Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil is an Eerie if Oddly Funny Spookfest
Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures
By Luis Zonenberg
The Halloween horror-fest continues as we take a look at the highly anticipated video game-based film, Resident Evil. This third reboot in the franchise is directed by Zach Cregger, coming hot off his wildly successful horror film, Weapons, which took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress thanks to Amy Madigan’s terrifying performance as Aunt Gladys! With Cregger’s latest film already proving to be a hit with both critics and audiences, I decided to check it out and see if it’s worth all the hype.
The story focuses on a kooky medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams) who has been tasked with delivering a last-minute package to Raccoon City. While talking with his girlfriend, Michelle (Sara Paxton), on the phone, Bryan accidentally swerves his car on the icy road and winds up hitting a random pedestrian (Andrea Miltnerová). After finding the pedestrian severely injured on the road, Bryan asks for the Arklay County Sheriff, Wilson (Johnoo Wilson), to escort them both to the hospital.
Things soon take a turn for the worse when the woman not only attacks Wilson, but also wrecks Bryan’s car as well. Stranded on snowy farmland, Bryan traverses the terrain and picks up some artillery as he finds more people infected with the same virus as the pedestrian. He soon discovers this virus is a result of a laboratory accident at the Umbrella Corporation’s headquarters in Raccoon City. Quickly realizing his package might contain the ultimate cure, he races to Umbrella HQ in hopes of handing it over to the scientists housed there before it’s too late!
The film serves as a wonderful tribute to the classic video games, replicating the look and feel of them to a T! While Cregger chose not to adapt any of the games directly, he instead worked on creating his own narrative that is set within the Resident Evil universe. This approach was downright genius, allowing him to create a tighter narrative and the ability to freely create new characters without feeling the pressure of having to faithfully adapt any of the ones from the video games.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this story was that it is partially constructed as a dark comedy. While Cregger is no stranger to injecting some humor in his films, he seems to overly rely on it here and amps it up to absolutely cartoonish levels. At first, this approach impressively worked, utilizing it to organically create conflict and characterize Bryan as he tries to survive one terror after another. The downside is that he continuously amps it up, and by the third act, it explodes to such an extreme that any sense of drama is deflated within an instant.
Thankfully, the cast proved to be incredibly entertaining here, with Austin Abrams turning in a funny albeit kooky performance as Bryan. He nailed the sheer dim-wittedness of his character, which paired greatly with his impeccable comedic timing. Sara Paxton, though never on-screen, still left a lasting impression thanks to her tired but cautiously optimistic performance as Michelle. Other actors like Paul Walter Hauser not only anchored the film but helped expand the world of Resident Evil as well.
The cinematography was next-level! Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski beautifully captured not just the look, but the first-person perspective of the games as well. Many scenes felt very wide in scale and scope, immersing the audience in such a way that it makes them feel like they are playing the video game in theaters! The intricate angles and long takes proved to be very effective, though the lighting at times made it difficult to appreciate how beautifully composed some of these scenes were.
The VFX blended seamlessly for the most part, utilizing CGI when necessary and opting to rely on more makeup and practical set pieces. The unique designs of each infected individual and the incredible makeup they have were exquisite, with the CGI enhancing the scare factor of each creature. The more they leaned into the CGI, though, the easier it was to spot the cheaper effects that looked too rubbery and downright cartoonish at times. While the practical effects mixed well with the CGI, it made it easier to spot the more shoddy effects littered throughout the film.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
The main problem dragging the film down for me lies in the execution of its third act. The humor here bordered on absolute satire, with the scientists able to skillfully craft a cure for the disease but not think to examine if Bryan was infected before he walked in. The joke is on them, though, because it turns out he is infected, and it has spread to such an insane degree that he begins absorbing every scientist until he transforms into an unstoppable angry monster ready to wreak havoc on the city.
I am not opposed to a more somber ending, especially if it works to drive home a specific message that serves to offer audiences something to think about. Here, though, it feels rushed and poorly executed, with the film sidelining this major plot thread to a point you even forget he was infected. This, mixed with the deflated conflict between him and his girlfriend, results in an unsatisfactory resolution to his character. The poor execution of the film’s climax ultimately leaves more to be desired, and perhaps if they opted to give a quick rewrite, then maybe some of these problems could have been fixed.
While the final act does lose some of the goodwill built up from the first half of the movie, the movie does prove to be greater than the sum of its parts. Even if some of the pieces do not amount to much, there are more than enough pieces that work to create a visceral and incredibly entertaining experience that would make any long-time fan satisfied beyond compare. While it borders on absolute satire at times, Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil proves to be a kinetic and often terrifying film that will surely entertain die-hard fans of the franchise.
Resident Evil is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★ ½ of five
