Staff Writer: Jsha’Quan Johnson
Resident Evil (2026) is the newest horror movie of the upcoming fall season. Not to be confused with the Resident Evil series starring Milla Jovovich as Alice, it is the latest reboot of the live-action films that follows the story of a medical courier named Brian delivering a package during the events of the Resident Evil 2 video game.
The directors of the film didn’t just pull inspiration from the games when making this film, but from the franchise as a whole, and it is great. The start of the film gives off Resident Evil game vibes, just like how most of the games start with a regular person running into an infected person, while the main character is delivering a medical package to the beginning of what he encounters, Raccoon City. Other than that, during his journey, there were many things referenced to the games throughout the movie.
One reference that was notable in the film was the locks throughout the film. Along with that, there was also the progression of his weapon, from starting out with a pistol, then finding a shotgun, and finding an SMG by the end of the film, like in the games, minus the bonus weapons from the games. Another reference was the items, from finding the recognizable Resident Evil 4 video game green shotgun ammo box to healing items scattered around the movie, such as green herbs and first aid sprays.
In my opinion, however, the best aspect is the infection. Instead of being a steady version of the T-virus like in the second game, the director modified it in the film from the game’s version, incorporating different aspects of different versions of the virus that were introduced throughout the game series.
Versus the traditional T-virus that causes the outbreak in the game, in the film, the infected can’t really be stopped and can absorb bodies, fusing them into a big mass and forming a monster. Along with the modification comes a mixture of different traits from different games, like parasitic traits from Resident Evil 4 and 5, the spitter creature from Resident Evil 7 Village, cocoons from Resident Evil 6, and recurring bosses like Nemesis from Resident Evil 3. These were great aspects to see in the movie and to develop throughout the film as it progressed.
The aesthetics of the scenes and items, and the infection connected to the game, were great, and even though the film takes place during the events of the second game, with the modifications and differences from the video game, it feels like its own story separate from the game. It made it into its own unique story separate from the main canon while using inspiration from that source.
The way the film was supposed to be a part of the Resident Evil video game world was executed very well, even though there were changes to parts of the lore. The movie was great for the source material and is a great watch for fans of the game franchise. When it came to the writing, however, there were a few things that I didn’t like. They are small but important, the only concerns of mine were that it felt like there was too much unnecessary swearing, the jokes felt like they were trying too hard at times, and the ending felt overdramatic. The movie also felt short as well, but it is more of a side story to the main story, so it’s not that troublesome.
If you are looking to watch a Resident Evil movie that is long and sticks to the lore and canon aspects, this is probably not your cup of tea. But if you enjoy the side stories of the series and are looking for another that is part of the world and don’t mind if it works differently from the lore, then this is a great movie to watch with high suspense and mild horror, including if you or anyone you know hasn’t watched it yet for Halloween night.