Resident Evil Requiem is right around the corner with a February 27, 2026, release, and Capcom is teasing its fans with a new short featuring one of horror’s biggest new stars. The short, Resident Evil Requiem – Evil Has Always Had a Name, is a three-minute film that sets the tone for the upcoming game, and as you can probably surmise, it’s pretty dark. While the short is a great addition to the franchise’s lore that’s clearly designed to get the fans excited for the new game, it’s nonetheless a brilliantly shot and edited short that fits perfectly within the Resident Evil franchise.
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On February 2, 2026, Evil Has Always Had a Name dropped, revealing none other than Longlegs star Maika Monroe as the main character. It’s a dark short, to be sure, as it sets the series’ tone through a mother and daughter’s points of view as the infection spreads throughout Raccoon City in 1998. Essentially, it’s a look at what the victims of that infection had to go through during the events of both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, and you can even hear the Nemesis from the third game scream “STARS!” in the short, which sets it in a specific moment in the timeline.
Longlegs Star Maika Monroe Gets Zombified
Horror fans likely recognize Monroe from her work in Longlegs and It Follows, and she joined forces with director Rich Lee to shoot the short. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Monroe said, “What I loved about it was it had a lot of heart. It’s really heartbreaking, the story that you’re watching unfold. I just thought it was a really interesting and a new way to portray this video game coming out.” The short begins with a little girl hiding in a closet, breathing heavily, before her mother (Monroe) bursts in to catch her in the middle of a game of hide-and-seek. The voiceover explains how much fun their lives were before … Well, you get the idea. You can watch the short below:
It’s a fascinating account of the outbreak and its impact on regular folks living in Raccoon City. Playing the games, it’s easy to disassociate with the zombies and other monsters as you blast them in the face. Still, they were once people, and the short demonstrates this, choosing to do so with a little girl and her mom. They fight for their survival, hiding in the ruins as monsters prowl and stalk them, ultimately finding them in the dark. As it progresses, Monroe is seen fully zombified at the end of the short, carrying a photo of the two in her rotting hand.
The short is dark and horrifying, which is what you’d expect from the legendary Capcom franchise that’s been around since 1996. Resident Evil Requiem isn’t the only new thing to come out of the franchise this year, as the rebooted film franchise is set to kick off on September 18, 2026, with Zach Cregger at the helm. If this short is any indication of quality, there’s plenty to look forward to when Requiem is released on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X|S on February 27, 2026.
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