The moment I pressed Start and watched the opening cinematic, I was hooked. It’s hard to put into words just how exciting it was to experience that introduction for the first time and hear the words, “Resident Evil.” The opening somehow made me feel both exhilarated and nervous at the same time. Watching Joseph raise his gun toward something lurking in the darkness, only to be torn apart off-screen by a pack of dogs moments later, immediately pulled me in. I had no idea what was coming next, and that’s exactly what made the experience so memorable. From that point on, I happily went along for the ride through not only that game, but much of the series that followed.

What’s interesting is that Resident Evil became my gateway into the entire survival horror genre. It led me to discover other classics like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame, each of which expanded on the formula in unique ways. Yet no matter how many horror games I played, the original mansion incident always felt like home base. For longtime fans, myself included, there’s something about that setting that’s both comforting and terrifying at the same time. It’s a feeling that very few games have managed to replicate.

Resident Evil also deepened my appreciation for B-movies and horror in general. More importantly, it made me fall for nearly every jump scare the developers threw my way. To this day, I still jump when those blasted dogs come crashing through the mansion windows. Every. Single. Time.

The game has a way of making you feel safe just long enough before pulling the rug out from under you. Even after multiple playthroughs, it still finds ways to catch me off guard. That’s one of the reasons the series remains so special. It creates moments that stay with you long after you’ve experienced them and somehow remain effective even when you know they’re coming.

It’s why I’ve pretty much devoured every piece of Resident Evil media I can sink my teeth into, from books and manga to movies. I enjoy them all, even when they’re less than stellar. I’m just happy the series has become popular enough to receive this kind of treatment. Now that the newest movie trailer has been out for a while, I’ve found myself returning to it again and again.

Here’s the trailer for the new Resident Evil movie that is coming out in September.

What I love most is that the trailer doesn’t really give much away. It reveals just enough to spark your curiosity and leave you speculating about what’s really going on.

As the main character makes his way through the snow and approaches a lonely house in the dead of night, an overwhelming sense of dread begins to settle in. Nothing overtly threatening appears on screen, yet everything feels wrong. It captures the feeling of standing outside a haunted house, knowing something is lurking inside but having no idea where. The danger isn’t something you can see—it’s something you feel. It’s in the silence, the darkness, and the uncertainty of what might be waiting just beyond the next doorway.

That feeling captures what I love most about Resident Evil. The series has always been at its best when it makes you question every step forward. Your instincts are screaming at you to turn around and run, yet curiosity keeps pulling you deeper into the unknown. The trailer understands that fear. It doesn’t show its hand. Instead, it invites you into the darkness and dares you to keep moving forward.

The next thing we see is our hapless hero running for his life from an unseen threat before desperately retreating into a barn that could prove to be either his salvation or his doom. It’s hard to say which. If there’s one lesson that horror has taught me over the years, it’s that nowhere is ever as safe as it seems. We have no idea what awaits him inside. There could be survivors seeking shelter or something far worse lurking in the shadows. The uncertainty is what makes the moment so effective. Like the best moments in Resident Evil, the fear comes not from what you can see, but from what you can’t.

We also see him carrying a shotgun, which has always been my favorite weapon in the games. He cautiously ventures outside before discovering a dead body clutching a key. Experience has taught me that the dead never stay dead, especially when they’re holding an important item. If the corpse doesn’t get back up, then something else is probably waiting in the darkness just to mess with you. Moments later, something drags the body into the shadows, proving exactly why I never trust a conveniently placed corpse.

The trailer then takes us into the sewers, where we get our first glimpse of what could be a bioweapon or maybe just a man who wandered out of an Outlast game. He sits motionless in the darkness, illuminated only by a pale light. I have no idea whether he’s dead, infected, or something entirely new. I kept waiting for him to suddenly move, but nothing happened. At least, not in the trailer.

The only other thing we see is a doorway covered in dozens of grasping hands, and for a brief moment I genuinely wondered if I’d stepped into Silent Hill or even The Evil Dead. It’s such a surreal image that immediately leaves you asking questions. Is it a zombie? Some grotesque experiment? A mutated creature? Honestly, I have no clue, and that’s exactly why it works.

The zombies do make an appearance, albeit briefly, just enough to remind viewers that our poor protagonist is experiencing his own version of Dante’s Inferno. Their appearance also left me wondering where exactly the story is taking place. Is it a hospital? A school? A police station? Every possibility feels equally terrifying.

Overall, the trailer is a fantastic glimpse into what the movie has to offer. From what little it reveals, I can already tell it’s going to be chaotic, tense, and a lot of fun. More importantly, it feels like a fresh take on the franchise while still capturing the atmosphere that has always made Resident Evil so compelling.

I’ve read plenty of comments from fans who are disappointed that the movie doesn’t appear to be completely faithful to the games. Personally, I don’t share that opinion. We already have plenty of media that faithfully adapts the games and features the characters we know and love, so I find that criticism less convincing.

S.D. Perry’s novels remain some of the best examples. Not only are they faithful adaptations of the games they cover, but they also expand upon the stories in meaningful ways, adding depth to the characters and world without losing what made the originals special.

That’s also why I think centering the movie around an original protagonist makes perfect sense. A new character gives the filmmakers far more creative freedom than someone with decades of established history and fan expectations. After all, Resident Evil 7 introduced Ethan Winters, and despite being a complete newcomer, he quickly became one of my favorite protagonists in the series.

Sometimes the unknown is exactly what Resident Evil needs. The franchise has always thrived on uncertainty, on making players fear what’s around the next corner. If this movie can capture that feeling, then it’ll already understand one of the most important things about what makes Resident Evil great.

What are your thoughts? I would love to know.