Resident Evil (2026) Review – The Greatest Video-Game Adaptation Ever

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are going to be reviewing a movie that’s absolutely killing it at the box office at the moment – Resident Evil (2026). Directed by Zach Cregger, of Barbarian and Weapons fame, certain people have raised a bit of a stink about this movie but you should completely ignore the rhetoric. Go and see this at your first available opportunity. Let’s take a look at why.

It’s a Series Reboot, I guess

For those of you who don’t game so aren’t aware of the origins of the Resident Evil series, you will probably recognise the name from the long running movie franchise that started back in 2002.

Resident Evil, however, actually started life as a survival horror video game series back in 1996. The movies were loosely based on this series. And when I say loosely, I mean extremely loosely. So loose, in fact, that they could best me described as a remix that acted more as fan-service than a truly cohesive piece of Resident Evil based story telling.

This 2026 film bearing the Resident Evil title could best be described as a franchise reboot. Writer, director Zach Cregger has gone completely back to the drawing board and scrapped everything that lead up to this point.

This is a totally original story with no connection at all to the previous films. It also has no real connection to the games, either. Don’t expect to see Alice from the movie or Jill and Chris from the games.

The story follows medical courier Bryan (Austin Abrams) as he is tasked with transporting an important package to a snowed in Racoon City.

While on his way, he hits a woman, with his car, who stumbles out into the road. After attempting to help her, he realises that this is no ordinary woman and he is actually slap bang in the middle of a viral outbreak consuming the entire city.

Ignore the Bollocks

If you have read literally anything about this movie, you will probably know what I am talking about, here. When it comes to Resident Evil, you really need to ignore some of the negative discourse surrounding the film.

“The fact that people are criticising Cregger for telling his own story is, frankly, ridiculous and I doubt the actual fandom of these people.”

Many fans of the Resident Evil games are not happy that Cregger has decided to forgo telling a story based on one of the games to craft something completely original.

In fact, Cregger described promotion for this film as being like going on an apology tour because he has dealt with so much vitriol for not directly adapting one of the games. That’s an insanely ludicrous position for so called fans of the series to take.

I am an absolutely enormous fan of the Resident Evil games.

I’ve recently got done with the platinum on Resident Evil Requiem, which I then followed up by getting every trophy on Resident Evil 7, including the ridiculously tough DLC stuff (Yes, Ethan Must Die, End of Zoe hard mode, and Survival 21+ included), and every trophy including DLC on Resident Evil Village.

That’s just on top of the 100% trophy count I have on all of the previous games.

I own the steelbook versions of each game and even have a mint condition copy of the first Resident Evil on Sega Saturn sitting in my collection. All of my opinions regarding this film come as a long time fan of the games.

One thing the Resident Evil series has never been scared of is telling original stories and presenting the horror in different ways. Games have ranged from slow survival horror to full blown action and everything in between.

The fact that people are criticising Cregger for telling his own story is, frankly, ridiculous and it even leads me to doubt the actual fandom of these people. Capcom always took risks with this series, for better or for worse, and Cregger’s decision to take a risk here pays off enormously.

This movie is right at the top of the list when it comes to nigh on perfect entries into the Resident Evil universe.

It actually feels like a Resident Evil video game

Honestly, pretty much everything with this movie works spectacularly well. Let’s start with the stuff that is important to gamers.

“As a fan of the series, there was so much here that made me smile and the execution is outstanding.”

This actually feels like a Resident Evil game. In fact, it feels more like a game than any other adaptation I have ever watched.

The movie plays out as almost a collection of set pieces. You have the trip to Racoon City, a venture into a barn yard, a search around a spooky house, a walk down a dark, imposing tunnel. This feels like a collection of sequences you would go through in a Resident Evil game.

Each new section feels distinctly different from the one that came before it thanks to unique visual language, but they never lose their feeling of cohesion and organic connection.

There’s an absolutely legion of fan service on display, as well.

Cregger is obviously someone who loves the source. You’ll be seeing green herbs, first aid sprays, diamond keys, and many other little nods to the survival horror gaming series. Cregger even manages to go someway to logically explaining some of the game’s particular foibles, like why you can’t just shoot a lock.

Brian actively searches for new weapons, goes on hunts for ammo, and is constantly managing his bullet count, just like in the games. It sounds like this would be somewhat obtrusive to the viewing experience but it really isn’t.

Cregger has seamlessly blended these little nods into the movie in a way that feels completely organic. It’s the type of content that will make fans of the games go “ah, now that’s smart” while never feeling out of place to people who are here purely for the movie itself.

As a fan of the series, there was so much here that made me smile and the execution is outstanding.

It’s also an utterly fantastic horror movie

This is, obviously, a horror movie review website so let’s push the gaming stuff to one side for a second. As a horror movie, Resident Evil is utterly fantastic. In fact, this represents a big leap from the brilliant Weapons and an enormous leap from Barbarian.

This feels like Cregger’s most complete film; it also feels like his most focused.

I got the sense, at times, with both Weapons and Barbarian that he didn’t always know where he wanted to go with certain plot points or, even, the entire story in general. This is completely different.

Cregger has entirely avoided a bloated narrative to, instead, follow one character only and this serves to keep the story ultra tight. Each sequences moves at the kind of break-neck pace that one would expect from a person trying to escape a viral outbreak and every scene is picked clean down to the bone.

Brian moves from one utterly harrowing predicament right to the next with no break. There’s barely time for the viewer to catch their breath. Each new segment introduces you to some other horrifying manifestation of viral outbreak ready to terrify you and have you on the edge of your seat.

A lot of decent scares

Naturally, the rapid pacing places this closer to one of the series’ action games (4, 5, 6, Village) rather than survival horror, so don’t expect too much creeping dread. There are some strong moments of suspense, though.

Most of the scares come in the form of Brian being completely incapable of not getting himself in awful situations. He repeatedly seems to wander into danger, over and over.

It’s genuinely enthralling and you’ll be eagerly awaiting the next disgusting mutation to pop up on screen. There’s some shoddy CGI here and there, but it is very clear that most of the effects work on this movie was practical and it looks utterly fantastic.

This is a proper wet and soggy gore-fest in parts and it disgusts and delights in equal measures. Creature designs reminded me a lot of The Thing while also retaining enough of the Resident Evil Las Plagas DNA, as well as other abominations, to keep it feeling familiar.

A big part of why this movie works so well is the performance of Austin Abrams. He was fantastic in Weapons and he is even better here. He has crafted a character, in Brian, who is entirely likeable, utterly incapable, and immensely easy to root for. Abrams absolutely needs more lead roles, this is one of my favourite horror performances in years.

Visually, I’d say this is less daring than Weapons but somehow more aesthetically pleasing.

The snow covered landscapes make for a stunning picture and the lighting bouncing off the snow looks incredible. The first person shots work brilliantly, as well, and are a nice inclusion for fans of the recent games.

It may prove a bit divisive

I’ll wrap this review up briefly talking about some of the potential issues. Again, going back to fans of the game, this movie contains the DNA of the Resident Evil games and is structured similarly, but that is where the connections end.

“This film makes you laugh constantly and that is going to put off people expecting relentless horror.”

You could remove the title and it wouldn’t make much of a difference. This is just a very good horror movie that wears the Resident Evil hat while never really needing to. There probably isn’t enough here to please people expecting to see favourites from the series.

Cregger said that he toned the humour down in the final version of this film. You wouldn’t guess it because this is practically a horror-comedy.

Brian’s affable personality and every-man reaction to what is going on around him (in other words, screaming constantly) adds a ton of humour to the events. On top of that, most characters he interacts with don’t seem to be taking the situation very seriously at all which only adds to the chuckles.

This film makes you laugh constantly and that is going to put off people expecting relentless horror. Some are going to find that the comedy undermines the tone on numerous occasions. There’s at least a couple of scenes that almost descend into outright farce.

The ending is going to be divisive, too. I understand why Cregger wraps the story up the way he does but some people will be disappointed. In fact, the final quarter of the movie is a bit underwhelming, in general.

With all of that being said, whether you are a fan of the game or just horror in general, I’d suggest watching Resident Evil at the first available opportunity. It’s one of 2026’s best horror films and a sure sign that Cregger is one of the best directors in the industry.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.