The 'Resident Evil' Movie's Final Monster Is a Deep Cut From the Franchise's Most Forgotten Game

WARNING: Spoilers for Resident Evil (2026) are below!

The new Resident Evil movie is packed with impressive Easter eggs and video game references. Imagery like the green herb and first aid bag is easily recognizable, but director Zach Cregger crafted a true love letter to the video games, offering deep-cut references throughout. It takes place in Raccoon City in the early hours of the viral outbreak that begins in Umbrella’s secret lab, as Bryan (Austin Abrams) faces several heinous infected monsters. The film boldly chooses not to name most of the creatures Bryan fights, even taking small liberties to create unique iterations. Still, they are recognizable, like the zombie dogs and even the acid-spitting infected at the hospital, which appear to draw on the C-virus from Resident Evil 6.

A past Resident Evil game also inspires the terrifying threat that chases Bryan throughout the film, but it’s an obscure enough creature that even long-time players may have missed it. The movie opens with a Resident Evil 2 reference where Bryan strikes an infected woman with his car. He eventually shoots her with the shotgun in the farmhouse, believing he killed her in the process. Like so many things in the horror franchise, dead things don’t stay that way, and tendrils from her neck reach out and grab another body. For the rest of the movie, the monster keeps attacking and absorbing people, growing in size and strength each time. Bryan ultimately becomes a version of the same creature in the film’s finale, marking a bleak ending that spotlights an underrated Bio-Organic Weapon (B.O.W.).

Where Did Zach Cregger Find His Grotesque Final Monster

Limbs reaching through a door in Resident Evil teaser trailer 2026

The monster chasing Bryan closely resembles Nyx, a boss from the 2004 PS2 game Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2. The game expands on the first Resident Evil Outbreak, and the story fits perfectly into the events of Resident Evil 2 and 3, where Cregger set his film. Players can choose from eight characters trying to escape the viral outbreak in Raccoon City before the government destroys it to contain the infection. Five scenarios cover familiar ground, like the subway and the police department, offering side stories to the main games.

The game fell into relative obscurity for several reasons. The title Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2 is awkward, and most assume it was an expansion rather than a standalone title that continued the story. The game was also geared toward multiplayer, and the PS2 offered limited online performance at the time. However, the most detrimental factor may have been its release close to Resident Evil 4, one of the franchise’s most beloved games, which quickly buried it. Outbreak: File #2 received mixed reviews upon release, offering a fun experience that didn’t demand your attention, which led most gamers to forget it existed. Thankfully, Cregger remembers Nyx, one of the franchise’s most terrifying B.O.W.s.

What Exactly Is Nyx in the ‘Resident Evil’ Games

Nyx is one of the many B.O.W.s created by the Umbrella Corporation, growing from a small blob of flesh into a formidable boss. The monster’s greatest and most horrific strength is that it can grab people with tendrils protruding from its body, rapidly infecting them with the T-virus as it absorbs their bodies into its own. Each person added to the mass allows Nyx to grow in size and power, making anyone it encounters a potential boost. A large eye forms at Nyx’s center, creating a clear weak spot for gamers to exploit, while also presenting a ghastly appearance that inspires fear at a glance. The creature served as the final boss in the game’s “End of the Road” scenario, making it one of the most memorable aspects.

What chases Bryan throughout the new Resident Evil film has all the hallmarks of Nyx, even if the movie never calls it that. Cregger put his own spin on the monster, as the B.O.W. in the movie doesn’t start as a flesh blob. Instead, it grows from the neck wound of an infected corpse. Still, from the tentacle-like protrusions to the rapid infection and absorption, the monster matches Nyx’s abilities.

I’ve seen some liken the creature to a Revenant from Resident Evil 6, which has body parts stitched together and infected with the Uroboros virus to reanimate them into a gruesome threat. While there are stylistic similarities, Bryan undoubtedly becomes a version of Nyx. Growing from just a few people to a mass of flesh capable of rolling up the side of a hospital fits the bill, as even Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2 features Nyx growing to immense size for the finale, absorbing Tyrant-R right before.

Bryan’s Fate Is a Tragic Origin Story for Nyx

Bryan loses his humanity in the final moments, with the virus fully taking control, allowing the film to end with an epic last shot of Nyx. That essentially turns Cregger’s film into an origin story that could flow into the events of Outbreak: File #2. The new film isn’t inherently canon with the video games, as it takes liberties with story elements, like setting it during the winter. Still, it serves as a peripheral story that shares enough tangential connections to work.

Bryan was on the verge of becoming a father, and while he was navigating his feelings about the news, he still had a bright future ahead of him. The infection ripped that away, with a deeper sadness permeating his transformation. He became infected by attempting to help a young girl who was already transforming from the virus. His motivations were altruistic, and though he hesitated, he paid a brutal price. Much like the young girl pleaded with Bryan for help, he does the same with the scientists in the film’s finale. As he transforms, the scientists are scrambling to synthesize a cure, and despite having time to administer it, things go horribly wrong, and everyone dies.

What’s notable about that pleading moment is that Bryan still has his humanity and is fully aware of what’s happening to him. It’s peak body horror that taps into a visceral fear. Does the monster chasing Bryan throughout the film have any humanity left, especially after it absorbed Paul (Paul Walter Hauser)? Is Bryan still aware of his fate after the film ends? These are all the perfect haunting thoughts to hit your audience with as they leave the theater. While the new Resident Evil feels like it ends with a standard horror finale that hits viewers with one last gasp, an emotional element makes Bryan’s fate truly terrifying. Kudos to Cregger for pulling Nyx out of obscurity and giving the monster its due.