‘Resident Evil’ (2026) is a near perfect video game adaptation

September 26, 2026 - 20:08

The film strips away the globe-trotting military spectacle and locks the story inside a single decaying facility. That choice matters. The tight corridors, flickering lights, and limited resources create the same claustrophobic dread that defined the early games. Cregger lets silence do the heavy lifting. Long stretches pass with nothing but footsteps and distant scratching, and that restraint makes the eventual violence hit harder.

What separates this from other adaptations is how it treats the characters. They are not super soldiers or chosen heroes. They are scared, flawed people making desperate decisions. When someone dies, it lands because the film took time to make you care.

It is not flawless. The third act leans into action more than it needs to, and a few story threads dangle without resolution. Still, this is the first "Resident Evil" film that feels like the game it came from. For a franchise that spent decades lost, that counts as a genuine achievement.