[00:00] Where was it going? It goes to Raccoon City General. Video games are ridiculous, and the Resident Evil series is kind of a perfect example of this. One moment you're running in terror away from a comically oversized,
[00:13] trench-coated Tangler Man in a tiny hat. The next, you're messing around with electronic chess pieces in order to open a door. These are completely alien situations that, somehow, these games make us feel compelled to navigate through rational thought.
[00:28] This is what Zack Craigor understands about Capcom's genre-defining series so well. His Resident Evil movie knows that this is all ridiculous, and so the film has its lead, Brian,
[00:40] progress through its 90-minute rollercoaster just as we would if we had a controller in our hands. It's a fantastic translation of the sensation that playing survival horror games gives us, remembering to include every piece of glorious nonsense along the way too.
[00:58] Austin Abrams really is fantastic as Brian, a thoroughly normal guy thrust into a scenario he's only ever seen on screen. Video games, he doubts after solving one problem,
[01:12] almost surprising himself by the way video game logic to seep into his mind and explode it into life in the real world. His original character is as close to a proxy for the viewer as you could wish for in a Resident Evil film,
[01:25] evoking the feeling we feel as players rather than watching the events unfold from the perspectives of established protagonists such as Chris Redfield or Leon Kennedy. And that choice is the real masterstroke from Krega and where so much of Resident Evil's humour comes from.
[01:42] When I visited the Prague set back in December 2025, Krega told me that It's like if I were thrust into a Resident Evil video game. I'd be totally unequipped. I'm not good with guns. I'm totally out of shape.
[01:54] It would just be me panicking from one situation to another. That description perfectly matches how Brian acts in the movie Hilariously bemoaning having to climb flights of stairs which stretch into the sky running and screaming gets long enough for terror to turn into humour
[02:10] and self-proclaiming to be not a gum guy, despite having to learn on the job very quickly. As a result, Brian's gumball threw his journey to the heart of Raccoon City, never quite believing what he's seeing in front of him.
[02:24] A combination of the unrelenting pace Craig injects into the movie and the expressiveness of Abrams' eyes make for laughs even in its most tense of moments. On the rare occasion that it does slow down for a beat, it's often to hold on Abrams' face
[02:38] as he attempts to take in exactly what shape of body horror he's been subjected to witnessing next. He acts just like we do when we're playing the game, watching wide-eyed as whatever monster Capcom has concocted emerges from a freshly beheaded corpse.
[02:54] Normal logic would say you'd run straight for the door when faced with something like that, but video game logic makes us feel invulnerable, and want us to take on anything that's presented in front of our eyes. Kregger knows this feeling all too well from his repeat playthroughs of Resident Evil 4,
[03:10] a classic that most accurately hits the sweet spot in finding joyful absurdity in survival horror. RE4's opening village section has long been held as one of the most iconic introductions to any game.
[03:22] The delicate balance of creeping dread found in an all-too-quiet rural location is chattered by the tolling of bells and the sudden onrush of a population who have all seen far better days.
[03:36] The Resident Evil movie sings from the same hymn sheet, steadily cranking up the tension before the action truly kicks off. But this time, instead of the ringing of a bell signaling a shift in tone,
[03:48] it's the barking and unearthly by of a dog that signals things are about to get very silly. He may not have the physical skills to pull off a Leon Kennedy-esque roundhouse hit to the head of an undead pensioner.
[04:00] Again, this is a very silly video game series, but he does unload a shotgun blast into one that leaves their brain as nothing but red goo on a wall Brian is definitely having a bad time but I be lying if I along with most of my theatre
[04:14] weren't laughing. Cricker may only be three feature films deep into his career as a horror director, but already appears to have perfected the art of punctuating moments of terror with humour like this. It should come as no surprise to any who have seen either Barbarian or Weapons, two deeply
[04:31] unsettling movies at times, but also darkly hilarious when he chooses for them to be. Still, that same could be said for Resident Evil. While never allowing Brian to shoot off quippy one-liners like Mr. Kennedy would do, does give the character his fair share of funny moments,
[04:47] more often than not reflecting how we react when playing the games. For example, if you were to meet an ungodly monster-like foe in real life, you probably would just look at it and go, Dan, rather than speak in false sentences or try and make a joke.
[05:02] It's that reaction to the absurd Ron Abrams that carries the action so well. In many ways, echoing that feeling of watching one of your favourite Twitch streamers play through a Resident Evil game, and the unscripted moments of comedy that can come from that.
[05:16] And let's be honest, much of the joy from watching other people play games can come from when it all goes a bit wrong. Schadenfreude is a hell of a drug. Just as it can be funny when people fall off an arena when only one hit away from finishing off a boss, Resident Evil finds the fun in Brian's failures.
[05:32] It's much more interested in people being bad at their jobs rather than seasoned professionals. Perhaps most keenly observed in how much more of the script is given to Paul Walter Hauser's hapless company man than Cally Reese's expert operative.
[05:46] There's a fantastic running joke when it comes to Brian's battle against padlocks, a very fond play on Resident Evil's obsession with opening locked doors and the bizarre ways you can do that in the games.
[05:59] Here though, instead of having to examine centuries old paintings or put random precious gems into statues he simply aims a gun at them with varying results It just one example of how Craigers movie takes the essence of a Resident Evil game and plays with our expectations all with the aim of making us laugh
[06:21] It doesn't quite completely resist the odd easter egg item sitting in a room, but it is far more interested in translating the experience of playing the survival horror game than feeding fans little winks and nods. You can really tell that it comes from not only a deep love of Capcom's games, but
[06:37] but of video games in general, and the ridiculous nature of them. Speaking of which, Kregger's fun twist on a Resident Evil stalker enemy brings to mind the wondrous madness of Inside's ending, which makes Playdead's puzzle platformer so special,
[06:51] and the snowball-like splendour that powers the silliness behind the Katamari series. Only video games regularly attempt to blend the mundanity of searching through every drawer in a house for shotgun shells,
[07:03] so only moments later have to fire them into a creature unlike anything we've seen before. And then ask us to carry on with our lives as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened. This occurs dozens of times to Brian on his night through hell,
[07:17] and yet he perseveres, almost laughing off the adversity of it all with us while evading death at every turn. That video games line he delivers in a rare moment of success feels like it almost comes directly from Craig's mouth.
[07:30] It sums up the movie perfectly. showcasing the filmmakers love for the frankly silly source material that we all love so much. Just like video games, Resident Evil is ridiculous, but in all the best ways.
[07:45] It's an adaptation done in the right spirit, not interested in replicating a story beat for beat, but in trying and succeeding in reproducing the same joy we feel when playing through them.
[07:57] No, there's no misdirect here, but that little laugh you let out when you first saw his tiny little hat is more than present, and that's the important part. For more Resident Evil why not check out our review of the film, or our review of the latest
[08:12] game Resident Evil Requiem.