After making a name for himself with 2022’s Barbarian, director Zach Cregger took a major leap last year thanks to the success of Weapons. Earning widespread critical acclaim (and an Oscar win for star Amy Madigan), the horror movie was a box office hit, grossing $269.9 million worldwide against a $38 million production budget. Weapons cemented Cregger as one of Hollywood’s new signature voices in horror, and audiences couldn’t wait to see what he’d do for a follow-up. Before he returns to the world of Weapons for the Aunt Gladys prequel, Cregger is directing a new Resident Evil movie that’s set to premiere this fall. Now, the first trailer has been released.
Today, Sony Pictures unveiled the official teaser trailer for Cregger’s Resident Evil, setting the stage for a chilling narrative. Check it out in the space below:
Cregger’s Resident Evil film is not the first time the legendary IP has been brought to this medium. Milla Jovovich headlined a series that received six installments, and then there was the 2021 reboot Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. While the Jovovich films were successful at the box office, none of these movies were well-received critically. To date, the highest Rotten Tomatoes score for a Resident Evil film is the 37% earned by 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. With that kind of mixed track record, the hope is that Cregger’s project can reverse that trend and be one of the best game adaptations to date.
There are certainly reasons to be optimistic about Cregger’s Resident Evil. Outside of the fact that he’s demonstrated a knack for crafting entertaining horror movies that leave audiences on the edge of their seats, his approach for Resident Evil sounds perfect. Rather than do a direct adaptation of a storyline from the games, his movie tells an original narrative, using the Resident Evil IP as a backdrop for a terrifying horror survival story revolving around a courier named Bryan, played by Weapons star Austin Abrams. Cregger’s goal is to emulate the spirit of what it feels like to play a Resident Evil game, and by the looks of it, he certainly accomplished that.
The trailer does an excellent job of selling audiences on the desperation of the situation the courier finds himself in. Shots of Bryan frantically opening drawers in search of supplies, realizing he’s low on ammo, and attempting to secure a key for a presumably locked door will all seem familiar to Resident Evil veterans. These are scenarios any player has found themselves in as they attempt to get from Point A to Point B with a limited amount of resources at their disposal, and it should be thrilling to see how they play out in the film. These moments should enhance the viewer’s connection to Bryan because they know what it’s like to be out of shotgun shells as a wave of zombies approaches. We also get teases of the enemy variety; a key part of Resident Evil is the different types of monsters and creatures that hunt the player. The full reveal of what appears to be a fat, white mutated human seems like something pulled straight from the games.
Adding to the already high levels of anticipation are the comparisons to Mad Max: Fury Road, widely considered one of the best action films of the 21st century. Resident Evil is said to pull a page from George Miller’s playbook by telling a breathless chase narrative that takes audiences on a wild ride. It remains to be seen what the full story of Resident Evil is, but we get hints of that Fury Road intensity in the teaser, as it looks like Bryan has to deal with all sorts of unsettling dilemmas without getting a moment’s peace in between. If Resident Evil can deliver the same kind of white-knuckle experience that Fury Road pulled off over a decade ago, movie fans and gamers alike will be in for a treat.
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