Photo Credits: Resident Evil
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Zeph Cregger’s Resident Evil (2026) movie.
Resident Evil is a horror videogame and media franchise created by Japanese company Capcom. While sources differ, according to the official Resident Evil Wiki, the franchise includes 18 major videogames, 15 non-major titles, 19 mobile games, and 16 miscellaneous games (including boardgames and arcade games), not including the remakes. They also have eight universally recognized films, six of which form a continuous story, with the 2021 and 2026 films being separate.
With hours of gameplay and watchable media available to consume, director Zach Cregger has stunned viewers and quickly climbed charts, with numerous outlets and watchers already claiming the new movie to be the best of 2026. I, for one, am part of the majority here.
Resident Evil follows Bryan, a medical courier who just learned that his girlfriend is pregnant. Bryan agrees to take a last-minute delivery to the infamous Raccoon City due to his kind heart and need for the extra pay. On his way, he hits a woman with his car but quickly learns that she is no longer human. These mutated monsters follow him throughout his journey in an action-packed adventure that changes Bryan drastically along the way. By the end of the movie, Bryan is infected, and the viewer is left rooting for his survival. Unfortunately, Bryan ultimately does not make it and succumbs to the creature taking over him.
While some felt this ending was unsatisfying, they failed to realize that they were not watching a horror movie protagonist. Cregger expertly sets up the perfect side character story, while convincing the audience to believe differently until the very end.
In the games, protagonists such as Leon Kennedy or Ethan Winters find letters, notes, journals, and photos scattered throughout the world that piece together a tragic story (typically explaining the history of the outbreak or a side character’s death). Throughout the movie, Bryan leaves traces of his journey. The voicemail in the farmhouse and his voice recording in the hospital are two crucial examples that prove that Bryan is the side character.
At the end of the games, there is always a huge creature that someone like Leon or Ethan would have to battle. Bryan turns into that monster at the end. The movie perfectly sets itself up for a sequel to bring in a character that viewers actually know.
Another theory as to why Bryan did not survive was the “Bad Ending” theory. This theory states that Bryan made every wrong decision he possibly could have, resulting in what would get him the “bad ending” in a video game. An example of this is him not dealing with the infected little girl when he had the chance, resulting in him getting bitten, and therefore, infected. Another example would be Bryan choosing to take the elevator, after being told not to, and running into the vomit monster.
Overall, Bryan was hilariously relatable and made me want to root for him. I wanted his character to live so badly, and he was so close. While I understand and appreciate the ending, as a person who loves happy endings, I do wish this had a happy ending. Due to this, I rated this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. Regardless of Resident Evil knowledge, I believe anyone could enjoy this movie. However, I did enjoy all the easter eggs and callbacks to the games.
