By Josh Bate
After making a name for himself with the acclaimed horror movies Barbarian and Weapons, filmmaker Zach Cregger turns his attention to the world of Resident Evil. Rather than directly adapting one of the iconic Capcom survival horror games, Cregger’s film tells a new story set within the franchise’s established universe.
Austin Abrams stars as Bryan, a courier who is given a seemingly straightforward but dangerous assignment: transport what he believes is a human organ to a hospital in Raccoon City. His trip is already difficult thanks to treacherous, snow-covered roads and the dead of night, but things become considerably more difficult (and wild) when he becomes caught in the middle of a terrifying outbreak. Before long, Bryan is fighting for his life against an assortment of mutated creature and undead.
What Is Bryan Really Delivering to Raccoon City?
Eventually, Bryan manages to get Raccoon City, where he receives help from an armed security officer, played by Kali Reis, and a scientist working for the Umbrella Corporation, portrayed by Paul Walter Hauser. The pair pick him up and agree to take him and his mysterious cargo to the hospital in Raccoon City.
During the journey, Hauser’s character finally tells Bryan the truth about his delivery. The bag contains a binding agent needed to complete a cure for the virus accidentally unleashed by the Umbrella Corporation. Scientists taking refuge on the hospital’s highest floor need the substance to finish developing the treatment. If successful, their cure can reverse the virus’s effects and restore infected, mutated people to their human form.
Does Bryan Successfully Deliver the Binding Agent?
Following a series of increasingly dangerous encounters inside the Raccoon City hospital, Bryan eventually reaches the 24th floor of the Raccoon City hospital and locates the Umbrella scientists.
He is met by a scientist played by Severance star Zach Cherry, who takes Bryan into the laboratory. The plan is to use the substance he has transported to complete the cure.
Unfortunately, Bryan arrives with another problem. Earlier in the movie, he was bitten on the arm and now he is rapidly transforming into an infected.
The scientists begin preparing the green substance for injection, but they soon realize just how serious Bryan’s condition has become (the massive tentacles coming out of his hands are pretty hard to ignore).
Bryan desperately asks the scientists to administer the cure as quickly as possible. However, the infection has already gained too much control over his body.
As Bryan mutates further, his infected body attacks the scientists and begins killing them one after another. His attempts to remain himself are gradually overwhelmed as the virus takes control of both his body and his mind.
What Happens to Bryan?
After slaughtering the scientists, Bryan completely loses control. The infection is now effectively running his body, transforming him into a grotesque creature made up of a sprawling, mangled mass of biological material.
Bryan’s final form resembles a Nyx, a gigantic bio-mass-consuming creature first introduced in Resident Evil Outbreak File #2.
In the final moments, the mutated Bryan emerges onto the outside of the hospital. He lets out a terrifying scream while staring directly toward the camera before the final credits roll.
Does Resident Evil Have a Post-Credits Scene?
There is no mid-credits or post-credits sequence in Resident Evil.
Are Any Classic Resident Evil Characters in the Movie?
Cregger’s decision to create an original story within the Resident Evil universe means that none of the franchise’s most recognizable protagonists appear in the movie. Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Ethan Winters are all absent.
There is, however, an interesting connection to the games.
Cregger has confirmed that the events of his movie take place concurrently to those of Resident Evil 2. While Bryan is struggling to survive the outbreak and everything happening inside the Raccoon City hospital, Leon and Claire are simultaneously fighting for their own survival elsewhere in the city.
Resident Evil arrives exclusively in theaters on September 18, 2026.