Title – Resident Evil (2026)

Director – Zach Cregger (Weapons)

Cast – Austin Abrams, Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry

Plot – Courier Bryan Hodukavich (Abrams) gets more than he bargained for when a delivery run he’s making to Racoon City takes a turn for the worse.

“You got time for another run?”

Review by Eddie on 18/09/2026

About as far away from Paul W.S Anderson and Milla Jovovich as you’d likely get, Zach Cregger’s new cinematic take on the Resident Evil brand is a rip-roaring good time, a film that’s slight, with little meat on the bones, but a film that is sure to entertain the masses with an experience that’s lean, sometimes mean and produced with a quality sheen.

Announcing himself in 2022 with the surprisingly great Barbarian and ramping things up with last year’s smash hit Weapons, Cregger, who is a long-term Resident Evil fan himself, has quickly established himself as one of Hollywood’s brightest up and coming writer/directors, proving to himself and everyone else here that he’s just as at home with established I.P as he is when his working off his own wild creations.

Clocking it at an incredibly brisk feeling 90 minutes, a rarity when it comes to Hollywood blockbusters in this day and age, Resident Evil eschews delving into much in the way of backstory or character development as it instead throws Austin Abrams unassuming medical courier Bryan Hodukavich into one of cinemas most horrifically pear-shaped nights as Bryan attempts to deliver an important package into the heart of a virus ravaged Racoon City.

Rarely taking a moments pause from the time it starts until the time it ends, Cregger instils he’s wild night out with a breathless energy, an energy that’s matched by a star making turn from Weapon’s standout Abrams (soon to be seen swallowed whole by a creature of the deep in Whalefall), some wonderful nodding to the Resident Evil games cinematography from D.O.P Dariusz Wolski and a brilliant score from composer’s the Holloday’s, all working together to make sure Resident Evil feels like a cinematic spectacle throughout.

Often doing a great job balancing out thrills, chills, spills and a hearty dose of dark comedy, that may become one of the film’s most divisive components for viewers that were wanting more po-faced Resident Evil, Cregger continues to ensure that his directional outings feel like their own unique beasts, with this venture into monster territory having familiar beats but often surprising with narrative movements it makes and situations we find ourselves in.

From scene one right through to the end, front and centre is Abrams who delivers a turn that won’t win any awards but is right up there with one of 2026’s most impressive, with the entire weight of the film on his shoulders, he nails every turn he takes and whether Bryan is hilariously muttering to himself about his predicament or loading a double barrelled shotgun for potential threats, Abrams is acting out of his skin here, giving the film an added element that it otherwise lacks due to its notable absence of substance and depth.

Judging by the jubilant, applause laden reception I witnessed in my showing, it’s clear that Cregger has delivered on his promise of creating a crowd pleasing and white-knuckle Resident Evil offering that may not stick the landing entirely, but one that never outstays its welcome and balances out a viewing experience designed for open minded series veterans and those that have no affiliation with the brand whatsoever.

Final Say –

There’s nothing going on under the surface of Resident Evil but that doesn’t stop Zach Cregger’s highly entertaining and expertly put together thrill ride from providing the goods, all the while giving Austin Abrams a star-making role that’s sure to rocket him up the list of Hollywood’s acting pecking order.

3 1/2 padlocks out of 5