Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: The second reboot and eighth film overall in the “Resident Evil” film series, the new horror comedy sees a medical courier fight for survival in Raccoon City amid a sudden viral outbreak.

CAST: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser. Directed by Zach Cregger.

REVIEW: Set during one dangerous night, the reimagined “Resident Evil” begins with on a regular day for medical courier Bryan (Austin Abrams). Asked to do one more run, he agrees when he finds out, “It’s outside the zone, so it pays double.” As night falls, he sets off to Raccoon City General, precious cargo in hand, as a viral leak from pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant Umbrella Corporation turns people into violent mutants.

As the infected hunt for humans, Bryan tries to stay one step ahead during the chaos, as Umbrella attempts to contain and cover up the epidemic. Using borrowed phones Bryan unsuccessfully tries to contract the police and explain to his unimpressed girlfriend why he’s detained.

With his life hanging in the balance the bumbling Bryan must turn from hapless to hero.

“Resident Evil” delivers the thrills and gore you expect from “Barbarian” and “Weapons” director Zach Cregger, but it is its dark sense of humor that surprises. Darkly funny, the movie offers laughs and jump scares in equal measure as Bryan narrowly escapes the perils of a post infection world.

Horror fans will appreciate the genuinely creepy atmosphere. It’s a dark world that allows Cregger to explore the nasty stuff hiding in the shadows, showing just enough to set the viewers imaginations on fire.

When we do finally get a look at the tentacled creatures—think John Carpenter’s “The Thing”—or an acid-vomiting zombie, or the bloated blood sacs, they provide a primal blast of old-school horror that’s the good gory stuff horror fans buy tickets to see.

In other scenes when people get shot or squished, infected or otherwise, they don’t simply lay down and die. Instead, they explore in a fireworks pattern of plasma and viscera. It’s wet and squishy enough to make you simultaneously cringe and cackle.

At the film’s heart is Austin Abrams as everyman Bryan. He doesn’t have a lot of meaningful dialogue, he mostly mumbles to himself in frustration, but as a good guy in over his head, he’s easy to get on side with. Abrams, who is on screen for 95% of the film’s brisk 90-minute runtime, carries the movie with an exasperated everyman charm.

“Resident Evil” is a straightforward movie. Cregger, working from a script he co-wrote with Shay Hatten, keeps the story simple, refusing to let the action get bogged down by backstory or exposition. It’s an uncomplicated story of survival, buoyed by gloriously grotesque effects and a winning lead performance.