Zach Cregger's 'Resident Evil' reboot earns raves, 97% on Rotten Tomatoes

Early reactions to Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot are in, and the consensus is that the filmmaker has pulled off what long seemed impossible: a video game adaptation that honors its source material while standing on its own as a horror movie. Following the world premiere at The United Theater in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, critics and press members took to social media with praise that ranged from "gloriously gory" to "one of the best video game adaptations I’ve ever seen," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Cregger, known for the horror hits Barbarian and Weapons, takes a different approach with his reboot.

Rather than adapting a specific game storyline or bringing back legacy characters like Jill Valentine or Leon Kennedy, he introduces a new protagonist: Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams, who gets caught in a viral outbreak while making a delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital. The cast also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser. The decision to forgo familiar characters drew some online criticism before the premiere, but Cregger defended the choice.

"The idea that I had just didn’t need any of them," he told The Hollywood Reporter at the L.A. premiere. "I felt like to bring them in would be to invite a lot of problems that I felt like would have been distracting from the central story." The Hollywood Reporter’s review calls the movie "a propulsive, simultaneously terrifying and hilarious thrill ride" and notes that Cregger "has completely rejuvenated the series."

Variety’s review describes it as "a creepy-crawly squishfest that takes its time and has a weird innocence about it," comparing moments to John Carpenter’s The Thing and the 1989 cult film Society. Abrams, who previously worked with Cregger on Weapons, has drawn particular praise for his performance. The Hollywood Reporter says he "practically delivers a one-man show" as Bryan, while Variety notes that his character is "a winningly ordinary hero, not macho at all."

Abrams told The Hollywood Reporter that Cregger asked him to star after their previous collaboration. "I was kind of shocked honestly," he said. "I thought maybe he just wanted notes on the script or something."

Variety reports that Sony is targeting a domestic opening weekend of $40 million to $50 million, which would be a franchise best. Deadline projects a global debut of around $80 million on the high end, with $40-50 million domestic and another $31 million overseas. Resident Evil will screen at Fantastic Fest on September 17 before its wide release the following day.

Full reviews are embargoed until 9 a.m. PT on September 16, but early word suggests the franchise may have finally found its footing after a string of critically panned entries, including the 2021 reboot Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City and the canceled Netflix series.