No Second Chances: How “Resident Evil” Portrays a Zombie Apocalypse

Bryan Hodukavich, played by Austin Abrams, contemplates entering the hospital, which is overtaken by mutated zombies. The only thing separating him from saving the world is the door. Photo Credits: Sony Pictures. 

Sophia Stull, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

The lights dim, the trailers end, and suddenly the movie theater transforms into the eerie world of Raccoon City. As the sun goes down, one more emergency order is called in during the middle of an icy storm. The destination? Raccoon City General Hospital. However, no one knows that this unassuming medical transport bag contains a crucial piece in saving the world. With double the pay promised, a regular courier now has everyone's lives unknowingly in his hands.

On September 18, 2026, history was made by the “Resident Evil” movie franchise. Zach Cregger, the creator of “Barbarian” and “Weapons,” took a new approach to adapting the “Resident Evil” video games into something more enjoyable than the previous movies, and Rotten Tomatoes agrees. 

“Resident Evil" received a whopping 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with Paul W.S. Anderson's previous movies, which averaged 40%. The movie did not include the main protagonists (Claire Redfield or Leon Kennedy) or antagonists (William Birkin or Mr.X). It was from the perspective of a total stranger, an average courier. How did this movie manage to still perform better than the ones before, if it is missing the heart of the video games?

For me, the heart of the “Resident Evil” games is the hesitation of opening a dark door, the panic after realizing I wasted all of my ammo on a lock that just needed a key, and hearing Leon Kennedy deliver one of his cheesy and unnecessary monologues whenever I'm fighting for my life. The movie incorporated these features in subtle ways. However, they weren't the main focus. 

As I walked into the movie theater, my expectations were extremely low. To be fair, I haven't seen most of the previous “Resident Evil” films. After the first movie, I couldn't bring myself to watch the rest. The trailer, however, looked enticing enough for me to pay full price for a ticket rather than waiting for a “Discount Tuesday” deal. Even so, the footage from the trailer didn't really feel like “Resident Evil”. There were no familiar characters, and the only recognizable element was the T-virus outbreak sparking a zombie apocalypse. 

At the start of the movie, the camera angles fade in and out of third person, which mimicked the video games. I thought that was an interesting feature, but I was just not yet sold on whether the movie truly represented “Resident Evil”. 

As the movie progressed, the main character, Bryan Hodukavich, showed character traits of Leon Kennedy's iconic persona. His ability to find comedic relief in the face of death felt like a clear attempt to capture the spirit of the video games themselves. While Bryan is not Leon, his personality of grit and humor hit the spot.

In the “Resident Evil” games, finding weapons and deciding when to use them is a huge part of the survival experience. The constant growth of leveling up the weapons gives the player hope that they are getting stronger against the horde. The movie attempts to mirror this progression by showing Bryan quickly scavenging for something to fight off the infected. He levels up from a basic flashlight to a handgun, which he steals from a dead cop. Bryan, like anyone who's played “Resident Evil”, wastes his ammo and has to savor every last bullet, knowing there are more zombies out there. However, while the games make every weapon upgrade feel like an earned victory, the movie treats these moments as quick plot points, which makes the movie as a whole feel rushed. 

Zach Cregger did a great job of not overwhelming the movie with the lore of the Umbrella Corporation where everything started. Cregger didn't just adapt the games into a movie, but he looped in the gaming mechanics. For example the typewriter being locked away in a room, served as a standout Easter egg for fans of the games. By including these nostalgic props, the film bridges the gap between the games and the screen, honoring the specific visual language that defined the original series. He showed the struggle of finding ammo, keys to open locks, healing herbs, and (spoiler warning) Bryan's transformation into a zombie mimics one of the main antagonists in “Resident Evil 2” (William Birkin). 

From the opening scene of the movie to the final frame, “Resident Evil” is visually breathtaking. From the quieter scenes with eerie lighting and restless camera work to the maternity ward with infected hospital staff and mutated babies, the film never shied away from the gore. Besides the gore, the movie also does a great job of replicating certain scenes from the video games. Every zombie was unique and different from the one before, but still contained the same elements as the ones in the games.

The most surprising part of “Resident Evil” is how the movie gives the audience a brief sense of hope through an ordinary civilian. The movie distracts the audience from the fact that Bryan is, in fact, not Leon or Claire, and he doesn't even know how to properly fire a gun. For a moment, it feels as though Bryan will make it home safely after delivering the cure, and the action that is going on in the movie distracts the watcher from the fact that he did get bitten. In the end, the film reminds us that he was never a superhero or a trained survivor. He is simply a regular person who got handed the cure to save the world. In a world filled with monsters, mutations, and evil all around, the most frightening part was realizing that the main character we were following and cheering on is still just an ordinary person. 

Unlike a video game, where a failed attempt can be erased with a restart and another chance, this “Resident Evil” movie only gave Bryan one shot. He had no reset button, second life, and no opportunity to change the outcome. The film builds up the audience's hope, and then strips it away in the end. Personally, I liked this outcome because, although it may not have been the ending I wanted, it felt realistic. 

In the real world, if a zombie apocalypse did happen, there are no second lives, second chances, or warning signs. Instead of giving Bryan a second chance, “Resident Evil” delivers an ending that feels less like a video game and more like reality.