- Primary Subject: Resident Evil Movie Review
- Key Update: The movie successfully captures the survival horror gameplay loop and tone of the Resident Evil games.
- Status: Published
- Last Verified: 2026-09-17
- Quick Answer: Check out how the new Resident Evil movie authentically embodies the survival horror elements that make the game franchise iconic.
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil has received near-universal critical acclaim, and for good reason. In fact, it’s such a strong adaptation of the series that it made me want to boot up a few classics right away.
Going into the movie, I had high hopes of seeing an actual good horror film, though I worried it might simply take the Resident Evil name to market itself to gaming fans without keeping in line with the tone, aesthetics, or story elements iconic to the franchise. Boy, was I wrong.
Sure, there are no S.T.A.R.S. members, no Raccoon City PD, and no iconic characters like Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, or Leon Kennedy—but it has all the DNA of what makes a Resident Evil game, well, Resident Evil. It boasts clever visual nods, great narrative elements, believable character interactions, and the occasional tongue-in-cheek comedy moment that every solid entry in the franchise features. Because let me tell you: if you don’t think there are comedic moments in the series beyond Leon’s cheesy one-liners, you haven't been paying attention.
There is one scene in particular, very early on, that made me feel like I was actually playing a game in the series. No major spoilers, but it involves our main character, Bryan, frantically searching for rifle ammunition under some unsavory circumstances.
He opens every single drawer and explores every room of a creaking, seemingly uninhabited house, only to completely waste that precious commodity the moment he finds it because he panics in a tense, life-or-death situation. We’ve all been there as RE players: trying to conserve ammo, playing it safe, and then, all of a sudden, a gnarly undead enemy flushes our ammo economy straight down the drain.
That singular moment alone showed me Cregger got it. Resident Evil’s best moments occur when your back is against the wall. While the power fantasy of controlling human tanks like Leon or Chris has largely removed that sense of dread from recent entries, the Resident Evil movie evokes the exact feeling Ethan Winters gave me in Resident Evil 7—a regular guy tossed into a situation he’s woefully unequipped to deal with, finding the willpower to overcome nightmarish demons out of love for his wife, Mia.
With spooky season right around the corner, I really can’t wait to dig back into the series and play those early survival horror entries while rewatching Cregger’s take on Resident Evil a couple more times. It does exactly what a film adaptation should set out to do: create its own spin on an IP while respecting the core foundation, leaving general audiences curious enough to check out the source material. Or, in my case, driving me to dive back in after 10+ years of not replaying the original games.
And that’s it. Stick with us at Gfinityesports.com: your go-to source for all things Resident Evil.