Tag: Survival Horror

Resident Evil Review: Survival Horror the Movie.

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 mutated monstrosities seen in many RE games translate well to Cregger’s film.

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.  

Let’s just say if Bryan did not want to have kids by the film’s end I would totally understand his reasoning.

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.

Less humor would have made the ending hit harder than it already does.

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. 

Alien: Isolation Review: Everyone Will Hear You Scream.

When asking what the best Alien video game is, I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who would not say Alien: Isolation.
Released all the way back in 2014, the game is often praised as one the greatest survival horror experiences of all time.
It is also well known for its controversial IGN review, where the reviewer only rated it 5.9 out of ten.
Well, after first playing Isolation years ago, I found myself having a much more positive reaction, and my opinion on the game has only improved in the years since.
So, after watching in excitement as the sequel was revealed at Summer Game Fest, I decided to do another playthrough, but this time on Hard Mode since I’m still too scared to do a Nightmare playthrough.

Maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to play through the game on Nightmare… but not today.

Alien Isolation follows Amanda (voiced by Andrea Deck), the daughter of iconic heroine, Ellen Ripley.
After learning the flight recorder from the Nostromo has been recovered and taken to Sevastopol Station, Amanda travels there to hopefully find some closure.
Instead, she finds herself facing the same nightmare her mother experienced because a Xenomorph stalks the ship, determined to hunt her (and, by extension, YOU) down.
The story and characters of Alien: Isolation are pretty simple.
Nothing spectacular but they get the job done.
They are not the game’s selling point; the titular Alien is.
Over ten years later, this game is still famous for the creature’s AI.
It is programmed to be given hints about where you are on the map and constantly adapts to your escape or distraction strategies.
The Xenomorph also kills you immediately if it catches you, and all of these things combine to create one of gaming’s most terrifying stalker enemies.
I accidentally walked into the Alien at one point, resulting in me screaming like a child, firing my gun at it in a panic (even though I knew it would do nothing), ending with this being the last thing Amanda Ripley ever saw.   

Prepare to die a bunch to the Alien, especially on harder difficulties.

Way back in 1979, Ash described the Alien as “the perfect organism.”
Well, Creative Assembly certainly replicated this with the Xenomorph in their game, and they deserve all the praise for it.
There are so many iconic cat and mouse moments in this game, from the medical wing, to the trap, to that god damn long hallway.
The Alien is not the only enemy, however, for there are also humans and androids
The humans are easily dealt with for the most part, but the Working Joes are another matter.
They take a lot of hits to kill on Hard Mode, and you almost always risk alerting the Alien when fighting them.
I cannot imagine what it would be like on Nightmare Mode.

The Working Joe’s also have that uncanny valley look, which adds to the fear.

That being said, it is also with the Working Joes where some players’ criticisms come in.
There are a few chapters in the game where you are only fighting androids, and some consider this to be the weakest part of the game.
I know I felt that way when I first played but, in my recent playthrough, I actually had a lot of fun finally having the freedom to take these guys down, without having to worry about the Alien dropping down and instantly killing me.
What I will not praise, however, is the space-walking segments.
There are three in the game, and the first gets a pass because we are exploring an interesting area.
The other two, however, are extremely tedious, and you move at a snail’s pace so that certainly does not help. 

The nostalgia of visiting the ship from the first film is one of this section’s only saving graces.

At the least the visuals during these brief moments are still great.
That is another thing to praise the game for because the graphics have aged fantastically.
While the NPCs do look a little flat outside of cutscenes, the environment is flawless and a perfect replication of the environment from the original Alien.
It is no wonder this game inspired Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus.
Isolation is a fantastic video game.
While the story is basic, the graphics are excellent and the AI for the titular Alien is out of this world, making for a both terrifying and very difficult game. 

The challenge is part of the experience in Alien: Isolation.

In space no one can hear you scream, but I am sure the neighbours heard me screaming in terror while I played this game.
I am both excited and afraid to finally get my hands on the sequel after all these years.
Alien: Isolation is certainly not a 5.9.
It is one of horror gaming’s greatest terrors.