Zach Cregger's Resident Evil film adaptation has drawn criticism from fans for omitting iconic franchise characters like Leon and Claire, yet it represents one of the most authentic video game film adaptations ever made. Rather than simply retelling familiar stories, Cregger deliberately recreates the structural and mechanical experience of actually playing Resident Evil games, capturing what makes the series terrifying to players rather than simply adapting its narrative universe.

The film follows Bryan Hodukavich, an ordinary courier navigating Raccoon City through locations directly from the games—farmhouses, tunnels, hospitals and sewers—where he collects progressively powerful weapons whilst facing constant ammunition scarcity. Cregger mirrors authentic gameplay by having Bryan discover the world through found footage and cryptic NPC interactions, even including typewriter save points, and positions Bryan as a precursor NPC character rather than a traditional hero, exploring the vulnerable ordinary humans that series creator Shinji Mikami has long considered most effective for horror.