• Director: Zach Cregger
• Screenplay: Zach Cregger, Shay Hatten
• Based on: ‘Resident Evil‘ by Capcom
• Producer: Robert Kulzer, Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, Carter Swan, Asad Qizilbash
• Cast: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser
• Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski
• Editing: Joe Murphy
• Score: Hays Holladay, Ryan Holladay
• Genre: Survival horror
• Runtime: 95 minutes

‘Resident Evil‘ is a reboot done right. There’s no lore dumps, no prior homework required to catch up. The Umbrella Corporation is namechecked but it’s not important to know who they are if you decide to watch. No Alice. Or Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy, Claire or Chris Redfield. A tabula rasa from which Zach Cregger (last year’s ‘Weapons‘) can work on.

Instead, we have amiable medical courier Bryan (Austin Abrams) as our protagonist. He’s tasked with delivering precious cargo to Raccoon City. The journey there is fraught with jeopardy. Driving on icy backroads late at night, Bryan accidentally hits a woman with his vehicle. She’s not quite dead. Not quite human either. A lone cop gets involved in the situation and things don’t pan out well for him.

Dariusz Wolski’s cinematography creates a spooky setting; the red tint of Bryan’s car windows signalling danger, the crisp, white snow of a wintry woodland, the flashing lights of the overturned police car alternating blue and red. Poor Bryan is in the middle of nowhere and after the first mutant attack, can’t believe his eyes. He’s in for a great deal of grotesqueness.

When he reaches his destination of the hellish Raccoon City, we’re in for much blood-splattered exhilaration. There’s jump scares aplenty so the comedy moments peppered throughout help to relieve the tension.

A seed is planted at the conclusion though the roots haven’t grown. No writhing tendrils to latch onto an unpromised future. A wise move. I do hope to see more of this universe one day, with any backstory included at a steady rate.

My rating: 8 / 10