Resident Evil , the latest reboot of the 24 year old franchise, wastes no time pretending to be anything else. Films that give you exactly what they promise are often the best kind. It has gore (a lot of it) and enough jump scares to keep you from checking your phone. And if the latest reboot is anything to go by, Resident Evil isn’t just back- it’s here to stay.
The result is a reboot that doesn’t feel burdened by the weight of its 24 year old legacy. Director Zach Cregger’s latest version revolves around Bryan, a medical courier tasked with delivering an important parcel across town. But he is hardly prepared for the horrific night that awaits him. A virus outbreak is turning humans into flesh-eating monsters, and Bryan must protect both himself and the parcel as he races to reach his destination. The video game-like approach is engaging right from the word go. The conceptualisation of the plot’s progression is audacious and, in brief stretches, makes you feel as though you have been dropped straight into a first person shooter. The levels keep getting progressively harder, and on an IMAX screen, the experience amplifies the dizzying heights and the scale on which the film has been mounted. I found myself laughing like a giddy teenager during some sequences, which is precisely the kind of reaction a video game adaptation should ideally evoke. There is an infectious sense of fun in watching the film throw one outrageous set piece after another at you. Conjuring up monsters straight out of your worst nightmares translates remarkably well on screen, making their very presence both terrifying and exhilarating. There’s plenty of humour here, too. Overall, there is something refreshing about a film that knows exactly how ridiculous it can be and decides to have fun with it. Resident Evil wears its video game DNA proudly, turning its horrors into one chaotic level after another. Just when you think Bryan has survived the worst of it, the film throws another monster his way. Cregger keeps the pace tight enough that the madness rarely feels repetitive, while the humor prevents the gore from becoming monotonous. Austin gives the mayhem an engaging emotional anchor, making Bryan someone you genuinely root for amid all the carnage. Instead, it plays like a filmmaker having an unusually good time with a giant toy box of monsters.
