Latest / HEEL HAVOC / Resident Evil (2026) Movie Review
Transcript
- Gator: Hello and welcome to another Hill Havoc. And my god, this is the month made for this podcast because it is when all the creepy, the crawlies, the scary, and the screechers come out to play. My weirdos and freaks, don't forget, I'm not forgetting about you either. So, what do we talk about in the month of October on Hill Havoc? Well, we are going to dig into some monsters, but first, do we We're gonna do a little movie review because I had a little time to go see an actual movie once upon. So do we really need another Resident Evil movie explaining Resident Evil before we can watch Resident Evil? No. Just give me zombies, monsters, a terrified guy making terrible decisions, and let the nightmare begin, baby. Yes, I got to sit down and watch the new Resident Evil in theaters now. It was a good film. I mean, I'm gonna break it down in different ways on certain things, but overall I was very pleased. it was, you know, overpriced going to the movie. A little expensive, but you know what? I can truly say this was one of the few times lately that it has been worth it. So the big question was Resident Evil better because it didn't waste time giving us homework. Yes, I'm talking about the original six, you know, with Alice Starr and all that. So why so far? I mean, tell me, the origin no nothing wrong with the original. series of Resident Evans. I mean we if I loved you loved we all loved But what made this different, in my opinion? Well, let's start from the beginning, because this movie follow by the way, spoilers ahead, so don't get all your panties in a bunch if you listen to it. Be like, my God, you blew it. It is not mine. I was gonna go see that this weekend. No I can't because I know the Yeah, just skip this, wait till Wait till Sunday to watch this. All right, or listen to this. So the movie follows Brian. Now he's a medical courier who gets caught in the Raccoon City outbreak while trying to complete a delivery. Now, the one big thing I will say with the utmost happiness, if you have not seen any of the other Resident Evils, I'm talking about the original six, welcome to Raccoon City, even. You are not going to be lost in this. You do not need a Resident Evil degree or even a PhD saying, I know everything that's happening. You don't even have to have watched or played the video game in order to enjoy this movie. That is how Decent, I thought it was made. And I'm gonna say decent now because I really do think it was one of the better movies made recently. So the movie doesn't require you to follow Alice Alice's story at all from the previous six films or Raccoon City. Instead, it creates its own characters and a story while existing in the larger Resident Evil world that's important because this is a day one movie. So it exists in the Resident Evil world, but you don't have to watch the originals to enjoy this or even understand it. It is kind of a day one. And by day one, I mean you know how they make four or five films, and then like the original Resident Evil, they gotta do Welcome to Raccoon City to kind of explain the beginning or a different storyline or do a prequel type thing. This is not one of them movies. I really don't think so. So you don't need the degree. Of res you don't need to be the expert of Resident Evil, which I'm sure there's gonna be one or two of you out there that are like, Well, I d I know everything. Well, good for you. I don't, and I still enjoyed it. And like one of the biggest problems with the long running franchise is the homework. I mean, Marble, you know, I mean, if you have not watched Iron Man or even The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton, you have to go back and watch that so you understand even little Easter eggs made today. Not one of the movies. It's not suddenly you're you don't have to remember who survived, who betrayed whom, which virus is this, which corporation owns which laboratory? Is it a reboot? A sequel. Wait, which Wesker are we talking about then? No, you don't have known any of that. I mean, this is just a straight up Resident Evil zombie flick. So it avoids every single bit of what I just mentioned. You don't have to know anything about the sequels at all. And that's what I think makes it enjoyable for a lot of different audiences because it's not something you have to do your homework on or even learn or even get the the cliff notes if you want to go old school. But AP Reviews specifically noted that the film remains accessible to newcomers while still giving some fans Easter eggs. And there is a few in there. I'm not gonna break those. Y'all are gonna have to find them yourselves like I did. Yes, I'm an ass like that. That's how it happens. So let's have the argument of the prequel. Here's where I would challenge all of my loyal listeners, and maybe a few of the new ones that just saw it and Want to hear something a little different. We already know the basic resident evil formula. Something went wrong. People are infected. Raccoon City is screwed. And run! Got a little excited on that one. That's enough. This movie didn't need forty five minutes of before we begin. Let me explain the history of the Umbrella Company or the Umbrella Corporation. No. It's open the door. It's old school horror in my opinion. I mean it had that old school feel, which I'm a fan of the eighties slashers. So this was right up my alley. Only it had some zombies and of course fun stuff like that. it was just open the door. Hear something growling and run. That's Resident Evil. I mean, to be honest, I mean, that's that was it was a cold cut case of a good zombie movie overall. So, as I mentioned, we follow Brian, who is a medical courier. He he for all those curious what that is, it is the individuals that will take a lung, heart, kidney, liver, blah, blah, blah, something from a deceased personnel. To a hospital that needs it for a transplant to save a life. That's what he does. Sounds like a shitty gig where you mess up, get caught in traffic, you know you just cost someone's life. Yeah, that's a little bit, but judging by his whole demeanor, I'm gonna say there's not a lot of responsibility outside of that. So in order like like I said, this is a day one movie where it's not something that's we're gonna ever get a prequel. If we get a prequel to these, it will be them making the virus. That's what I mean. So Brian is the perfect day one character, in my opinion, because he's not a legendary soldier. He's not Leon Kennedy. He's not Chris Redfield. He's not some genetically altered super agent. He's a medical courier in a shitty car driving in a horrible situation that I didn't know to. I mean, he's about to have the worst shift in human history. I mean, come on. So but it actually works for the movie. I mean, it's useful for I mean, he's discovering this world at the same time we are. I mean, he ha we don't know we know what it's about, we know what's gonna happen. We have that backstory if we're fans, but we also get to see it through someone else's eyes for the first time where it's not just like Plunked in, gotta go rescue. The scientist gotta go get the antivirus, gotta figure out why I can't remember anything. Yes, it's all of that wrapped into one. So, I mean, even Roger Ebert dot com's review highlighted how the film uses a mission like structure, dwindling resources, escalating objectives, and a protagonist who is thrown into the nightmare without requiring extensive franchise knowledge. That's important. Because this is not some typical where we're gonna find some magical bean where he's gonna take a super serum and all is well. This is just a normal guy like you or I. And he's thrown into an impossible, deadly situation. That's what made it so interesting to me, is because while it keeps with the traditional zombies, all the we got the the dogs that go through crazy, but it gave us that little extra that it's just a normal human. Being not a soldier. And I think that was just an interesting spot because we really haven't had that story told. I mean, we've had a little bit of normal people that make it through and things like that, but they usually die after five minutes. So it's I mean, my question would be: would the movie have worked as well if Brian already knew everything about Resident Evil Universe? If he was going to Raccoon City knowing That they have a virus that could reanimate the dead, that the dead have already ri revived, that they've killed a few people. He's going into a situation where he might die because of a zombie apocalypse and things like that. And I think it really would have because dramatically speaking, probably not, because his confusion is part of the experience. But I mean, I think it would have altered it quite a bit because there's a certain element of edge of knowing what you're going up against. Whenever you have no clue and you're having to figure it out as you go along. So I really do think it would have altered, in my opinion. I mean, it's a good question to ask, and I'd love to have your take on it. So feel free to drop a comment on it. But what happens when I I mean okay, the movie understands survival horror. I mean, has anybody seen a slasher fick from flick from the 80s? They don't make them like that anymore, where it is just periodically One after the other. I was like, Mr. Kennedy himself broke it down in the rules to survive a horror movie in the famous movie Scream. So we're like, yeah, I'm gonna separate itself. I mean, it has zombies, five stars. I mean, it understands survival horror. But the movie r leans heavy into survival horror mechanics. Limited resources, not just a plethora of stuff to go through. Escalating threats meaning that the big bads get bigger and badder each time he goes up. Not to mention environmental dangers. There is a blizzard happening right then and there. And he does not have chains on his tires. And increasingly bizarre creatures. I mean, they there's even some different ones from the original. They bring out a couple new ones. And I ain't gonna lie, I was a little like, whoa, hold up now. Here we go. So, and it has a protagonist constantly trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I mean, again, Roger Ebit's review s specifically describes the film as strong, capturing the feeling of playing a Resident Evil game through its structure and escalating objectives. Important fact there. So this has that same feel to it. It's kind of like if you were starting to play a video game, how long would you survive? And what would you do to survive in the situation? So now let's talk about the monsters. I've said there's some big bads in there. So the one thing that sounds particularly interesting about this movie is that it simply doesn't rely on the basic zombie formula. Yeah, I said it. Reviews highlight increasing grotesque creatures, mutations, including a particular Particularly bizarre hybrid creature that is just circling all around the place and does some and has some serious body armor. I mean, you'll understand that whenever you watch it, it's an inside joke, rewind it. Like has some serious body armor. Yeah, you'll get that in a moment. As soon as you watch a movie, or if you have seen it, it makes sense. So is Resident Evil better when monsters get weird? Because we've seen zombies, then bigger zombie, then zombie with a growling like with a thing growling out of it, then what the hell is that? That's Resident Evil territory because the T virus and things like that, it doesn't just make you superhuman or make you a zombie. It mutates you, it makes you different, it makes your genetic compound completely different. So it's gonna change things. And that's what I loved about this thing is I got to see some new creatures. Even some really weird situations. Ain't gonna lie. If there is some shock scare horror on this, so I mean, if you have a a quick reflex. You might want to use it while watching because there's some things that jump out when you are really not expecting it. And I can usually call those things because I love horror movies and I've been watching them since I was a kid. But if you have not seen, I was like a horror movie in a while. I mean, this is not a psychological horror movie like some other movies that we've watched. there is a specific element of zombie creature and run your ass off. So Let's I mean, I okay, I gotta ask y'all a question because I'm a little weird on this. I've always found humor in horror movies, some way, form, or fashion. And I may be the just a weird guy that does that weird stuff like that. But there is humor in this movie. I mean, it's not some like they're gonna crack jokes humor. It's funny situations, it's dark humor. Let's just call it what it is. It's dark humor. But It has a significant balance, a good balance between horror and humor. AP Review specifically highlighted the film's use of horror amid the gore, while ARS Techtica described its blend of horror, humor, and extreme gore as a major part of its approach. And I will testify to that. It does have some gory moments. So if you have a weak stomach, maybe take it easy on the popcorn before the movie begins. So does humor actually make it make Resident Evil scarier? Or does it take you out of the whole horror genre? I'd love to hear your take on that. In my opinion, I think humor is a great element because it gets your mind going a different way. It activates a different part of that brain. You're not in survival mode. You're not in I'm scared. It's not fight or flight. It's I'm happy. I'm laughing. So adding that little humor element to the movie actually makes the horror even that much worse because you're it jumps out and makes a whole different feeling. It makes you juggle your feelings in one movie, not just waiting for the next guy to jump out or the next guy to die. I think adding humor is great to it, which is why I'm a big fan of Freddie Krueger because I found him hilarious. Yeah, I'm weird. I know. It it is what it is. So let me hear your take on that. does humor kill a horror movie or does it make it that much better in your eyes? Now This is the big one and I know I'm gonna make some people mad because I want to get it out of the way. The game fans versus the movie fans. The 2026 movie, not the origin not the originals, doesn't simply recreate Leon and Claire's Resident Evil 2 storyline. Instead, Brian's story happens around the same General Raccoon Nightmare. Games Radar reported that Krieger described the movie as taking place on the preparary of Resident Evil 2. That's actually a clever middle ground. It says, I mean, we're in your Resident Evil world. We're just telling you a different story. Now, what if the whole point of this series that they're going to make now is not telling you Alice, Claire, Leon, not telling you all that story. What if they're going to tell you individual stories around Raccoon City, how it all led up to becoming a massive infection? Now that would be pretty cool in my eyes. I was like, because we'd see a lot of different characters, we'd go into it knowing that maybe these characters aren't going to survive the movie, even though they're the main characters, or maybe they're gonna become down the road, make another Resident Evil movie with them. Either way, it would be an interesting take, and I think it would be clever without being drunk like direct. So we know there's a different story, and it can actually coexist within them. So Like I said, if you have not seen it any of the original six, and I know I've said this before, so I'm gonna reiterate it for the ones that don't pay attention. You can go see this movie and never have seen the original six. And it's entertaining and it's good, and you'll still know what's going on. Excuse me. So I'm gonna make the argument this is a day one movie. This is my take on it because I felt like this is they wanted to really bring out the beginning and tell a different story about how it started without having to give such a massive backdrop or do a prequel later to get to tie up loose ends. I felt like they really wanted to start here and then grow. That's how I felt. Now there's different several different ways of looking at it, not just mine. But my personal feeling on this was I felt they wanted to make a day one. They don't have to make a preview, a prequel later. And this will be a completely different building block for the next Resident Evil movies. So I like this is and this is why you really don't need a prequel to this. I mean, you don't need to know Brian's entire life. We already know enough. We know, like I said, spoilers, turn it off, pause, rewind, whatever you need to do. But We know he's having trouble with his girlfriend. We know he's on a mission to deliver a organ that was given to him at the hospital or something, because he's a medical courier. We know his car is crap, and we know he doesn't and he lies to get what he wants. And he also wanted to go home, but he didn't want to go home because of the situation. Now that part I will leave to myself. I want you to be as shocked as I was. So you don't need six movies of backstory on this one. You really don't. I mean, it's not an extension of the original six. It is a day one. And I don't mean a prequel like Welcome to Raccoon City type. So it's not going to be another explanation of Umbrella. We all know what Umbrella is. And even if you don't, you can still enjoy this movie. And we while I did kind of miss Alice, I ain't gonna lie. I missed Alice in this movie, but It was not she was not needed to establish this universe. This could be a whole different way of looking things. I don't want to say more realistic, because obviously T Virus, video game, blah blah blah. But looking at it from a game player point of view versus a casual moviegoer. And we don't need Leon and Claire to tell there's another outbreak. Duh. Just need Raccoon City, an outbreak, and a gr guy trying to survive. And something horrifying chasing him at all times. And that's tough. Now, like I said about Brian and why it gives that feeling of a day one, because this guy was not a soldier or a super soldier. He came into this just a courier. And you see him look for ammunition, look for weapons, dodge the monsters. You see him go through all of this. And he doesn't know what he's doing. He's firing guns and missing because you could tell he's not he doesn't go to the range, he doesn't own a gun, he's just trying to figure it out. He even makes a reference in the movie, which I think was one of the funniest parts on it. He's like, 'Yes, I played video games, and it was hilarious because he had finally made a shot after trying to kill so many things, he finally hit one. And it was such a funny part because you're like, Okay, he's got to hit something. And he finally does, and then that's his celebration. Is yes, I play video games. So he's going through all of this, going through different things, and he's doing it alone, by the way. and it all starts with him running over a lady in the blizzard wearing a sundress. By the way, yeah, I shouldn't have to tell you, but if you are in a blizzard and you run over someone wearing a sundress, shorts, or something like nothing something like they should never be wearing, and then they get up and run away. Keep driving. I'm gonna assume it's a deer at that point, but I am not gonna try no zombie types. I was like, 'Cause if it's a your average human being, we'll lay there until you come get Yeah. Stop. Don't. But even later on down the line, he meets another person. That person has an accident. It is he's having to go through this, losing people and gaining people, losing people, gaining people. And then he finally gets to where he's got a glimmer of hope. And it's all taken away by The zombies and the monsters. Because I mean, it's all about different characters coming in, leaving, just like if you were playing the video game. Like if you were like, let me help you, let me show you this, and then they're on the screen for like all the 30 seconds and then gone. The movie gives you that same feel where he's meeting people, they're guiding him, and then he's moving on to the next character as they're gone, dead, or disappeared. So even at the end where he finally reaches his objective, they throw one more incredibly hard task at him, and he's like, huh. And he just gives up on it and takes the easy route, which leads to another monster and another terrifying thing. Now, if you played the game, you know you got to be in a good little shot on it, and it shows you why you have to based on the angles that are happening. but he finally gets to his destination at the end. And you're like, yes, okay, this is how no. There is a shocking ending. And I ain't gonna lie, I did not see that coming. And most things I can call, most things I can see coming on that, but this one actually gave me a little bit of a shock. And I was like, I think that's what made it good for me. I mean myself. I like the fact that I could still watch a movie, that I know the backstory, that I know how the world works, and still be shocked by the ending. I think that's what made it so good in my eyes. Because it gave me that gave me that one thing I go to the movies for. It gave me that surprise. It gave me that excitement. So now that you know a little bit on the movie itself, which you're gonna root for Brian the whole time, he's a lovable idiot. I ain't gonna lie. So let's put this movie on trial. And if the prosecution shall speak, it will be Resident Evil movies rebooted multiple times. Why should audiences invest again? Well, let me tell you it's because this one doesn't require an investment portfolio. And if the prosecution should say, where are all the familiar characters? And I will reply, Do you really need them? To tell a good Resident Evil story. And if the prosecution came back, that it was not a directed adaptation of Resident Evil 2? Maybe that's why it works. Plain and simple. It's not direct, but we got the message. So Resident Evil, it didn't doesn't need a, in my opinion, was not a movie that needs a prequel because it gives you that day one-ish feel. and it doesn't need a prequel because it understands something really important. Sometimes the audience doesn't need the history lesson. We just need to. To know that this is a bad situation. We know Raccoon City is in trouble, and just drop us into the nightmare and let the story unfold itself, which is kind of like playing the games, in my opinion. So, I mean, the there's evidence that this approach has resonated with the reviewers. Rogereber.com praised the movie's game-like structure and accessibility. Ours Technica described it as a fresh take that works even for people that aren't really. Resident Evil fans. So, I mean, it's gotten good reviews on it. I mean, and I'm giving another thumbs up on this. Two thumbs up here. Yeah. But here's my final take and my final verdict. I'm not gonna say this is the best Resident Evil movie. I'm saying that this is a Resident Evil movie you can walk into on day one. You don't need to watch previous movies. You don't need to watch every know every character. You don't need to memorize Umbrella Corp Corporation's family tree. You just need to be ready for a very bad night in Raccoon City. And it's probably the most resident evil thing they could have ever done. So, in closing, now that I've gone through all the goods, the bads, and the goodness, Resident Evil doesn't need another movie explaining how we got here. Sometimes you just need to open the door, hear something breathing on the other side, and realize you've already made a terrible decision. That's Resident Evil. And this is Heel Havoc. Thank you for tuning in to this one. I know it's been a couple weeks. I've had some things go wrong, some things go right, and I've been recovering from all of them. But I'm back on, and every week we will have a new episode for you. But like I said, it's October where all the weirdos and the freaks come out. where are my goth girls at? But let also let I got some surprises for you this month. We're gonna go deep. Dark into the original monsters. Yes, I'm talking about the Dracula's, the Frankenstein monster. I'm talking about witches, ghosts, goblins. We're gonna dig into a few of those. Because I might have a hot take on it that you just haven't looked at yet. So keep in mind, always watch and wait for the next Heel Havoc episode, because on this podcast, it's good to be bad.