Despite touting the name "Resident Evil," the movie adaptations of Capcom's series have mostly ignored the best elements of survival horror games: the sense of dread as you creep into a new location; the desperation you feel when you're running low on ammo and health items. The six Resident Evil movies starring Milla Jovovich were more interested in bombastic action. So leave it up to Zach Cregger, the director of Barbarian and Weapons, to crack the code of making a genuinely great adaptation: Just make it feel like the best games in the franchise.

Resident Evil centers on Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier tasked with making a last-minute run to a remote mountainside town. Of course, that's Raccoon City. After an accident on a snowy road, we shift into a first-person view as Bryan creeps towards an injured woman, much like the camera slowly approaching the first zombie in the original Resident Evil. Throughout the film, we're often following Bryan from directly behind, or right over the shoulder, evoking the iconic camera angle of Resident Evil 4.

Anyone unfamiliar with the games would have no problem enjoying this film. But Cregger's understanding of the series also makes it feel like a true survival horror game. We're viewing every new room and dark corner from Bryan's perspective, and the sense of dread is palpable. Much like the games, resource scarcity is a constant source of tension.

Cregger's Resident Evil is a lesson in making a good video game adaptation. You can't just slavishly recreate things the fans want to see – like the atrocious Super Mario Galaxy or the forgettable Uncharted – but you also shouldn't completely reject the best elements of the games, like the terrible '90s Super Mario Bros. film.