Since 2002, Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise has spawned seven feature films and a Netflix adaptation. However, when Zach Cregger was tapped to helm a brand-new reboot, he made a conscious choice to start with a blank slate. The visionary behind Weapons and Barbarian admitted to a roundtable of journalists that he hasn’t watched the previous entries beyond their promotional trailers.
“I’ve always been a dedicated player of the games, and the existing films just didn’t capture that essence for me,” Cregger remarked. “I can’t speak to their quality, but they never resonated with me. To me, the brilliance of Resident Evil lies in its claustrophobic perspective. It’s defined by methodical pacing and genuine terror—elements I felt were absent in the prior movie adaptations.”
Cregger noted that the action-heavy aesthetic popularized by Paul W.S. Anderson felt more indebted to The Matrix than the spirit of survival horror. His own interpretation aims to bring the audience back to the roots of the genre.
“The games have become part of my DNA,” Cregger added. “They are inherently cinematic. You’re navigating a hostile world alone, constantly on edge. What I treasure most is the slow-burn dread—that lingering anxiety where every bullet counts and you have to be tactical. It shouldn’t be about endless gunfights; it should be about careful, high-stakes decision-making.”
“There’s basically a climax of the movie every five minutes”
During a December set visit in Prague, Polygon witnessed firsthand how Cregger is crafting that stifling atmosphere. Instead of relying on established series heroes, the film centers on Bryan—portrayed by Weapons star Austin Abrams—a medical courier who finds himself caught in a nightmare upon entering Raccoon City. The production design team meticulously tracked Bryan’s physical decay; his wardrobe—a collection of hoodies and khakis—undergoes a harrowing transformation, becoming shredded and stained by the grime, blood, and environmental hazards he encounters as the story progresses.
“The film is a relentless gauntlet,” Cregger explained. “It’s a series of high-tension setpieces. You could segment the narrative into ten distinct, grueling challenges, each with its own unique demands. I essentially had to master the craft of directing ten short horror-action films within a single feature. It was incredibly ambitious, blending seamless practical effects with cutting-edge visual design.”
Drawing inspiration from the franchise’s evolution, Cregger employs a hybrid camera approach. While he leans into the third-person perspective reminiscent of the series’ origins, he occasionally pivots to first-person segments to deepen the immersion. He cites Sam Raimi’s kinetic camera style in Evil Dead 2 and the unwavering, intense pacing of Sam Mendes’ 1917 as key aesthetic influences, promising a more direct and visceral experience compared to the non-linear experiments seen in his previous work.
“My goal is to celebrate what made the games special,” Cregger concluded. “This will undeniably carry my creative fingerprints—because it’s filtered through my perspective—but every choice I’ve made is intended to pay homage to the source material.”
Resident Evil hits theaters on Sept. 18.
Disclosure: This report stems from a press event held in Prague. Sony covered travel expenses for Polygon’s attendance. For more on our editorial standards, please visit our ethics policy page.
Source: Polygon
