One of the most delightful surprises of Zach Cregger’s new Resident Evil movie is just how much the film actively engages in conversation with the science-fiction horror subgenre. While the initial batch of Resident Evil games were very rooted in this kind of genre pulp, later installments either upsized things to a ludicrous blockbuster-sized degree (looking at you, Resident Evil 6) or scaled things so back to basics that pretty much any science-fiction elements were stamped out (ala the more recent games). But Cregger’s film makes a concentrated effort to not only tap back into the science-fiction horror blend that made those initial games so special but also the genre films that influenced them as well.
The three big cinematic influences that Cregger’s Resident Evil wears proudly on its sleeve are John Carpenter’s The Thing, Ridley Scott’s Alien, and David Cronenberg’s The Fly. These films are all from the late-‘70s/early-‘80s burst of science-fiction horror movies, but notably, they each have connections dating back decades prior, and Cregger’s film feels deeply in touch with these cultural touchstones.
The subgenre of science-fiction horror in cinema can be traced all the way back to the 1910s and 1920s if you’re keen, with early iterations of literary classics like Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. By the 1930s, such tales were getting proper full-length sound adaptations in the form of James Whale and Rouben Mamoulian’s respective films. But for as foundational as these films were, the subgenre didn’t get quite as pulpy as it is now remembered to be until the 1950s, in the wake of global atomic dread. The existence of the atom bomb brought about all kinds of new fears, and filmmakers of the era tapped into these palpably with films that pushed the envelope on science fiction in fascinating ways.
John Carpenter’s The Thing is a remake of Howard Hawks and Chris Nyby’s The Thing From Another World, from 1951. Ridley Scott’s Alien is a riff on the template of classic ‘50s monster movies, ala Thing From Another World (the Xenomorph-filled franchise’s iconic beeping trackers come straight from the Hawks film), Jack Arnold’s It Came from Outer Space from 1953, and even Gordon Douglas’ Them! From 1954. David Cronenberg’s The Fly is a remake of Kurt Neumann’s The Fly, from 1958
And each of these films is referenced and incorporated into the cinematic vernacular of Resident Evil. For as much as the visual design of the various infected creatures in the film does take influence from several of the games, it’s also impossible to see their bodily tentacles whipping around and pulling severed parts back together without thinking of some of the gonzo imagery in The Thing. The claustrophobic nature of the sewer-set sequence and the literal avoiding of acid as it melts through the hull beat feel as if they are ripping pages directly out of Alien’s playbook. And the final scene of the movie involves a character (spoiler) going through a horrific transformation that starts with his hand and spreads across his body in increasingly gruesome fashion, all of which is highly reminiscent of The Fly.
Through these measures, Cregger is able to actively reincorporate some of the biggest inspiration points for the games themselves and make the film feel like it is so much more than just a video game adaptation; it is carrying on the legacy of this subgenre while actively harkening back to its very roots. As a huge fan of science-fiction horror through the decades, this was a real delight to see.
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