The trope of an overly stupid protagonist who just cannot seem to do anything right has been done a million times in horror movies. Oftentimes, you end up feeling frustrated instead of feeling scared, yelling at the screen in annoyance rather than fear. Or, you have no choice but to laugh at how ridiculous all of it is. Simply no one in the history of ever would act the way that character does.
As I walked out of the movie theater after watching Resident Evil (2026), I struggled down the stairs, feeling lightheaded from all the adrenaline and panic I had experienced. Never had a horror movie elicited such strong emotions in me in my entire life. Admittedly, watching it in IMAX at the theater with my friends added to the experience, but the true defining factor that set this film apart for me was the protagonist Bryan. Every time I was muttering a curse under my breath, so was he. Every time I had an idea, he was right there executing it.
It was significantly easier to immerse myself into the movie because he behaved in a way that was so believable that I could picture being in his place. His realistic intelligence was also a saving grace. Bryan certainly wasn’t so stupid that it was irritating, but he wasn’t so smart either that I could believe he would easily solve every issue that came his way. The reactions were real, and the stakes were real.
If you wish to avoid spoilers for this movie and somehow made it this far, I would stop reading now, as I am about to start using more specific examples.
One way this realism is highlighted is through the protagonist acknowledging his faults and those faults being obviously shown directly after. For example, Bryan stated that he wasn’t a gun guy, and when forced to use a gun anyway, he messed up, accidentally shooting the gun while still in the car. If I needed to handle a gun for the first time, especially a more specialized one, I could definitely see myself accidentally setting it off without meaning to. He made a believable mistake that affirmed the flaws he knew he would display. This allowed me to be more afraid any time Bryan faced an enemy as it wasn’t guaranteed that he could shoot them easily every time.
Alongside Bryan behaving how you would expect any random civilian to, the movie also improved immersion by involving elements from a first person perspective video game. The director Zach Cregger included well-executed shots where items like the guns were placed at the edge of the frame during moments where the camera switched to Bryan’s first person perspective, creating a view very similar to the screen when playing games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Doing so reminded viewers of what it was like to play that style of game and how it felt in tense moments like quick time events or stealth exploration, furthering spiking one’s adrenaline. Video games are an incredibly immersive medium, so bringing those elements into a horror movie forces the viewer to invest more of themselves and get even more attached to the protagonist’s well being.
So far, this year has been fantastic for horror fans and horror movies. I hope to see more films featuring realistic protagonists like Bryan and use its immersive power to create even more terrifying scares. May Resident Evil also set a great precedent for future video game adaptations where the movie uses both the narrative to instill fear into the viewer as well as the power of game mechanics itself to heighten those moments of fear.
