New Resident Evil, in cinemas September 18. Here's what's actually worth knowing before you go, not just "it's out."

The Basics

Directed by Zach Cregger, out September 18 via Sony Pictures, 93 minutes, filmed for IMAX. It premiered a day earlier at Fantastic Fest, which is usually a decent sign a horror film's confident in itself.

Who's Behind It

Cregger's the interesting part here. He's on record saying he's never actually watched the previous Resident Evil films — the Milla Jovovich era simply isn't a reference point for him. Instead he went straight to the games, and named Evil Dead II as his actual tonal touchstone: horror and dark comedy in the same breath, rather than straight action-horror.

That's a genuinely different approach to anyone who's made a Resident Evil film before, and it shows in what he's built.

The Story

This isn't an adaptation of any single game. It's an original story set in Raccoon City, running parallel to the Resident Evil 2 era in what's effectively an alternate timeline — no Leon, no Claire, none of the usual faces. The lead is Bryan, a medical courier (Austin Abrams) who gets dragged into the outbreak trying to make a delivery to Raccoon City General.

Cregger's described it as "a love letter to the games" without retelling anyone's established arc, pulling conceptual DNA from RE2, RE3: Nemesis, and RE4 rather than lifting specific scenes.

Cast Rundown

• Austin Abrams as Bryan — the courier who didn't sign up for any of this

• Zach Cherry as Dave — Umbrella scientist

• Kali Reis as Pauline — Umbrella scientist (a role originally written for a man)

• Paul Walter Hauser as Carl — Umbrella scientist

• Johnno Wilson as Max — Umbrella enforcer

No iconic game characters in this one, which is either a bold choice or a relief, depending how you feel about the games' voice acting.

How It's Different From the Old Movies

The Anderson films (Jovovich era) leaned hard into action spectacle, essentially using Resident Evil as a backdrop for stunt sequences. This one's built as horror first, with Cregger prioritising dread and pacing closer to the games over shootouts and slow-motion. If you found the old films fun-but-silly, this is aiming at a genuinely different audience.

Early Buzz

Reactions out of early screenings have been notably positive, which isn't something this franchise hears often. Word so far: genuinely scary in places, funnier than expected, gore that's apparently top-tier for the genre, and Abrams singled out repeatedly as carrying the film well as the reluctant hero. It's tracking as a possible turning point for a franchise that's historically underperformed on screen.

Make of that what you will before opening weekend, early buzz isn't a guarantee, but it's a better starting point than this series usually gets.

Merch Note

If the movie gets you back into the franchise, worth knowing: Funko dropped its first new Resident Evil wave in nine years back in June — Leon and Jill in new designs, plus first-ever figures for Wesker and Dr. Salvador. It doesn't look officially tied to this film specifically, but the timing works out well either way, and the original 2017 figures are going for serious money secondhand now if you're chasing those instead.

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— The Be More Geek team