Nolan at the Movies: Resident Evil Infects With Ambition

By Nolan Cleary

It was once said by the late US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, that, "There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.” 

As such, I should preface - before reviewing the 2026 reboot of Resident Evil - that I know very little about video games, and as a result, know as much about the video game series that Resident Evil is based upon, as I do about forensic entomology. 

That should not however, deter any viewer’s experience of a film, and as a bonified novice of this subject matter, I am happy to report that 2026’s adaption of Resident Evil is excellent on all fronts.

The film follows a paramedic delivery driver named Bryan, who is hired to take a mystery package to the mysterious Raccoon City.  Along the way, he runs a gauntlet of infected monsters and battles through a series of horrific and lurid misadventures. 

That is about as much as can be said about the plot of Resident Evil without invoking plot spoilers. 

This is the third film directed by Zach Cregger, who notably struck gold with his feature debut, Barbarian, and again with last year’s follow up, Weapons, which famously earned Amy Madigan an Academy Award. 

Resident Evil doesn’t quite pack the punch of those excellent films, but Cregger still manages to deliver. The film takes full advantage of the grueling and depraved nature of its subject matter, imagining intimate moments of dread and gloom. 

Creggor redefines the notion of what can be done with a video game adaption, capturing the brio and adrenaline of a first person shooter adventure. Yet, the film doesn’t always survive like a bystander in a zombie apocalypse.

Unlike Creggor’s previous efforts, which told their stories out of order, the screenplay for the latest adaption of the popular video game franchise largely operates by the books, devoid of Creggor’s usual narrative quirks and tricks. 

As a result, the film is lacks a lot of the creativity that defined those past endeavors. Also, Resident Evil is unlikely to appeal to moviegoers who lack a basic level tolerance for the gruesomeness of the body horror genre. 

Yet, for those willing to stomach Creggor’s blood curdling vision, Resident Evil is another impressive cinematic achievement in the up-and-coming director’s film repertoire.