RESIDENT EVIL

(director/writer: Zach Creggar; screenwriter: Shay Hatten; cinematographer: Dariusz Wolsky; editor: Joe Murphy; music: Hays Holladay, Ryan Holladay; cast: Austin Abrams (Bryan), Zach Cherry (Carl), Sara Paxton (voice-Bryan’s wife Michelle), Kali Reis (Maxine), Paul Walter Hauser (Paul), Johnno Wilson (Officer Wilson), Andrea Miltnerová (woman hit on road); Runtime: 95; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Robert Kulzer, Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, Victor Hadida, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan; Columbia Pictures; 2026)

“Standalone reboot horror flick.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
 
Zach Creggar (“Weapons”/”Barbarian”) directs this standalone reboot horror flick and co-writes it with Shay Hatten. It’s based on an Evil Resident video game. It starts out promising as an original story but turns into a formulaic and predictable monster pic. Nevertheless it’s entertaining.


The excitable 20-something Bryan (Austin Abrams) is a medical courier for Lightfoot Medical Corp. In need of money when he learns his gf (voice-Sara Paxton, director’s wife) is pregnant and she movies in with a friend when he doesn’t tell her he’s happy. He soon has regrets and for extra money drives in a snowstorm at night to the mountains of Raccoon City to deliver to a scientist (Zach Cherry), a contact man for the hospital, an unknown package he assumes is a body part. But he hits a woman on the snowy road and is faced with all sorts of problems.

There’s one set piece after another as he tries to survive various mutating zombie attacks caused by a virus outbreak. The virus comes out of the Raccoon Hospital lab that can’t control its experiment.

It played at the Fantastic Fest.

REVIEWED ON 9/24/2026  GRADE: B-
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