Resident Evil

In this delightful take on the popular video game franchise, Auteur-director Zack Cregger reimagines this Resident Evil reboot as more of a dark-horror comedy, than action-horror flick,  that leads us through the eyes of an everyday Uber driver, just trying to make his deliver and get back home alive.

Well technically Bryan (Austin Abrams) is a medical courier, bringing one highly valued human organ from hospital to hospital and in this case he’s sent to Raccoon City.  But something is off and it’s not the snow-storm he has to drive through to get there but probably has to do with the elderly woman on bare foot who jumps in front of his car.  Of course she survives the crash and of course Bryan, puts her in his vehicle because he’s onto the hospital anyway and he’s kind of a good guy.

I’ll let your imagination take it from here as Cregger does an excellent job of building up the tension and uneasiness of the situation through the audience knowing what’s likely to happen, but the hero, naïve as to escalating virus.

And escalate it does, starting first in the rural mountains and barns, before heading toward the conclusion which is getting the medical courier and what turns out to be an antidote to the virus, to the medical labs in Raccoon City.

And this is where the virus has truly manifested into the thing of nightmares.  Blob absorbing mutants, kamikaze zombies and possessed rats and snakes all trying to get there hands on Bryan as he tries to make it through the city to the contaminated Umbrella Corp building and up to the on the 28^th floor high-rise where scientist await.

There’s a lot of gross out, body horror in this film but it fits in a way where comedy often breaks the line of tension.  Abrams, who for most of the film is the only actor on screen, does a great job of leading this journey trying to not only survive but understand what’s happening along the way.  His humanity and willingness to push forward is what brings us along as an auidence, hoping he’s able to save the day and survive in the process.

In what was a highly enjoyable film, Cregger has put himself in the elite criteria of bank-able directors and must see visionary after previous hits such as Barbarian and Weapons.  Resident Evil lives up to his billing, being the next great creation from this must see director.  8 out of 10 stars.