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As a\u00a0considerable fan of the <\/span>Resident Evil <\/span><\/i>series of survival horror video games, I\u00a0had the constant image of the famous Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme in my head while watching Zach Cregger\u2019s hardcore splatter homage. Yet with this studied adaptation he has coined a\u00a0new, acceptable method of fan service, where those little nostalgic cues are either baked into the narrative or take a\u00a0cogent place within the backdrop. They never feel like little in-film marketing prompts, desperately reminding you that, as soon as you\u2019ve left the cinema, you need to go and purchase a\u00a0bunch of merchandise.<\/span><\/p>\n An original series of films, many of which were helmed by Paul WS<\/span> Anderson, riffed largely on the complex lore and machinations of the Umbrella Corporation \u2013 a\u00a0comically nefarious biotech firm who accidentally-on-purpose unleashed a\u00a0zombie plague in their search for evolutionary perfection. What Cregger does is what game designers Capcom did with 2017<\/span>\u2019s lauded <\/span>Resident Evil 7<\/span>: Biohazard<\/span><\/i>, where they dispensed with the gaudy action that had bogged down the previous two game entries and boiled things back down to flinty, effective horror basics. And speak as you find: the film works like gangbusters.<\/span><\/p>\n Our protagonist is the dweeby medical courier Bryan (Austin Abrams), whose dialogue predominantly consists of muttering expletives while attempting (and usually flubbing) Leon Kennedy-style cool-guy exclamations. He\u2019s in the wrong place at the wrong time when buttonholed by a\u00a0nurse to transport an urgent mystery package to the General Hospital in Racoon City \u2013 the iconic setting of many of the early RE<\/span> games. His trouble begins when a\u00a0crazed woman jumps in front of his car on an icy woodland pass. Miraculously, she isn\u2019t dead, and so he attempts to do the right thing and take her along with him. It turns out that the injuries from a\u00a0mere auto accident are the least of her worries.<\/span><\/p>\n Creggar co-opts many of the game\u2019s key scare mechanics, such as characters walking into dark spaces, doors opening super slowly, shotgun blasts to the frontal lobe and the fact that survival resources such as bullets are finite. The first 30<\/span>\u00a0minutes of the film plays like a\u00a0low-budget indie horror, with minimal production design, spare dialogue and only a\u00a0few key characters. Yet just at the point where you think that things are perhaps being played too low key, Cregger clicks off the safety catch and allows the blood (and vomit) to flow in rivers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The film\u2019s story doesn\u2019t reference or mirror any of the specific games, rather it creates an amalgam of touchpoints and subtle nods through its settings and supporting cast. Like a\u00a0good literary adaptation, Cregger has ingested the games and then chosen to forge something in their spirit, for better and for worse. While he absolutely nails the tone and the experiential aspects of the game, he also ports over the fact that the stories themselves are just empty pulp that are purely focused on in the moment thrills over any lasting impact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, as with the majority of video game adaptations, where the game itself becomes a\u00a0kind of creative albatross around around maker\u2019s neck, this one takes the opportunity to bring its own fresh elements to the mix, and it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if some of the new monster designs here didn\u2019t end up inspiring the games. It feels as if Cregger and co have been gorging on films such as Bryan Yuzna\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Re-Animator<\/i> and\u00a0<\/span>Society<\/i>, or even some of Peter Jackson\u2019s early (brilliant) forays into OTT<\/span> gore, such as\u00a0<\/span>Bad Taste<\/i> or\u00a0<\/span>Braindead<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n The slightly irritating character of Bryan, too, offers a\u00a0subtle corrective to some of the game\u2019s outmoded (and often mocked) sexual attitudes, with men being macho action figures and women being screeching damsels. Bryan\u2019s definitive lack of tough guy credentials, and the fact that he\u2019s working through problems as they arrive, makes him more of an avatar for the player than the characters, which is both an effective and ingenious creative decision to\u00a0make.<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, by the end of the film, the reference point that is most prominent in the mind isn\u2019t any of the Resident Evil games or previous films, but the dirty B\u2011movie bangers of famed gamer John Carpenter. Cregger manages to emulate that purity of violence and a\u00a0stripped back economy where moments of silence are embraced and there\u2019s always a\u00a0clear sense of where all the characters are in relationship to one another. And there are many direct hat-tips to iconic body horror feature,\u00a0<\/span>The Thing<\/i>. In all, it\u2019s a\u00a0massively impressive and effective film, but maybe one that appears so much better because the bar for this type of work is so low. Wait here while I\u00a0go and watch it again, just to\u00a0check\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n