Resident Evil 2026 Review: Zach Cregger Pulled It Off

Our Resident Evil 2026 review, and the short version is that Zach Cregger cracked the video game movie. Arthur and Meaghan sat down right after seeing Resident Evil in theatres, and this is one of those episodes where the two of us do not land in the same place at all. Austin Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier taking a package up to Raccoon City General Hospital on a night that goes very wrong. That is basically the whole premise, and it works. No Leon, no Jill, no legacy characters, just an everyman with a handgun and a delivery to finish. We get into why going off-script inside the Resident Evil universe might be the smarter move after seven previous films, what the practical creature design actually accomplishes, and whether the humour helps or dilutes the horror.Zach Cregger's Resident Evil Reboot and the Off-Script GambleCregger wrote Resident Evil as an original story with Shay Hatten and dropped it inside the game universe instead of remaking a game. No Leon, no Jill, no legacy roster.Eight films in, we argue a tangential character at the eve of the Raccoon City outbreak beats another straight reboot. That is the question of the episode.Meaghan rewatched the 2002 original before this and still found it badly explained, which is a big part of why this one works for her at all.Cregger's Barbarian and Weapons DNA is all over the tone, especially the way the jokes land in the middle of the gore.Austin Abrams Carries the Whole MovieAbrams plays Bryan, a medical courier, and he is on screen for nearly every minute. Arthur's take: without him, there is nothing here.Meaghan's point about the everyman quality is the best argument in the episode. No celebrity sheen, just a guy having the worst night of his life.The wet socks moment. The grumbling to himself. A lot of the humour in this film is one actor alone in a room.Sara Paxton, Cregger's wife, voices Michelle on the phone, continuing her cameo streak from Barbarian and Weapons.Creature Design, Practical Gore and the Rooftop DropThe infected are not tame Resident Evil zombies. They fuse, grow limbs, puke acid, and the final design is the best of the lot.The rooftop drop sequence was done practically with weighted blood bags on cranes, and one of them landed inches from Austin Abrams.The sewer creature is a Whopper-style bruiser, or as Meaghan put it, the fat vampire from Blade.Meaghan's comparison point for the creature's movement: the alpaca creature in Color Out of Space.Video Game DNA: Save Rooms, Padlocks and Weapon UpgradesThe typewriter room got an audible cheer in our theatre. If you have played the games, you know why. If you have not, we explain it.Weapon progression from handgun to hunting rifle to Uzi is straight out of a game loop.The padlock running gag is the tagline: don't lose your keys. Shooting the lock does not work because the game says find the key.The settings work like levels. Hospital, road, farmhouse, Raccoon City, then the hospital building.Scores, Scare Rating and What Is NextScare factor: Fun and Wild. Scare level: Solid Scares. Arthur: 8.5 Digs. Meaghan: 6.5 Digs.Meaghan's criticism is fair and worth hearing: it is a great time with very little under the surface.Coming soon: our Mike P. Nelson interview for Beware Boiuna, in theatres October 2. Follow us & Subscribe:SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Background music by: Steve Swisher from the Producer's Chair Podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.