Chandler Riggs Releases Resident Evil 7 Fan Film Biohazard

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil has drawn strong reviews and big audiences. It has earned rave reviews and set box office records for the long-running horror franchise. You might expect the filmmaker’s big-budget reboot to be the highest-rated Resident Evil adaptation released this year.

According to IMDb, it isn’t. Another adaptation currently scores higher. It’s a fan-made project led by a star of another major zombie franchise.

The top-rated project is Biohazard, a short film from Chandler Riggs, best known for playing Carl Grimes on The Walking Dead. Riggs’ passion project draws on Capcom’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. It holds an IMDb rating of 8.3 out of 10, ahead of Cregger’s Resident Evil, which currently sits at 7.6 out of 10.

What is Biohazard about?

Biohazard was released online on Oct. 14. The fan film runs roughly 20 minutes and adapts one of the most memorable encounters from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the garage fight between protagonist Ethan Winters and the terrifying Jack Baker.

Riggs stars as Ethan, and Jason Douglas (The Walking Dead, Preacher) plays Jack Baker. The short follows the game’s encounter in which Ethan is trapped in a garage with Jack, a seemingly unstoppable threat who turns an ordinary space into a brutal fight for survival. Riggs doesn’t try to adapt the whole game. He focuses on a single sequence and aims to bring the game’s mix of tension, violence and grotesque horror to live action.

The supporting cast includes Mary Rachel Quinn (Outer Banks) as Marguerite Baker, Eugenie Bondurant (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) as Eveline, Johnathan O’Neil (The Pitt) as Deputy Anderson, and Sam Coyles as Lucas Baker.

Riggs hasn’t ruled out doing more with Resident Evil. In an interview with IGN, he said he’d love to make a feature-length adaptation of Resident Evil 7 someday. He would also welcome the chance to work with Cregger on another project set in the franchise.

“If [Cregger] wants to continue in the universe, I’m all for it. Listen, my phone is open. Hit my line!”

Whether that collaboration happens is another question. Cregger has said he’s reluctant to make another franchise film after backlash from some Resident Evil fans, although he has also discussed ideas for a possible sequel.

The fan film is available to watch for free on YouTube.

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Source: Polygon