Resident Evil (2026) Review: Austin Abrams Is Fantastic, But the Ending Left Me Disappointed

I am not a hardcore Resident Evil fan, so I want to be upfront about that going in. I have no stake in the game as far as the lore goes, and this movie could have told me it was based on one specific game I'd never heard of and I would have believed it. I don't know enough about the source material to say either way.

So if you are looking for the kind of review that answers whether this sticks to the lore, I don't believe it does. I think Zach Cregger has said many times over that this is a very standalone venture.

Resident Evil Sometimes Feels Like You're Playing the Game, In a Good Way

There are times where this genuinely feels like it's built around playing a game, and not in a bad way. It's an exciting way, built around the stakes and the things happening on screen. You get moments where it's like, "Oh, I found a gun. Oh, this is great. Now it's time to go into the next room." The pacing leans into that rhythm.

Importantly, that never felt like the filmmakers were just trying to make a video game for its own sake. It felt like it was part of the movie that just happened to be playing a game in that structure.

Austin Abrams Carries the Movie From Start to Finish

Austin Abrams is fantastic in this. He's absolutely fantastic, and he carries the movie from start to finish. What he does with his character is make you ask yourself, "Do I like this guy?" and the answer keeps coming back yes. I found myself rooting for him and invested in the overall adventure of what he has to do throughout the film.

This Plays More Like a Horror Comedy Than Straight Horror

The movie does something that I don't know if a lot of the hardcore gaming fans are going to love, and I think it's one of the reasons the critics have responded to it the way they have. There is a really good balance of horror, intense and crazy moments, and gore, but balanced with humor throughout. I wouldn't necessarily call this a horror movie. I would call it a horror comedy.

The comparison that kept coming to mind was Evil Dead Part 2. There were many times over where I felt I was watching an homage to that film. What Austin Abrams does gave off an Ash feel, in the way he plays certain horrific moments followed by a line that makes you laugh. Crucially, it never landed in a way where a joke feels like it ruins the moment. Instead it plays like a reaction you'd probably have yourself in that same situation.

The Story: A Courier Sent Into Chaos

For anyone who doesn't know the setup, the short summary is that we're introduced into this world through Austin Abrams, who plays a courier sent on a particular mission to deliver something somewhere. We don't know where he's going to go. Along the way, chaos ensues, and Cregger keeps pushing the intensity, the music, and the swelling tension alongside the gore and the crazy things happening throughout. If you respond to that chaos, you're going to enjoy this.

My Caveat: I Was Disappointed With the Ending

Here's the part where I think people will land on one side or the other, and it's the subjective piece of this review. How much you enjoy this movie really depends on how you judge the ending. I was disappointed with it. That doesn't mean the ending is a flaw in the writing or the film itself, I just was hoping for a different ending than the one I got, and I was left a little unsatisfied.

Other people could go through the entire movie the way I did, land on the ending, and love it, and if that happens for you, you're going to wind up loving this movie overall.

My Score: Four Out of Five

I really enjoyed this movie. I'd go pretty high on it, and even accounting for my issue with the ending, I'd put it at four out of five overall. I think it's another solid entry in Zach Cregger's filmography. He is a superstar of directors right now, and everybody wants to work with him. He has fun with this one, and that's another thing I really liked, it doesn't take itself too seriously, it just sticks in the moment, and it runs about an hour and 35 or an hour and 40 minutes.

Are you a big Resident Evil fan, and does knowing there's humor in this one change whether you want to see it?