There are a lot of things I used to do in my teens and 20s that I don’t do as much these days. Work and Pickleball did not exist then. Playing video games and going to the movies are probably at the top of that list.
One of my fondest memories was playing Resident Evil on the Nintendo Wii with my sister. The Wii controller attachment made it feel like you were holding an actual gun, and the game was simple enough that two players could work together, scream at jump scares, waste ammunition, and somehow still have a great time.
Good times.
So it was no surprise that I wanted to watch the latest Resident Evil movie directed by Zach Cregger and written by Cregger and Shay Hatten, after hearing all the rave reviews. What was surprising was discovering that my sister apparently does not enjoy scary movies. After years of surviving zombies together on a Nintendo Wii, this felt like an important piece of information that should have been disclosed much earlier. We still play video games but on the Playstation 5 now.
Nevertheless, we bought the tickets and headed to the cinema.
If you do not wish to be exposed to spoilers, stop reading now.
I genuinely loved the movie.
What surprised me most was not the horror, the action, or the zombies. It was how unexpectedly emotional parts of the film turned out to be. I did not expect myself to feel sad for some of the characters. Throughout the movie, we see people fighting impossible odds, making sacrifices, and trying to survive in a world that is rapidly falling apart.
One thing I particularly appreciated was how faithful the movie felt to the game. It captured the atmosphere, the tension, and the feeling that resources are never quite enough. Every gamer who has played Resident Evil knows the panic of counting bullets and wondering whether the next room contains supplies or something that wants to eat your face.
The movie also addresses one of the questions that has probably crossed the mind of every Resident Evil player at some point:
Can you actually shoot a padlock off?
I won’t spoil the answer, but I appreciated that someone finally decided to tackle this important issue. The writers must have been true Resident Evil gamers.
What I did not expect, however, was how much the ending would affect me.
I had the perception that the main character, medical courier Bryan Hodukavich (played by Austin Abrams flawlessly), should not have “died” after giving and surviving so much to deliver the sample to the scientists. Throughout the film, he endures so much and keeps going despite the odds stacked against him. Perhaps that is why I felt disappointed and saddened by his fate.
My sister, however, had a very different interpretation.
“He was just doing his job.“
And perhaps that is where the movie becomes more interesting than a simple zombie flick.
The ending perfectly encapsulates the realities of human psychology. Dave the Umbrella scientist (played by Will Merrick) is that stupid, selfish and cowardly coworker who ultimately contributes to everyone’s downfall. Most of us have encountered a version of Dave at some point in our lives.
Sounds familiar, ain’t it?
The more my sister and I discussed the movie afterwards, the more we realised that the real villains were not necessarily the zombies. Fear, selfishness, greed and self-preservation played just as big a role in the destruction that unfolded.
There was one point, however, on which we completely agreed.
Deputy Sheriff Wilson (played by Johnno Wilson) should not have died.
He was arguably the kindest character in the movie, someone who trusted people and consistently tried to do the right thing. In a world where everyone seemed to be looking out for themselves, he represented something different. His fate felt particularly unfair.
Then again, perhaps that was the point.
A good movie entertains.
A great movie makes people think, debate and discuss long after the credits have rolled.
For me, Resident Evil succeeded because it did all three.
It delivered the action and nostalgia that reminded me of those old Nintendo Wii gaming sessions with my sister. But it also sparked conversations about human nature, sacrifice, trust and whether doing the right thing is always rewarded. And what is the right thing to be done? We have our own theories about the movie and you are always welcomed to continue this discussion via a simple Direct Message or email.
Not bad for a movie about zombies.
And unlike the residents of Raccoon City, that’s a trip worth taking.
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