Resident Evil

Much like The Backrooms, the Resident Evil franchise has always fascinated me. I've never been one to play scary games, but various YouTube channels have enlightened me to so many terrific horror/thriller stories, and Resident Evil is no exception. Hearing another movie was in the works made me groan, until I saw director Ryan Cregger was attached.

Resident Evil follows a courier, Bryan (Austin Abrams), as he braves the harsh conditions to Racoon City to deliver an unknown package. Working for an unknown corporation, Bryan must power through whatever obstacle stands in his way and make his delivery.

TLDR; I liked it.

Having never played any of the video games, or watched any of the previous film adaptations, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into Cregger's latest. I've always found Cregger's films to be alluring in their own right, but they've never connected with me. I also wasn't sure what to expect given Capcom's rules surrounding what can and can't be told, referenced, or shown in films. Most of the uncertainty I had surrounding the film was quickly dismissed shortly after the film began. The opening sequence does a good enough job at establishing the world, the stakes, and the journey hell that we're about to embark on.

The cinematography in Resident Evil is goregous. The settings feel real and lived in, and they're breathtaking. The scenes from a majority of the marketing and trailers of the snowy woods are just as mesmerizing on the big screen as they are on YouTube. The film also experiments with first-person POV, a common perspective in video games, especially RE games. The sequences from the trailers (in the woods) are heartpounding thrills, and the first-person POV from the same scene is one of more memorable scenes I've seen in a long time.

I found myself enjoying Austin Abrams performance quite a bit, as well. He was personable, interesting, and easy to root for as he continued on his journey through hell. The rest of the cast, well, they're not really the point. Abrams is on-screen for close to 100% of the film, and he carries the load well. Everyone else is just "there."

The film also feels incredibly short. It almost feels as though several scenes or sequences were cut, either due to poor testing or the aforementioned restrictions imposed by Capcom. I'll expand a little further below, but there are certain scenes that felt stitched together, and entire sequences that felt...easy.

The Spoiler-y Part

I'd like to preface this section by stating the following: I liked the movie. I don't really have many complaints that hurt my overall perception of the film. Having said that, there are a number of decisions and, I would say, inconsistencies, that leave me scratching my head.

My most pointed critique, I would say, comes during the transition from the end of the second act into the beginning of the third act. Abrams's character finds himself, one could say, at the end of a tunnel, and he literally has to get from where he is to the next setting. There is no clear and obvious path to get him there, so the story injects two characters that are solely there just to dump exposition and are swiftly removed from the story just as quickly as they're introduced.

To me, this is the most egregious and obvious form of stapling on story exposition and explanation after the fact. There are even sequences throughout the movie where it's obvious that Abrams's performance was being cut between multiple takes. Coupled with the fact that certain actors were obviously on a green screen or on a volume afterwards, while Abrams was clearly on set that day, it results in a very jarring experience.

And then, when you also realize that they're only there to serve as a catalyst for the character to get from A to B and to explain more of what's happening in the world, it really just leaves a sour taste in your mouth. It makes you feel like the story wasn't truly a Resident Evil film to begin with, which I hate to entertain. I suppose the alternative is that Cregger felt that we're stupid, and as audiences we can't be trusted to connect the dots. As the days go on, we seem to be proving that more and more. But I'd like to think that video‑game fans are a little more knowledgeable than that.

I also found myself agreeing with a contingent of online criticism that is a little miffed at the runtime and marketing, or lack thereof. We see every setting in the marketing. There isn’t a lot left to the imagination when you go to see it in the theater.

There’s also the question of showing too much, and I think, in the case of this movie in particular, they certainly showed too much. A number of the jump scares that the movie employs would have been far more effective had they not been in the trailer. I know from speaking with friends who hadn’t watched any of the trailers that they were very effective. As someone who did see the trailers and watched a lot of the promotional material, knowing what was coming took a lot of the fear and tension out of scenes. That’s not to say there weren’t other jump scares or tension‑filled moments, but a lot of what was shown in the trailers and the promotional material is what we got in the finished film.

Lastly, there's a critique and criticism regarding the story and what can and can't be told. I understand having special rules in place for the story that you created; I would do the same thing. But not being able to reference events happening in video games, not being able to have characters from video games, and being limited to surface‑level referencing really hurts the movie. In the scene I mentioned above, it feels like everything we just watched leading up to that point was not Resident Evil. Then they were like, “Oh, wait, we have to make this Resident Evil, so let’s explain it and not show it.” My favorite rule of cinema and filmmaking is “show, don’t tell.”

A fun time

Films like Resident Evil are always served best in October with your friends, and having mine with me certainly helped elevate the experience. But even if I wasn't with my friends, I'd still find myself walking away having thoroughly enjoyed it. There's plenty of tension, beautiful cinematography, and a good performance from Austin Abrams. Most crucially, however, I think if you find yourself a fan of Resident Evil and the story, you’ll be pleased with this adaptation. It may not be the most faithful or one‑to‑one adaptation of your favorite game or storyline, but compared to the previous films, this one is pretty solid. I highly recommend seeing this in theaters while you still can. And with your buddies.

From Letterboxd: Really fun time. I enjoyed a lot of it, but some of the comedy and story moments were a little much/on-the-nose for my liking.

Rating: 3/5