Zak Krueger has set aside his trademark narrative twists to craft a more straightforward horror that echoes the tone of the series’ original games.
Zak Krueger, the director behind the thrillers “Barbarian” and “The Tools”, admitted that his upcoming film adaptation of Resident Evil will be remarkably simple in structure.
“On the film I’m currently making in Prague, there are no big plot twists. There’s no narrative gymnastics. It’s… a fairly direct piece. The story simply follows a character moving from point A to point B. That’s it. It’s refreshingly uncomplicated for me — I can relax and let the work take its course.”
For Krueger, who built his reputation on disrupting storytelling conventions, this was an experiment in reverse. His earlier films relied on surprises and shifting perspectives; this time, he says, the franchise’s own tone suggested the film’s form.
“There’s something about the structure and pacing of these games that really captivates me. I haven’t seen a film that genuinely attempts to replicate what those games achieve. I love the slow, mounting sense of dread that defines them. The idea of making a feature with a game-like structure… it’s surprising no one has seriously tried this before. It feels like a film of this nature should have existed long ago, so I’m genuinely excited to be doing it now.”
Krueger stresses that he’s not abandoning complex narrative forms forever and plans to return to them in his next project, details of which remain under wraps.
The premiere of the new Resident Evil film is set for September 18, 2026.
Source: iXBT.games