Bryan takes one more delivery before finishing work. Then he hits a woman on a snowy road. He stops because he thinks she needs help, without understanding what has happened to her. Director Zach Cregger gives Austin Abrams time to show Bryan’s fear before the fighting begins. Abrams makes it easy to believe that this delivery driver has no idea how to survive the night.
Resident Evil mixes horror with comedy as Bryan tries to escape Raccoon City. The monsters look disgusting, and their sudden attacks are scary. But Bryan keeps getting into trouble in similar ways, so some of the jokes become predictable. The ending also spends too little time on his life beyond the attacks.
Bryan is scared even when he has a gun
Abrams plays a courier who delivers medical supplies, not a soldier. Bryan accepts an extra job that takes him toward Raccoon City General Hospital. You do not need to know the history of Umbrella, the company behind the infection, to follow what happens to him.
Stopping to help an injured woman is a reasonable decision. Bryan does not yet know that the people around him could be infected. You can see the danger before he does, but his decision still makes sense. That makes this opening more frightening than a scene in which someone ignores an obvious warning.
Later, finding a gun does not make Bryan confident. He has to watch how many bullets he has left and find a way past the creatures. Abrams still looks frightened while holding a weapon. You worry that Bryan might not escape because he looks so unprepared for the fight.
The camera sometimes follows close behind Bryan. His body blocks part of the view ahead, so you cannot see everything that might be waiting for him. Locked gates and narrow passages stop him from simply running away. He has to find another way through while he is still in danger.
Do not expect Leon and Claire’s story from the games. Cregger follows a new character and changes some details of the infection. The city and its dangers will be familiar to players, but the events are different. If you mainly want to see your favorite game characters, this is not that movie.
The later jokes make the attacks less scary
Some of the comedy comes from Bryan losing something useful while escaping. He gets away from one attack, then needs the object he no longer has. It is funny because you understand his mistake and can see how it makes the next problem harder to solve.
As the night continues, Cregger repeats this kind of bad luck too often. You begin to expect another mistake whenever Bryan tries to escape. Some jokes also come before an attack has had enough time to become scary. The early scenes work better because Bryan’s confusion is funny without making the danger seem less serious.
The creatures still look disturbing. Bodies are badly injured and change into horrible shapes. There is frequent blood and graphic violence, along with strong language. That is why the movie has an R rating in the United States. The jokes do not make it suitable for younger viewers.
The locations give Bryan different problems. He has space to move on the snowy road, but much less room in the narrow passages. Not every obstacle is exciting, though. Watching him search for another way past a blocked route can get dull. Finding that route yourself in a game is more involving than waiting for someone else to find it in a movie.
Resident Evil movie images
3 screenshotsThe ending spends too little time on Bryan’s personal life
Paul Walter Hauser, Kali Reis and Zach Cherry appear, but none stays long enough for us to get to know their character well. Bryan soon has to move on. Leaving him alone makes the danger harder to face, but it also gives the other actors little to do beyond helping or delaying him.
An early conversation with his girlfriend gives Bryan something to worry about besides work. After following him through so many attacks, it would be satisfying to spend more time on that relationship. Instead, the movie ends too quickly. His personal life gets less attention than the next creature or escape.
Resident Evil is worth watching for Abrams’s frightened performance and the sudden creature attacks. If you like bloody horror with plenty of jokes, there is a lot to enjoy. If you want to feel scared throughout the movie or see the games’ story recreated, expect some disappointment. Pixel Twelve’s score is 7.6/10: the escapes are exciting, but the repeated jokes and rushed ending stop the movie from being as good as its opening.
Resident Evil opened in U.S. theaters on September 18, 2026. Our release guide covers the premise and cast without spoiling the ending.
Loading results
