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The hype is building for Zach Cregger's upcoming Resident Evil film. The first trailer released just a few weeks ago, and since then fans of the series have been drip-fed more information about Cregger's take on the iconic horror series, with his latest interview explaining what serves as inspiration for this film.
"Resident Evil is kind of the flagship for survival horror," Cregger says. "What I love about survival horror games, and Resident Evil mostly is this overwhelming feeling of dread. Where it's like I have to go down this long dark passageway I have two shotgun shells, I know there's a lot of shit in there waiting for me and it's all really bad but I had to go." Yeah, we've all been there Cregger.
Zach Cregger talks survival horror and his vision for Resident Evil. From the mind behind Weapons and Barbarian, Resident Evil is in theatres 9.18. Filmed for IMAX. #ResidentEvil pic.twitter.com/UdhlIWA1aEMay 21, 2026
One of the worst encounters I've had in a Resident Evil game was actually pretty recent, with it being in Resident Evil 8. Now some may know what I'm alluding to without me even having to explain any further. But for the record, it was that god damn giant fetus baby that lay underneath the house of Donna Beneviento.
Stripped of all the items and weapons I'd gathered thus far in the game, all I could do was run and hide from this giant baby that was calling out for me. What should have been a quick 20 minute segment ended up taking me almost an hour as I kept having to pause and catch my breath before continuing on down the dark labyrinth underneath the house. So, yeah, I'd say an "overwhelming feeling of dread" is a pretty good way to describe Resident Evil.
But unlike some of the more classic games, Cregger is taking a page out of Resident Evil 7's book: introducing a civilian into the mix who has no prior combat training or knowledge of weapons.
"I had this idea for a story in the world of Resident Evil, but it's kind of like me, like if I was dropped into a Resident Evil game," Cregger explains. "I'm terrible with guns I wouldn't know how any of them work I would miss 99% of my shots." This is accompanied by a genuinely funny shot of the protagonist Bryan missing a close-range shot on a door lock, I feel that pain.
"I loved the games, I played the games, I don't know how many thousands of hours, but too many. This is an opportunity for me to be loyal to the games in spirit and in tone, and build a story that just puts you in that scenario again, and again, and again with increasing stakes."
From what little I've seen alongside all the interviews and explainers Cregger has put out into the world, I'm actually pretty excited about this Resident Evil film—a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself utter.
