Parents' Guide to Resident Evil

This is the first good Resident Evil movie. It's actually a bit better than good: It's lean, clever, and full of surprises, with a welcome goofball hero who's the opposite of tough survivor Alice. This is director/co-writer Zach Cregger's first movie since his Oscar-winning Weapons; this one probably won't be garnering any awards, but Cregger doesn't need to worry about that when it's this much shocking fun. This take on Resident Evil (technically the eighth film in the series) has been likened to Mad Max for its stripped-down quality, its lone hero, and its plot that's solely about getting from point A to point B. At one point, Bryan winds up having to abandon his shoes, which isn't dissimilar to John McClane's dilemma in Die Hard. He's also comically bad with guns, claiming that his only experience comes from playing video games.

The screenplay continually invents new, unexpected hurdles for Bryan, including one in which he uses a ladder as a weapon and only realizes a few beats later that he needed said ladder to escape. The movie is so keenly crafted in its balance of humor and horror that viewers genuinely don't know which to expect: a gag or gore. It also pays tribute to John Carpenter's The Thing with its throbbing synthesizer score and creepy, icky monster design. The only drawback is that, by the end, an emphasis was clearly placed on profit, i.e. establishing a franchise, and so Bryan's character arc is sacrificed for a chance to make a sequel (or several). That's frustrating, but, still, Resident Evil is a toothsome horror pic for viewers who enjoy rambunctious, irreverent horror, (original) Evil Dead-style.