Resident Evil (2026) - A Video Game Adaptation We Can Finally Get Behind
Warning: Contains major spoilers for Resident Evil (2026)
In an interview with IGN, director Zach Cregger said that making this movie was a ‘love letter to the experience of playing a Resident Evil game’ – and I think that perfectly encapsulates what this is. There’s no Chris Redfield, no Jill Valentine and no Leon Kennedy…and that’s ok. This film still deserves to be titled ‘Resident Evil’.
Video game adaptations never tend to sit well with audiences. There have been plenty of contentious attempts, including the Resident Evil movies starring Mila Jovovich. Whilst they can be enjoyable, they never seem to get it quite right; the story is different, the casting is all wrong, or the timeline makes no sense. But with the release of Resident Evil (2026), we’re introduced to a snowy modern-day Raccoon City and a brand new, never-seen-before, and certainly-not-capable-of-a-backflip, average Joe of a protagonist – Bryan Hodukavich. And I think he’s great.
The story of Bryan
Austin Abrams, who you may recognise (or not because he looks completely different in it) from Cregger’s previous horror hit ‘Weapons’, charmingly brings to life our main character as we follow him through the worst day of his life.
Bryan is a medical courier making a treacherous journey to Raccoon City. From the get-go we’re told he’s going to be a father but he’s apprehensive. The motif of parenthood is hauntingly concurrent throughout the whole movie, heightening the inevitable tragedy to come – not just because Bryan becomes a William Birkin-esque monster by the end, but because we gradually discover that he probably would’ve been a good father.
We see this in his reassuring tone when he helps the zombie-woman into the police car, the way he carefully straps the medical bag onto the seat, the softening of his eyes when he discovers the child in the caravan and his bravery in ensuring the package reaches the hospital, even before he knows what it is. Because let’s face it, nobody’s completing that job with a rolling mutation of limbs chasing them through the woods, even if it pays double.
What makes it worse is that Bryan himself realises he wants to be a father by the third act- when he sees the family sticker on the car window, leaves that heart-wrenching voice note for his girlfriend and cries on the floor of the parking garage. But by then it’s too late, we know he’s been bitten and slowly transforming, and together we’re grieving the life he won’t get to experience.
The intentional perversion of Bryan having been bitten by a child and then running through a bloodied maternity ward with frightening zombified babies exploding around him, harrowingly foreshadows that he will never get his chance to become a father. So, whilst it’s unsatisfying that the guy we’ve been rooting for doesn’t get a happy ending, it’s understandable that Cregger decided to make him another devastating victim of Umbrella. He’s not a hero; he’s just a normal guy. The moment Bryan rolls into Raccoon City; we know he’s not going to make it out.
Stepping into the game
The sense of immersion is what really solidifies this as a worthy tribute. Bryan feels like a player starting the games for the first time- shooting padlocks that weren’t designed to break, crashing into gates, wasting his last few bullets, and opening every drawer looking for shotgun shells.
The opening shots following behind Bryan when you can’t see his face automatically give the feel of a third-person gaming perspective, paired with excellent first-person camerawork of Bryan’s heavy breathing whilst pointing his gun in the sewers and almost slipping on the skybridge.
The use of colour and constant dynamic changing of locations builds an atmosphere pleasantly reminiscent of playing Resident Evil 2 and 3. And even though it felt like the first aid cans, green herbs, and typewriter were glorified product placement so we could point and say ‘I understood that reference,’ I could still appreciate it, and it didn’t negate that the film had captured the essence of Resident Evil. Especially the dog chase…
Watching this movie, particularly on the big screen, was simply fun. The zombie woman running towards the house perfectly set up that horrific closet jump scare that had the whole cinema jolting in their seats.
It did get tiresome that Bryan was constantly fumbling at everything and never moving quickly enough. However, Austin Abrams was incredibly charismatic on screen and brought an endearing goofiness to the character with his awkward mannerisms, angry self-monologuing and high-pitched shrieks that induced stifled giggles from everyone. Whoever said a bit of lovable cringe doesn’t belong in Resident Evil is either lying or has never played a game.
After a whole lot of praise
I’m not saying this film is perfect. It certainly has its flaws, with the ending being its key weakness. I don’t necessarily disagree with the narrative choice, though naturally we hoped for a good one. My main issue was with the pacing. I revelled in all the exposition but by the time he got to the lab everything felt rushed and Bryan’s transformation felt too sudden. We barely got a chance to accept that this was the end of his humanity.
In the end, Zach Cregger knew what he wanted to do with this movie and I think he successfully achieved it. I don’t need an iteration of Leon and Claire that I’m never going to be satisfied with, the games are narratively cinematic enough and even the animated series are decent. For that reason, I welcome and praise this version of Resident Evil.
If only Bryan could’ve reloaded his progress on the typewriter.
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