Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil is now in Australian cinemas after months of debate about its creative departures from Capcom’s survival-horror series. Early audience reactions are broadly positive, but the movie’s humour, loose connection to the games and bleak finale have split fans. Read more gaming coverage on the RETROCADE Arcade Blog.
Current audience scores include 3.9 out of 5 on Letterboxd, 91 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and 83 from users on Metacritic.
Rather than following a police officer or trained operative, the film centres on Bryan, an ordinary medical courier carrying an important package to Raccoon City as an outbreak begins. He is not a capable action hero in the mould of Leon Kennedy; Bryan spends much of the story frightened, confused and struggling simply to stay alive.
That perspective is a major part of the film’s appeal for supporters. One fan described the movie as “incredible”, praising its first-person sequences, game-like set pieces, convincing lead performance, jump scares and “ironically twisted” ending. For this viewer, Bryan’s desperate overnight survival felt closer to playing a horror game than watching a conventional blockbuster.
A horror comedy rather than a traditional Resident Evil story
Cregger’s version leans into comedy, with much of the humour coming from Bryan’s disbelief and incompetence as increasingly frightening events unfold. Some viewers have compared its tone to an Evil Dead-style horror film, while others believe the jokes interrupt the tension too often.
The film was reportedly even funnier during earlier versions. Cregger removed a substantial number of jokes after test audiences felt the balance had tipped too far towards comedy. That adjustment has not settled the disagreement: for some fans, Bryan’s exasperated reactions make the danger feel immediate, while others find the constant quipping forced and distracting.
One disappointed viewer said the humour weakened the suspense and described the characters as bland, irritating or uninteresting. That reaction reflects a broader concern that the film feels like a reinvention set in the Resident Evil world, rather than a direct continuation of its established identity.
Another fan argued that, apart from references to Raccoon City, Umbrella and a couple of key names, the story could have carried a different title without changing much. The zombies are not clearly identified as products of the T-Virus, Umbrella is not presented as the overwhelming threat it is in the games or earlier films, and the infection works differently from familiar game lore. The presence of a stalking enemy, however, provides at least one recognisable survival-horror link.
Capturing the feeling of playing the games
Cregger’s approach is less concerned with adapting one specific game plot than with reproducing the sensations of playing one. Bryan misses obvious targets, searches anxiously for ammunition, swears under his breath and panics while an infected creature closes in. Those details make him resemble a terrified player or inexperienced Let’s Player fumbling through a campaign. Fans interested in the physical side of classic gaming can also explore RETROCADE’s arcade machines.
That quality has connected with viewers who remember the tension of the games’ quieter moments. One fan recalled playing the remake and being too afraid to leave Lisa Trevor’s cabin, then compared the film’s RV, tunnel and house sequences with that same feeling. Small details such as a distinctive key shape and a typewriter also earned praise, although the viewer felt some of the jokes went too far. More gaming footage is available in RETROCADE’s arcade videos.
Spoilers: why the ending has caused friction
Midway through the film, Bryan is bitten by an infected child and begins slowly transforming. His delivery becomes more urgent when he learns that the package contains the final component needed to make a cure.
He reaches the destination just as the scientists are close to completing the antidote, but Bryan changes into a monster and kills the people who might have stopped the outbreak. After spending the story learning about responsibility and imagining a future with his pregnant girlfriend, Michelle, he loses his humanity. The film ends with helicopters apparently shooting him on top of the hospital.
The conclusion is especially grim beside Resident Evil: Requiem, which takes a sharply different route by avoiding a similarly tragic outcome. One supporter praised the film’s ability to capture the series’ essence but felt Bryan’s death wasted his character development and desire to become a father.
Other viewers see more purpose in Bryan’s transformation. An interpretation published by FilmColossus argues that the ending is not simply about death. Bryan is initially afraid that a baby will change his life and force him to grow up. Although he tries to prevent change by pursuing the antidote, the child’s bite changes him anyway. His monstrous transformation can therefore be read as a grim, literal version of growing up.
“What then happens at the very end? Bryan’s still trying to prevent change by trying to get the antidote. But the bite from the kid causes the transformation, whether he wanted it or not. And the result is Bryan quite literally growing up.”
What should a Resident Evil adaptation be?
The disagreement goes beyond missing cameos from Leon or Claire. Some fans wanted a more recognisable Resident Evil film, while others are happy for a filmmaker to take a new direction within the setting. The central question is whether Cregger has captured the series’ underlying identity, rather than simply including familiar names, locations and props.
That is a difficult line for any video-game adaptation to walk. A faithful recreation can satisfy players who want the source material preserved, while a more adventurous interpretation may better communicate the emotions of playing the original. Readers planning their own home gaming setup can consult RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide when considering how to recreate that hands-on experience.
So far, the broadest response appears to be that Cregger has made a good horror film, but not everyone agrees that it is a good Resident Evil film. Its fans value the panic, puzzles, creature encounters and survival perspective; its critics see an overly comic story with only a loose relationship to the games. That debate is likely to continue as more Australian audiences see the film in cinemas.
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