Zach Cregger is back, and his latest horror opus has finally screened for critics. After the original films “Barbarian” and “Weapons,” Cregger is jumping into the IP machine with “Resident Evil.” While that title will be familiar to most people, Cregger’s movie isn’t a direct adaptation of one of the many games (nor is it a remake of any of the other movies that came before it). Instead, it’s set in the same world as the games, and follows a medical courier (Austin Abrams, who will next be seen in this year’s “Whalefall”) as he navigates one very bad night full of blood, slime, and monsters.
The early reactions to the film are flooding in, and they seem to be overwhelmingly positive, suggesting Cregger has a hat-trick on his hand here and is going three for three. Below, I’ve rounded up some social media reactions, and they all seem to be saying the same thing. Also, I’ll add my take here (since I’m taking a break from the nightmare that is social media): the movie is a hell of a lot of fun. Cregger is clearly capable of movies even better than this, but “Resident Evil” is so delightfully gross and funny that it’s hard not to have a blast with it.
But don’t take my word for it: here are some other people!
Early audiences had a lot of fun with Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil
Eric Goldman raved, “Resident Evil is a blast! Unrelenting once it gets going. Super freaky and intense, but also really funny.” Erik Davis, meanwhile says that the film “absolutely rocks! Less an adaptation of a game and more a movie that makes you feel like you’re playing one.” Yet another Erik, Erik Voss, says: “Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil is filled with horrid surprises and grounded dissociative humor. I really enjoyed it.”
Then we have our own Bill Bria, who states: that the movie “follows a pitch-perfect Austin Abrams through one long night of Lovecraftian survival horror hell. 90 breathless minutes of Cregger’s proprietary blend of goofy dark humor & terror. A ripper!” Wendy Lee Szany wrote that the movie “fully stressed me out but in a good way.” And Germain Lussier says that the movie is “wildly unpredictable, super gross, really funny, and constantly scary,” while Adam Hlaváč concurs that “Resident Evil” was “was fantastic, top to bottom.”
Resident Evil is an ‘edge-of-your-seat experience’ according to some
Perri Nemiroff was also impressed, writing that the film “is outstanding. Far and away one of the best video game adaptations I’ve ever seen, and also one of the best horror comedies I’ve ever seen.” Jonathan Sim calls it “a PHENOMENAL edge-of-your-seat experience,” and Courtney Howard adds: “It’s a wild, hilarious, unpredictably bonkers thrill ride from start to finish. Kinetic action leans heavily on demented body horror.”
While I’m sure there are bound to be some naysayers of the film, it really does seem like the early screenings went over exceptionally well. If “Resident Evil” ends up being another hit for Cregger, he’s seemingly going to have a blank check to do whatever the heck he wants next. Good for him! He deserves it.
“Resident Evil” opens in theaters on September 18, 2026.
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