Del and Mladen review ‘Resident Evil’

Sony

“Resident Evil” Starring Austin Abrams as Bryan, Zach Cherry as Carl, Kali Reis as Maxine, and others. Directed by Zach Cregger. Written by Zach Cregger and Shay Hatten. Score by Zach Cregger, Hays Holladay and Ryan Holladay. 1 hour, 35 minutes. Rated R. Theatrical release.

Plot summary: A medical courier assigned to deliver a mysterious package to winter‑bound Raccoon City General Hospital finds himself trapped in a zombie apocalypse.

Spoilers: Oh, what the hell. Why not?

Del’s take

This is not Milla Jojovich’s “Resident Evil.”

This is Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil,” and with it, Cregger, who also directed the well‑regarded “Weapons” and “Barbarian,” makes a clean break from its predecessor’s franchise, offering a lean, wry action horror story deserving of a franchise of its own.

Cregger is a one-man band – he not only directs “Resident Evil” but co-wrote the screenplay and even had a hand in crafting the Ennio Morricone‑like score. The result is a movie that feels very different from the Jojovich films. This story is much more personal and accessible. You suffer right along with Bryan (Austin Abrams) as he shambles from one plot complication to the next.

The story takes place in a single night. Bryan is assigned to deliver a high-priority medical package to Raccoon City General Hospital, which is socked in by a winter storm. As he is driving up an icy mountain road, Bryan collides with a woman who stumbles into his path. He helps the injured woman into his car and is driving her to help when he’s stopped by a law enforcement officer who agrees to carry the woman in his cruiser as he “escorts” Bryan to the hospital. Minutes later the cruiser crashes. When Bryan goes to help, he discovers the lawman is dead and the woman is nowhere to be found – until she reappears, hungry for human flesh. From that point events careen downhill in an ever‑escalating story arc of tension and violence.

There’s much to like here. As in the Jojovich films, “Resident Evil” is based on the video game of the same name. I haven’t played the game but I understand it’s broken down into levels of difficulty – complete the tasks on one level and players get to advance to the next. Cregger’s “Resident Evil” is structured the same way. As Bryan successfully avoids death in one situation he flees to the next, which presents him with even more complicated threats to his existence. What that does is create an ever-escalating cycle of tension.

That tension is leavened by a wry, often funny script that presents Bryan as a relatable everyman who’s been thrown into a horrible situation and just wants to complete his assignment, i.e. “mission,” so he can go home and continue an argument with his girlfriend over whether she should continue or abort her pregnancy. As each plot complication draws him farther away from the idea that he’ll ever make it back home, Bryan becomes more desperate, and his actions more reckless, until nothing remains except his overwhelming desire to deliver the package to Raccoon City General.

The cinematography is often striking, with long, beautiful shots of a snowcapped landscapes at night, completely isolated and reminiscent of “The Shining” and “Let the Right One In.” And the sparse, menacing score seems inspired by Morricone’s soundtrack for another snowbound epic, “The Thing.”

What really makes the film work is Austin Abrams, whose honest and visceral portrayal of Bryan makes him instantly likeable, and better, worthy of our sympathy. Bryan isn’t a superman who can take a bullet to the arm and still save the day. He’s a regular guy, like you and me, who finds a way to survive despite increasingly desperate odds. You’ll want him to live because he deserves to live.

My only gripe with “Resident Evil” is that it loses some of its visual and emotional authenticity in the third act and lapses into more familiar, Hollywood-style monster movie territory. CGI-saturated scenes and too-good-to-be-true outcomes diminish the story’s believability. And, of course, there’s the ending that serves only to advertise an inevitable sequel. That was a disappointment for me.

Still, “Resident Evil” is a terrific 95 minutes of entertainment, created by an up‑and‑coming directorial talent. It’s gory and violent, but it’s also fun.

I’m giving it a B+. Just like last week’s “Hope,” it’s not a perfect movie, but it has a lot going for it. If you’re a fan of video games and horror movies, “Resident Evil” is made for you.

Mladen’s take

Another horror movie, Del?

Ain’t there enough horror in the real world to satisfy your appetite for the macabre (e.g., MAGA, social media, influencers, AI, genome manipulation, inheritance, dog lovers); the disgusting (e.g., MAGA, social media, influencers, AI, genome manipulation, inheritance, dog lovers); and the absurd (e.g., MAGA, social media, influencers, AI, genome manipulation, inheritance, dog lovers)?

No? Well, then, maybe your goal was to distract me from all of the above by suggesting we review “Resident Evil.” That was awfully nice of you because it worked.

Compared to the degeneracy of mankind, the tumbling mass of aggregated, partially consumed and regurgitated, bloodied, disfigured, raggedy, and mindless corpses chasing our regular‑guy hero in “Resident Evil” is a relief.

It also helped that Bryan said “fuck,” oh, 200 times in the movie to demonstrate all sorts of emotions. There’s the “fuck” of disbelief. There’s the “fuck” of exasperation. There’s the “fuck” of resignation and there’s the “fuck” of hope, just to name a few of the ways “fuck” can be used tactically. In fact, as I’ve always admonished my children, “fuck” must not be used as a common word. “Fuck” has a purpose and that function is a one‑word route, coupled with facial expressions, that tells the story of the human condition. Fuck, mankind is doomed because we have no self‑control, show no restraint, and line‑up behind buffoons ready to greet the new day with another shrug of the shoulders as Earth adjusts to get rid off us altogether. In the last sentence, as a demonstration, I used “fuck” to convey disbelief.

Del complimented the atmospherics in “Resident Evil.” I wholeheartedly agree. It is a pretty film at times, even if the pine forest or open field covered in snow is CGI. Del also complimented the movie’s score. I agree there, too. It was “The Thing”‑like. And to be “The Thing”‑like in any way is good. That film was made some 46 years ago. It remains in the Top 3 of the best horror sci-fi recorded on cellulose. It’s terrific from top to bottom with one of the best Top 3 endings of any movie … ever.

If “Resident Evil” has a weakness, it’s that Milla Jojovich is not in it. Among all the – what are they called, Easter eggs? – in the film, a bit of homage to Alice Abernathy would’ve been nice.

Still, holy moly, what an effort. Grotesque and gross. Funny and dire. Plausible and unrealistic (see No. 5 in my list above of the macabre, disgusting, and absurd to understand why). I couldn’t get enough of zombies jumping from tall buildings to bomb Bryan. Sure, it has been done before, “The Matrix Resurrections” (2021) comes to mind, but who cares? The zombie barrage is a hoot. Their softened bodies splatter but have enough mass to make the parked cars they hit rock on their suspensions. Jolly great scene.

There’s no question that the movie is derived from a video game franchise. Though technically “Resident Evil” is a third‑person shooter game, there a several scenes in the film that reminded me of a couple of “Doom” movies and the video games. Here and there, the audience gets a viewpoint from the perspective of a GoPro attached to the receiver of a double‑barrel shot gun. Loved it. Very first‑person shooter, it is.

Del is right. “Resident Evil” is a B+. However, unless you have a stout home theater set‑up driving a bunch of speakers – no, shitty little soundbars will not suffice – see this film in a theater. The soundscape, both its score and sound effects, are terrific. They are as critical to “Resident Evil” as Bryan’s unfortunate exposure to gene engineering.

Mladen Rudman is a former journalist and technical writer. Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and writer.