A Way-Too-Early Halloween at Shangrila Towers, Part 1 - Resident Evil (2026)

Spooky Season seems to come around sooner and sooner each year, and I am leaning into the madness with a series of Halloween-themed blog posts well in advance of the big night.  Today's entry is a review of Resident Evil, a high-profile horror movie that would normally release in October, but instead just released in theaters last weekend.

Zach Cregger's take on "Resident Evil" was controversial from the start.  When word got out that the film wouldn't use any of the characters or storylines from the long-running video game series, fans were rightfully skeptical of the whole project.  Was this just a Zach Cregger zombie movie with the "Resident Evil" name slapped on?

In some ways, the answer is no - Cregger's Resident Evil is perhaps the most faithful adaptation of the series ever, at least in terms of conveying what it's like to play a survival horror game.  The protagonist is a hapless everyman thrust into one gory predicament after another, and he struggles with all of the tropes of the series: limited ammunition, enemies that frustratingly won't stay down, and even a final act that takes place in a bioweapons lab and features a giant mutated monster.  It's a well-made, slick piece of entertainment that moves along briskly and features the gruesome creature design the series is known for.

It's a shame, then, that Resident Evil so often undermines its horror with humor.  I saw this same thing happen in Cregger's other big films, Barbarian and Weapons, and I was hoping he could tone it down given that he's adapting the OG horror videogame.  Comparing this to Resident Evil Requiem is like comparing an SNL parody to the real thing.

Rating: 6/10

Books: Gut

 

In Gut, Dr. Giulia Enders takes the reader on a whimsical tour of the human digestive system, all the way from stem to (ahem) stern. The original German title of the book was Darm mit Charme ("Charming Bowles"), and "charming" is a fitting adjective for the childlike fascination Dr. Enders brings to parts of the body that are usually unmentionable in polite conversation. Combine the playful prose with cartoonish illustrations by Dr. Enders's sister, and even gross topics like fecal transplants and gut microbiota become fun. 

You can get a sense of what the book covers from this TED talk Dr. Enders delivered back in 2017:

Music: Let's Roll

I know I said I love you, I know you know it's true

I've got to put the phone down and do what we got to do

One's standing in the aisleway, two more at the door

We've got to get inside there before they kill some more

Time is running out

Let's roll

Time is running out

Let's roll

Music: "Let It Be" (feat. Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr)

Dolly Parton's death last week fittingly set off a wave of memorials and tributes, but while she was world famous for her outsized personal style and Appalachian philanthropy, her musical talent remains her greatest legacy.  Dolly's stellar songwriting and bright warbling soprano meant that in her decades-long career, it seemed like every musician in America worked with her at one point or another.

Dolly's last full-length studio album, "Rockstar," featured collaborations with some great musicians, including Sting, Peter Frampton, Elton John, and the surviving two members of the Beatles for her wistful cover of "Let It Be":