Resident Evil (2026): Austin Abrams Carries an Evil Dead 2-Style Standalone Take, But the Ending Divides

My verdict on Zach Cregger's Resident Evil, coming off his work on Weapons and Barbarian, is that it is entertaining and worth seeing, though the ending is going to split people. Since the review embargo had not lifted yet, these are purely my initial, gut reaction thoughts.

The first thing to understand going in is that this is a standalone adventure that sits outside the established game lore. If you are a hardcore gaming fan who already knows the lore inside and out, you need to get past that quickly, because the movie does not follow it closely. I am not as versed in the lore for Resident Evil myself, so going into this I was really just going in as more of a Cregger fan to see what was going on.

Austin Abrams Basically Carries the Whole Movie

The standout here is Austin Abrams, who I already thought was excellent in Weapons. He really has to carry Resident Evil, and he does it. There is a lot of comedy in this movie, and not in a subtle way either, it plays like nearly everything is a joke at points, but it works because of the tongue in cheek tone the film knows it wants.

By the end, I got a very strong Evil Dead 2 feel out of it, with Abrams doing his best Ash and pulling it off. Cregger keeps you on edge the way he has shown before, unafraid to show the gore and unafraid to do things that make you a little uncomfortable.

The Ending Is Where Opinions Will Split

Where this movie is really going to land for people, whether they call it good, entertaining, or excellent, comes down to how they feel about the ending. As I put it, "I didn't love the ending, but that's going to be subjective." Everything leading up to it worked for me. It made me laugh, made me cringe, and I was never bored.

We have seen zombie and infected movies a thousand times before, and Cregger changed up the format enough to make this one feel different. "I think he's the most talented guy, one of the most talented guys in the game right now," and this really is a shining piece for Abrams, who is terrified in the right moments, hilarious in the right moments, and essentially carries the film as close to a one man show for most of its runtime.

If you are looking forward to this one, I think you are going to dig it. I am curious to hear what people think about that ending once they have seen it for themselves, whether it lands for them the way it didn't quite land for me.