie movies that you watch, and you wonder how people are killed so fast because the zombies don’t seem that scary. Then, there are other films where the zombies are almost too scary and too fast, and it feels like they don’t even give people the chance to survive. Resident Evil is not like that.
Oh no, these zombies are terrifying because it’s a slow burn until they are fully mutated.
I’m not going to reveal every secret of what makes these zombies tick if you’ve never played the Resident Evil games, but this type of zombie isn’t your average zombie. It’s not easily killed with a shot to the head or to the chest, and even when its body gets blown to pieces, there are ways it can come back.
There were moments during this film when I was truly disgusted. It was the first horror film in a long while that truly made me turn my head away several times.
If you love video games, Cregger's Resident Evil is the ultimate adaptation
If you’ve heard over the last few days that Resident Evil is considered one of the best video game adaptations ever, those reports aren't wrong. It really is that good.
Yes, that Rotten Tomatoes score is surprising, but it makes sense when you sit down and watch the movie, because it’s not just a great adaptation. This film feels as if you are fully immersed in the world of Resident Evil. Several shots make you feel like the main character, Bryan (Abrams). You will feel as if you’re actively holding a weapon and sneaking through a terrifying area so you don't get caught by these creatures.
It goes beyond that, though. There are nods to the games themselves, like puzzles, padlocks, and more, and several moments that hark back to what makes Resident Evil so good. Better still, it doesn’t try to copy the exact story from the game. It creates a wholly original story that parallels events from Resident Evil II, without using iconic character names. And that makes it much better.
I feel like Resident Evil has failed many times before because previous adaptations struggled to adapt Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy’s story, the two most famous characters from the series as a whole. This movie avoids that and succeeds while still honoring the story as a whole.
Austin Abrams is fantastic as the lead
I’ve mentioned this a few times in other articles, but I’m really loving how Abrams is slowly morphing into a scream king. Obviously, he has great range elsewhere, as we’ve seen in other shows and movies, but he's clearly a key to success in horror films.
His role as Bryan is genuinely funny and compelling without trying too hard. He’s really just a guy trying to make a buck and figure out what's next in his life when he gets thrown into the worst situation ever. He does everything in his power to survive, and honestly, you almost feel bad for him because he’s such a normal dude.
Bryan is, essentially, how the regular player would act if thrown into this world. We all think we'll probably be okay because of our “training” in video games, but at the end of the day, we’d struggle to stay alive. His hysterical moments throughout the movie make it even better.
Abrams is really the only person who can bring that level of looniness and balance it with character development that doesn’t feel forced and fits the film. For that, I need to give him his flowers.
All in all, Resident Evil is a lot of fun. I genuinely can’t say much bad about it because, as a gamer who's actively watched (and played) these games, it felt like I was right in the thick of things. For fans of The Walking Dead, this has zombies, a fun main character, terrifying jump scares, and even more. You really can’t ask for much else. I'd suggest not even watching the trailer and going in blind.
You can see Resident Evil in theaters now.
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