Resident Evil (2026) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on Resident Evil

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 13 November 2026 · The Pros 86 · The Punters 73 · Spore Score 82 · How we write our takes

Why The Pros rate it higher than The Punters

For a video game adaptation, Resident Evil has done something rare: it won over critics. The Pros give it 86, The Punters 73, and the Spore Score is 82, with a mostly clear tag. Audiences like it too, but the 13-point gap has a simple explanation. This is a brand-new story with a new hero, not a retelling of the games, so some long-time fans missed the familiar characters, while critics judged it as a horror film first and liked what they saw.

What it is

Zach Cregger, the director of Barbarian and Weapons, co-wrote this new take on Capcom's survival horror series with Shay Hatten. Sony released it in the United States on 18 September 2026. Austin Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier sent to deliver a package to the hospital in Raccoon City on the very night the T-virus outbreak tears the town apart. Paul Walter Hauser, Kali Reis and Zach Cherry co-star. Cregger has said the story runs alongside the events of the second game, on the edge of Raccoon City's worst night rather than at the centre of it.

What it does well

It plays like one long, tense night. Cregger keeps the focus tight on one ordinary man who has no idea what is going on, which brings back the helpless, cornered feeling that made the early games so frightening. The creature work is grotesque and inventive, the running time is lean, and there is a streak of dark comedy that will be familiar from Cregger's earlier films.

Where The Punters have a point

If you wanted Leon, Claire, Jill or a big Umbrella showdown, this is not that film. The new characters and the side-on approach to the story can feel like a step away from the series' lore, and the film is far nastier than the earlier action-heavy Resident Evil movies, which will not suit everyone.

Who it is for

Horror fans, anyone who liked Barbarian or Weapons, and game fans who are happy with a fresh story set in a familiar world. Not one for the squeamish.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Must-see, with a Spore Score of 82. The best-reviewed Resident Evil film by a distance, and proof that a game adaptation can work when it is built as a proper horror film.