Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons) returns with his third feature, Resident Evil, adapting the iconic video game series in a way that only he can. Instead of rehashing the well-worn and thoroughly adapted stories, Cregger builds a story within the world of the source material, rooting the film in the experience of playing a first-person shooter survival horror video game.
The film stars Austin Abrams (Dash & Lily, Weapons, the forthcoming Whalefall) as Bryan, a medical courier coping with the news that his girlfriend might be pregnant, and an overtime delivery through the snowy mountains to Raccoon City hospital. As you would expect, his night does not go according to plan. On his way to the hospital, while navigating the slick, dark roads, Bryan hits a woman who may already be dead. And his night continues to get worse from there. The stakes, the weapons, and the enemies, all evolve as the night goes on.
Much like a video game, the movie is slower at the beginning, settling the audience into the story and the world. Both the crowd and the protagonist spend the first 10 minutes of the film learning the rules and getting their feet under them. And then, also like a video game, the story takes off and it’s all Bryan (and the audience) can do to keep up. It’s a tight, slim story, but it’s propelled by a phenomenal score and some slick editing from the team that worked with Creggers on Weapons. As expected, it’s creepy, it’s disgusting, and it’s hilarious.
The film stands on the shoulders of its star, Austin Abrams, of whom much is asked, as he is often the only person on screen. Despite being alone, and having to take care of the mystery package, Abrams manages to be deeply funny in his expletive-filled ramblings to himself as he tries to stumble his way through the situation. There’s very little vanity in this performance, and the film is better for it. It’s highly physical and Abrams isn’t afraid to be ugly and dirty. But most importantly, he plays Bryan exactly as though he was a first-time player of a first-person shooter. He is shockingly bad at aiming, genuinely terrible at loading his gun, and kind of just bumbling his way through the night (he even forgets to check the visors of the abandoned vehicles, which is rule number 3 of a survival game…the first two rules are to stay alive and to keep an eye on your inventory).
The joy of Cregger’s movies is that they’re like really, really good haunted houses—you know what you signed up for, you just have to be along for the ride. How he achieves the scares you came there for will always surprise you. Here, he pulls it off, and then some. He plays the crowd like a fiddle. Resident Evil immediately pulls the audience into the humor, drawing laughs early. But right after Bryan hit the zombie, you could have heard a pin drop in the theater. Through the use of strong lighting, classic horror movie techniques, and the eerie score, Cregger builds the tension, leading to the audience barely breathing, without ever being suffocating. And yet, even when people laughed, it was nervous laughter, not laughter of relief, because there was always more horror right around the corner.
What Cregger achieves here is more than just a good movie, it’s maybe the best video game adaptation of all time. He captured the essence of why we turn to these games as a source of entertainment, and he made me want to spend some time going through abandoned cars and organizing a pack of supplies, which is all I could ever ask for from a video game adaptation.
In honor of finally receiving the kind of video game adaptation we could previously only dream of, here’s a list of survival video games that I hope get similar treatment.
- The Forest
This is probably a little too similar to Resident Evil to be adapted any time soon, but the creatures in Resident Evil had me dreaming of Armsy and Legsy from The Forest. I would give anything to see this game adapted with the care and attention that Cregger showed to Resident Evil.
- The Long Dark
Disclaimer: The Long Dark is my favorite survival video game of all time. I love the animation style, but would love to see this come to life with proper visuals and gorgeous photography in the Canadian wilderness. Some of the scenes in Resident Evil had me thinking about the low-level tension of this game, but also of how fun it can be to see someone figuring out how to survive. I’m specifically interested in an adaptation of the chapter where the protagonist is hunted by the bear. Someone get Nick Offerman on the phone.
- Fallout: New Vegas
I know there’s a show currently airing, but the hospital scene in Resident Evil has me specifically interested in this team adapting the abandoned buildings with the behemoths from Fallout: New Vegas. Imagine!
- Dead Space
Cregger is already making a space movie, but someone please also adapt Dead Space, the space survival horror game with the monsters infected by the aliens. There’s so much potential in this story and the lead character, who becomes less and less stables as time goes on.
- Valheim
With the right practical effects and music, there could be something so beautiful (and so scary) within Valheim, the viking survival game from Coffee Stain Studios. The game is full of mythology and creatures lifted from folk tales. There’s so much potential here.
Honorable Mention: There are rumors of a BioShock movie directed by Francis Lawrence (Constantine, The Hunger Games Series). I’m interested. I’m closely monitoring the situation. If that falls through, it might be time for Cregger to do another franchise.
