Resident Evil Fan Film 'Biohazard' Shows Fans Are Still Hungry for Fidelity
Chandler Riggs, who you know as Carl from the Walking Dead, made one of the most faithful adaptations of one of the scariest video games of all time.
Published on Oct 19, 2026
Chandler Riggs, best known for his role as Carl Grimes in The Walking Dead, tackles another zombie-infested franchise in Resident Evil. He stars as Ethan Winters in Biohazard, a short fan film based on Resident Evil 7 directed, written, and edited also by Riggs.
Biohazard is a beat-for-beat, faithful adaptation of its source’s first act, congested in 20 minutes. It starts with a recording of Winters’ wife Mia. Her disappearance is the crux of the plot. We then immediately see Winters in media res held hostage inside the Baker House as he searches for her. There’s the gross dinner that introduces the Bakers, the squirm-inducing amputations, and the well-known hallway chases, all leading up to what would be the game’s first boss fight.
Gore and viscera are Biohazard’s main spectacle. Its tone and texture dial in on its source, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Sure, the set and some special effects can look amateurish. Riggs’ portrayal of Winters is uneven (the Bakers’ are glorious, however). But to actualize a faceless protagonist with full sincerity is a feat in itself. And considering it’s a fan film, grace is warranted for its flaws. If anything else, the project is indeed reminiscent of the spirit of Texas Chainsaw and other classic DIY horror B-movies of its ilk, like Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977) and Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981). The giddy, raw feeling of a true-blooded fan celebrating something he loves is palpable throughout.
Biohazard was released on Riggs’ YouTube channel and garnered over two million views in just two days. With Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil currently on its theatrical run, this means fans of the franchise are absolutely feasting. It also means some fans finally got what they’ve been craving for so long—story fidelity on film. And yet, Riggs’ Biohazard is far from Racoon City, the locus that made the franchise popular. Characters like Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Ada Wong, and Jill Valentine are yet to be justified on screen.
Moreover, does Biohazard owe its success to Resident Evil 7’s cinematic influences, or is it because the filmic language is already there in the source waiting to be retapped? This is a rhetorical question that does not take anything away from Riggs’ project. Its views and reception prove there is an audience for anything Resident Evil. And with the success of Cregger’s film, it shows there’s room for both adaptation disciplines without the judgment of one being more correct than the other.
Biohazard did a lot in its short runtime. Let’s say the fan film becomes a stepping stone for a feature-length official project in the future, then we are really on for a treat.
Resident Evil Biohazard in its entirety via YouTube
Joker Manio is a freelance film critic and culture/lifestyle writer whose works have been published in various local broadsheets and magazines. His criticism is guided by the principle, "The form is the message."
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