Zach Cregger has emerged as one of the great horror directors working today.
Barbarian was a lot of fun and Weapons is one of my favorite movies of 2025.
So, knowing that he would be the mind behind the latest Resident Evil movie, I was interested to see if he could deliver.
Given how bad some of the previous live-action Resident Evil films were, there was this little speck of doubt in my mind about whether this newest adaptation would be good.
Well, having seen the movie a few hours ago, I can thankfully say my doubt was unwarranted.
Zach Cregger has done it again, delivering a great story set in the Resident Evil universe. 

The film follows Austin Abrams’ Bryan, a medical courier taking a package to Raccoon City just as the zombie outbreak is beginning.
Upon Bryan’s first encounter with the undead, the film puts its foot on the pedal and does not let up until the credits role.
Bryan encounters one disgusting biohazard after another in scenes which felt like moments I could potentially play through in a survival horror game.
Zach Cregger has been met with some backlash that his adaptation does not center around any characters from the games but, honestly, I think it is better this way.
It gave him complete freedom to do what he wanted with Bryan’s character and those infected with the virus.
And, boy, does he make some bold choices by the film’s end.
Austin Abrams also does a solid job as the main character.
He gave my favorite performance in Weapons (excluding Amy Madigan), and he feels especially relatable here as just an average joe dropped into a gore-filled, traumatising hellscape.  

Speaking of the gore, there is a lot of it to wince in disgust at.
Most of it is CGI, but it is of good quality, as are the jump scares.
There were two in particular from the first act which had me leaping from my seat in fright.
Along with the effects and horror, the cinematography is also great, with some shots reminding me of the first-person perspective from the most recent RE video game entries.
So, the movie feels like it takes place in the game’s universe, the gore and jump scares are unnerving, and the performances are solid.
Is there anything I did not like about the film?
Well, unfortunately, I do think the comedy was a bit overplayed at times.
Comedy is nothing new with Zach Cregger.
He comes from a comedic background after all, and there was plenty of humor in Barbarian and Weapons. 
Still, I do think the humor should have been toned down a bit in the third act, so the horror of the situation could have been allowed to shine better.

As for the conclusion, I can see some people being unhappy with it.
Personally, I liked what Zach Cregger was going for, but I can definitely understand if anyone ends the movie feeling a little bitter.
Overall, though, despite these minor gripes, the movie is still great.
I would say it is better than Barbarian but I do enjoy Weapons more.
And what about the other live-action Resident Evil movies?
Where does this latest adaptation rank among them?
Well, that would be spoiling things because I did a rewatch of these movies before going to the theater, and I plan to release a post ranking all eight live-action films sometime next week.
Until then, know that Resident Evil is a gory and tension-filled time.
If you are a fan of the games, I would definitely recommend it.