Resident Evil

⭐7.5/10

The latest from Cregger, a director I am now a little more invested in because he makes horror movies the way that I prefer them. They try less for genuine terror, but more for anxious excitement and thrills. They are more often an ode to the campy horror of the 80s and 90s, movies meant for sleepovers or a good time with friends. 

Well I had a good time with a friend for this one!  I watched this and Obsession on back to back nights, and I thought it was funny that Obsession iterates on an interesting concept while Resident Evil is the most basic horror movie premise there is. A guy has to traverse a zombie apocalypse to deliver the cure for mankind. Tried and tested for sure, but while this was an issue I just had with a movie (Romulus), the thing that's great about Resident Evil is that it is self aware. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel, it's just trying to bring more thrills to an old idea. 

Abrams was my favorite part from Weapons, and he's the main character here, bringing some funny, dirt-baggy Chalamet energy. He and Cregger are a match made in heaven and I hope we get this combo every October for the rest of time. The joke was maybe a bit played out in the end, and the movie is only 90 minutes, but I still think it's a credit to spend 90 minutes with an annoying lead (and the camera is literally always on him) and still be charmed by him till the end. 

This movie is wildly gory, and there are certainly some gnarly scenes, but I would not say there's anything that's truly disturbing, similar to playing Doom or watching Kill Bill. There's some stuff certainly meant to get a rise, but any face you make watching this movie will still include some element of a smile. 

With all of that said, I still think it's a pretty clear downgrade from Weapons. It's fun and exciting and over before you get bored, but it's still a run of the mill zombie movie. You'll have a good time watching, and then forget you ever watched it.