Resident Evil is back! Again. Sony’s second reboot of its long-running action horror movie franchise, based on the popular video games, had its premiere at the 2026 Fantastic Fest on Tuesday night, and early reaction to the film has already hit social media.

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Sony has allowed festivalgoers to post brief thoughts on the film after its screening, with full reviews for Resident Evil embargoed until 9.a.m. PT on Sept. 16. The film hits theaters globally on Sept. 18.

Directed by Weapons and Barbarian filmmaker Zach Creggar, Resident Evil takes us back to Racoon City, and another viral outbreak that is turning people into monsters. The film stars Austin Abrams as a medical courier who gets caught up in the outbreak and must try to survive. The cast also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser.

Resident Evil has had various screen adaptations over the years. The Milla Jovovic-led original film series debuted in 2002, and was followed by six films in 14 years — Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016).

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Sony and Constantin Films first rebooted the film franchise in 2021, with Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Johannes Roberts’ film had an all-new cast led by Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell and Tom Hopper. The film was a commercial and critical flop, however. The franchise took a further knock in 2022, when Netflix canceled the Resident Evil TV series after one season.

Cregger has faced some questions from fans before the film’s premiere about not using familiar characters from the game series. He also talked to The Hollywood Reporter about making some adjustments to his film following test screenings, taking out a number of jokes. However, the early reaction to the finished film seem to be overwhelmingly positive.

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Read below for the social media reaction to Resident Evil.