Zach Cregger's 'Resident Evil' Reboot Is Officially the Horror Franchise's Best Movie

Published Sep 16, 2026, 12:57 PM EDT

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

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In the midst of Capcom's hot streak, the Resident Evil franchise has been thriving lately. The iconic survival horror video game giant hasn't had a complete misfire since Resident Evil 7: Biohazard revitalized the series with a first-person perspective and a refocused approach to the scares, landing hit after hit between the remakes and the new installments. Most recently, Resident Evil: Requiem brought back fan-favorite Leon Kennedy to great results, giving the franchise its biggest launch ever with 5 million copies sold in just five days. The only question that remained was if the series could finally extend that success beyond gaming and onto the big screen.

Apparently, the answer is a resounding yes, if the early response to Zach Cregger's much-anticipated live-action adaptation is any indication. Reviews are rolling in for Resident Evil, and the response is positively glowing, powering the film to a by-far franchise-best 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes through 57 reviews. Collider's Carly Lane was among those singing its praises in her 8/10 review, saying that while it "does start to lose some of its initial luster in the third act," Austin Abrams' performance is a standout and "when Resident Evil works, it really works." MovieWeb's Julian Roman concurred with her sentiments, calling Cregger's take "the best Resident Evil film in the franchise" in his 7/10 review and also hailing the "star-making" turn by Abrams. Among the most positive was Screen Rant's Brandon Zachary, who called it a "pitch-perfect horror film" in his 9/10 review and admitted that, while the film might not be for the most hardcore fans of the games given Cregger's approach, he believes, "This movie takes the kind of brutal swings The Walking Dead never could."