What are critics saying about Zach Cregger's Resident Evil? Film scores 97 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes

For a second time in a decade, Resident Evil is getting a film reboot - but will it be more successful than its predecessors?

The beloved zombie game and film franchise began in late 1990s and overall there are 11 core Resident Evil games - including Resident Evil 0-7, Village, Requiem, and Code: Veronica, but this total comes to around 30 when including all the spinoffs and remakes.

The games inspired film adaptations, the original film series that consisted of Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), which received less favourable critical reviews.

It was then rebooted with the release of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), but this was similarly panned by critics.

Now, the latest film sees Zach Cregger take helm as director and co-writer, and is set during the events that occur the game Resident Evil 2 (1998), but in modern times.

YouTube/Sony Pictures

"A medical courier (Bryan played by Austin Abrams) finds himself in a desperate fight for survival against bloodthirsty, mutated creatures," according to the plot synopsis.

The cast also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson and Paul Walter Hauser.

What are critics saying?

YouTube/Sony Pictures

Ahead of Resident Evil's release, critical reviews have been pouring in, and at the time of writing it has received positive reviews earning an impressive 97 per cent critics score on film and TV review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, (for context, no previous Resident Evil films have scored above a 40 per cent).

Plus it has a currently has rating of 7.9 out of 10 on IMDb, and 3.8 out of 5 on Letterboxd.

The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey said in her four-star review, "It’s far more faithful to the survival horror mechanics of its source than the earlier Milla Jovovich-led films, yet isn’t suffocated by fan service like the flop 2021 reboot Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

"More importantly, it feels thoroughly like a film by Zach Cregger, as skilled in its momentum as Barbarian (2022) and last year’s Oscar-winner Weapons, proving that subtle, psychological work isn’t always the superior horror when you have a filmmaker who can deliver a jump scare shock with this much elegant panache."

"Resident Evil has a streamlined single-mindedness, and as it barrels through its gamified plot, the tension and entertainment value never flag," said The Guardian's Jesse Hassenger in his four-star review.

IndieWire's David Ehrlich gave the film a B+ grade and wrote, "This is I.P. cinema with vision and verve... This is how movies and video games can merge in a way that makes them stronger for sharing their DNA rather than disfiguring them both."

"Cregger very much makes the film his own while displaying his obvious affinity for the source material. He’s crafted a propulsive, simultaneously terrifying and hilarious thrill ride that showcases both his cinematic chops and perverse sense of humor," notedThe Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck.

Variety's Owen Gleiberman commented, "Is it a good movie? Let’s call it a sweetly executed piece of escapist trivia. It’s got a quirky relatability…for a Resident Evil movie."

"At its core it is a sweet and hyperkinetic children’s cartoon that is wrapped up in a frantic, violent and gory zombie flick. How could you resist?" said The Times's Kevin Maher.

When is the release date?

YouTube/Sony Pictures

Resident Evil is out in cinemas from September 18.

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