Resident Evil 2026 early reactions put Zach Cregger next to Carpenter's The Thing — minus one gripe about the ending
The curse of the video game movie is dead, and Zach Cregger appears to be the one holding the shovel. His Resident Evil premiered at The United Theater in LA on Tuesday night, and the social embargo lifted like a coffin lid.
The reactions? People are invoking John Carpenter. Out loud. On the record. For a Resident Evil movie. I need everyone to appreciate how deranged that sentence would have sounded in the Paul W.S. Anderson era.
The Carpenter of it all
The comparison isn't me being dramatic — it's sitting right there in the premiere reactions. Critic Adam Hlaváč called it "95 minutes of pure adrenaline" with, and I quote, moments "that reminded me of Carpenter's The Thing." Erik Davis said it's less an adaptation and more a movie that "makes you feel like you're playing one." Perri Nemiroff went further, calling it "one of the best horror comedies I've ever seen."
A quick highlight reel from the premiere crowd:
- The gore: "gloriously gory," "demented body horror," "mutant mayhem galore" — every reaction reads like a coroner's love letter.
- Austin Abrams: universally adored as Bryan, the medical courier having the worst shift in Raccoon City history. "Our funniest little freakazoid" is a real assessment from a real adult.
- The vibe: brutal and funny, which is the Cregger signature — Barbarian energy scaled up to blockbuster size.
None of this should shock anyone who read Cregger's Empire interview this summer, where he called it the most violent thing he's done and summed up his philosophy in four words:
"You gotta go grotesque!"
Sir, the premiere audience confirms: you went.
The asterisk
It's not a flawless sweep, and the crack in the consensus is specific. Awards Radar's Joey Magidson enjoyed the ride but flagged the finale, admitting "I didn't dig the ending" while still praising the film's forward momentum. He wasn't alone in noting the last act shifts gears — one reaction described the final third as madcap Cabin in the Woods chaos, which is either a selling point or a warning depending on your constitution.
So: a possibly divisive ending on an otherwise rapturous night. Considering this franchise's cinematic history includes Milla Jovovich roundhouse-kicking a CGI dog, I'd call that progress.
The movie hits Fantastic Fest on September 17 and theaters everywhere September 18. Cast includes Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, and Johnno Wilson. Bring a poncho.
Previously we wrote: Is The Rivals of Amziah King based on a novel?
