‘Resident Evil’: Hidden Details From the Games to Watch for in the 2026 Movie
Zach Cregger‘s blockbuster horror hit Resident Evil might bring longtime fans of the franchise back to Raccoon City, but this isn’t your typical adaptation. Rather than rehashing game storylines or bringing legacy characters to the screen, Cregger captures the psychological and physical experience of playing a survival horror game with an entirely original story. Warning: Spoilers ahead for 2026’s Resident Evil.
The film follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier tasked with making one last delivery on a snowy night to an isolated hospital in Raccoon City, where all hell has broken loose.
Cregger, a longtime fan of the games, made sure to pack his film with plenty of little visual nods to the franchise, including Easter eggs referencing gameplay mechanics, familiar imagery, and deep-cut details from Capcom’s survival horror series that longtime players will no doubt recognize within seconds.
With the horror hit available to rent or buy on digital platforms starting November 3, we’ve rounded up just a few of the references and hidden details you might have missed the first time around. So, whether you’re settling in for your second, third, or fourth rewatch, here are some Easter eggs worth keeping an eye out for.
Where to rent or buy Resident Evil
Resident Evil is available to rent for $19.99 or buy for $24.99 on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango at Home. The rental is a 48-hour window.
Resident Evil, Now available for rent or purchase on most premium video-on-demand platforms
The typewriter
After he runs into the farmhouse, Bryan stumbles across a vintage typewriter in an office, modeled after the classic Royal 10 design featured throughout Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise. In the games, these typewriters are typically found in safe rooms, where players can save their progress before heading back into the horrors that await them.
Elaborate padlocks and keys
The film pokes fun at the games’ classic roadblock puzzles by featuring frustrating, hard-to-break padlocks (including a diamond key/card-suit symbol reference) that Bryan tries and fails to blast open with a gun or plow through with a truck. Players repeatedly run into these classic game-logic roadblocks which they can’t solve with guns or force.
Zombie dog
The film’s zombie dogs feature grotesque, tentacle-like tendrils protruding from their mouths, a direct nod to the Los Colmillos, the Las Plagas-infected canines from Resident Evil 4.
The weapon and ammo level-ups
Bryan’s growing arsenal mirrors the weapon progression in the Resident Evil games, where players gradually discover better weapons and ammunition. He starts with a basic handgun taken from an attacked police officer before finding a pump-action shotgun mounted on a farmhouse wall, a nod to Resident Evil 4. Like the games, ammunition is scarce, forcing Bryan to search every drawer and corner for supplies, including the familiar red, blue, and green ammo boxes.
One particularly fun Easter egg appears when he discovers a green “HEAVYFIELD SABOT SLUGS” / “HYBRED EXP” cardboard box, a replica of the ammunition packaging featured in the games.
Tragic audio recordings
Throughout the film and even as Bryan succumbs to the virus, he leaves heartbreaking audio recordings for his girlfriend, Michelle. It’s a nod to the Resident Evil games, where players discover sad little diaries, memos, and audio logs documenting the final moments of characters before they die or transform into… things.
The Leon S. Kennedy Guns and Ammo store
During a chaotic street sequence before Bryan reaches the hospital, eagle-eyed viewers spotted a Raccoon City storefront sign reading “Leon S. Kennedy Guns and Ammo.” That is a nod to the fan-favorite character and Robert Kendo’s gun shop from the franchise.
Inventory and healing items
Throughout Bryan’s journey, several familiar healing and inventory items from the Resident Evil games make an appearance, including his green medical courier bag, first-aid sprays, and potted green herbs.
The bag is a major focus in the film, while the herbs, modeled from Resident Evil 4, can be spotted near a house phone and inside a car during the tunnel sequence.
The final boss
In a twist on the franchise’s classic final boss battles, Bryan becomes the movie’s own Bio-Organic Weapon (B.O.W.) as his infection transforms him into a grotesque eyeball-covered creature. With a massive mouth protruding from his shoulder and a bulging yellow eye, Bryan’s mutated form bears a striking resemblance to William Birkin’s G-virus transformation in Resident Evil 2.
Conversation
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Register or sign in to join the conversation.