Resident Evil Review

Verdict: Zach Cregger’s take on Resident Evil is loud, gross, and genuinely fun, with a breakout performance from Austin Abrams carrying most of the film. It is not the scariest entry in the franchise, but it is easily one of the most entertaining.

Pros:

• Austin Abrams’ physical, panicked performance is winning over audiences
• Creature designs and gore effects are getting a lot of praise online
• Non-stop pace keeps the film feeling like a genuine theatre experience

Cons:

• Some viewers feel the story is too thin and repetitive in the middle stretch
• A few longtime fans wanted more scares and less comedy

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About Resident Evil (2026)

Detail	Info
Title	Resident Evil
Directed by	Zach Cregger
Written by	Zach Cregger, Shay Hatten
Produced by	Robert Kulzer, Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, Carter Swan, Asad Qizilbash
Cast	Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, Johnno Wilson
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Music by	Hays Holladay, Ryan Holladay
Production Companies	Columbia Pictures, Constantin Film, Davis Films, Vertigo Entertainment, PlayStation Productions
Release Date	September 18, 2026
Country	United States, Germany
Language	English
Genre	Horror, Action, Sci-Fi
Runtime	94 minutes

Resident Evil is the second attempt at rebooting Capcom’s long-running horror franchise on the big screen, and it lands in theatres this week from director Zach Cregger, fresh off Barbarian and Weapons.

This version drops the ensemble cast approach of earlier films and instead follows a single ordinary guy through one very bad night in Raccoon City.

The film has been building buzz for weeks, with early festival screenings and premiere reactions flooding X and other social platforms. Most of that early chatter has been positive, though not everyone agrees on how well it fits the games it’s based on.

The story is simple on paper. Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, is a medical courier making a routine delivery to a hospital when a viral outbreak turns his night into a fight for survival.

He is not a trained soldier or a video game hero. He is just a regular person trying to stay alive, improvising his way through one horrifying encounter after another as the infection spreads around him. Across X, reactions have leaned heavily positive since the first premiere screenings.

Many viewers praised the film’s pacing, calling it relentless in a good way, and there is a lot of love for the creature and monster designs, with several people comparing them to the body horror of The Thing.

Abrams’ performance has come up again and again, with people saying his panicked, physical reactions make Bryan feel like a real person caught in an impossible situation rather than a typical action hero. A good chunk of the conversation also focuses on humour.

Cregger blends jump scares with dark comedy, and most fans seem to enjoy that mix, saying it keeps the film from feeling like a grim slog. That said, this is also where the split shows up.

Some horror purists on social media and in early reviews feel the comedy takes away from the tension, and a few longtime series fans wanted something scarier and more faithful to the games rather than an original story that just borrows the setting.

There is also a recurring complaint that the middle section repeats itself, with one grotesque set piece after another that starts to feel familiar by the time the film reaches its final act. Overall sentiment on platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook has been enthusiastic, especially from people who caught early screenings and walked in with low expectations.

Ticket buzz on platforms like BookMyShow also points to strong interest heading into opening weekend. It is not being called a perfect film, but most people seem to agree it delivers a genuinely good time in a theatre with a crowd.

This one is best suited for horror fans who enjoy a mix of gore and humour rather than pure, slow-building dread. If you go in expecting a scary, faithful video game adaptation, you might come out a little underwhelmed. If you go in wanting a fun, bloody, big-screen ride with a strong lead performance, this delivers.

Given how much of the appeal comes from big scares and crowd reactions, it is worth catching in theatres rather than waiting for it to hit streaming.

Disclaimer: This review is based on publicly available audience reactions and discussions on X at the time of writing. Individual opinions may vary.