"See the movie. If you still feel the same way after you've seen it, then whatever you think is fair. You're going to decide if I'm an actual Resident Evil fan or a fake."
That's Zach Cregger speaking to critics who doubted his vision for the Resident Evil reboot. Based on early reviews, it looks like the movie is doing exactly what he promised.
Cregger's Resident Evil film drops this Friday, and the critical reception has been nothing short of historic. The movie currently holds a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 91 reviews, making it the highest-rated video game adaptation the site has ever tracked. That's not a close call either. The previous record holder, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, sat at 86%. Cregger's film clears it by more than 10 percentage points.
How the full top 10 looks right now
For context, here's where the Resident Evil film lands against every other video game movie on Rotten Tomatoes by critic score:
The gap between first and second place is jarring. Video game movies have historically struggled to break past the 70% mark, and Cregger's film just lapped the field.
Burying the Milla Jovovich era for good
The previous six-film live-action Resident Evil series, written by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, never came close to this territory. The best of that run, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, topped out at 39% on Rotten Tomatoes. That puts the entire Anderson-era franchise below the Uncharted movie (41%), which itself wasn't exactly celebrated.
Cregger already had three films with 90-plus scores before this one: Barbarian (92%), Companion (93%), and Weapons (93%). The Resident Evil film is now his best-reviewed work by a significant margin.
A new story, not a retread
Here's the thing that made a portion of the fanbase nervous going in. Cregger's film features no characters from the games. No Leon, no Jill, no Chris, no Claire. The story runs parallel to the events of Resident Evil 2 and 3 but is set in modern day and follows entirely new characters.
Cregger has been direct about why. "I'm not going to tell Leon's story, because Leon's story is told in the games," he said in an interview last year. "Fans already have that."
The film sits in the same universe as the games, including Resident Evil 0, and Cregger has consistently maintained that it respects the lore rather than ignoring it. "This is not breaking the rules of the games," he told one outlet. "I am the biggest worshipper of the games, so I'm telling a story that is a love letter to the games and follows the rules of the games. It is obedient to the lore."
From apology tour to record books
Cregger acknowledged earlier this month that he'd been running what felt like a PR campaign just to convince fans he was genuine. "I feel like I'm running for office, trying to get these people not to call me a LARPer," he said. He also confirmed this week that an early cut of the film had more humor in it, but test screenings pushed him to strip most of the jokes out, a call he stands behind.
The critics have answered. Whether the audience score holds up after Friday's opening will be the next chapter of this story.
For players who want to revisit the games while waiting for the film, the Resident Evil 0 guides at cover everything from the mansion's early puzzles to the leech-filled nightmare of the treatment plant. Broader survival horror tips are also available across the gaming guides hub if you're planning a full series replay before the credits roll.
