Zach Cregger Wants ‘Resident Evil’ to Make You Feel Like You’re Actually Holding the Controller
Video game adaptations have long struggled to translate the specific tension that makes their source material so engrossing, often defaulting to familiar characters and story beats instead of capturing what actually makes the gameplay itself so effective. Zach Cregger, the horror filmmaker behind “Barbarian” and “Weapons,” is taking a very different approach with his upcoming take on one of gaming’s most iconic survival horror franchises.
Sony Pictures screened the opening thirty minutes of Cregger’s “Resident Evil” for fans across Los Angeles, Dallas and New York this week, followed by a live Reddit AMA with the director ahead of the film’s September 18 theatrical release. During that session, Cregger revealed just how far he’s willing to go to recreate the specific anxiety that’s made the video game series so beloved for decades.
Asked how he approached translating the games’ famous resource management mechanics into a film, Cregger didn’t hold back on his ambitions. “I love the resource management aspect of the games and it was really important to me to bring that to the movie,” Cregger explained during the Reddit AMA. “You will know how many bullets are in his gun. You will care when he misses a shot. That’s one of the things that makes the games feel so intense and it translates really well into the film, in my opinion.”
That bullet-counting mechanic wasn’t the only game-inspired detail Cregger revealed during the session. He also confirmed that audiences will remain acutely aware of the protagonist’s physical condition as the story progresses, teasing that there’s another gameplay mechanic tied to that idea he’s not ready to fully explain yet. “I also want viewers to be keenly aware of his health as he progresses,” Cregger added, calling it another way to heighten the film’s underlying tension through mechanics borrowed directly from the games.
The film follows Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams, whose trip into Raccoon City spirals into a desperate fight for survival over the course of a single catastrophic night. Cregger has previously described structuring the movie around the rhythm of the games themselves, including entering new environments, encountering barriers, scavenging for supplies and gradually acquiring better weapons as the story unfolds.
That approach extends to the film’s visual language as well, with Cregger confirming the movie occasionally shifts into a first-person perspective to further mirror the experience of actually playing the games. He’s also said he frequently keeps the camera positioned behind Bryan throughout the film, allowing audiences to explore and process each new space at roughly the same pace the character does.
Cregger’s approach diverges sharply from previous “Resident Evil” film adaptations by deliberately avoiding any of the franchise’s established characters, including fan favorites like Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. He’s explained that decision stems from wanting to tell an entirely original story rather than retreading ground fans already know intimately from the games themselves.
That choice appears to have resonated with much of the “Resident Evil” community online, with fans on Reddit reacting positively to Cregger’s evident understanding of what actually makes the franchise compelling. Cregger has described himself as a longtime fan who’s played thousands of hours across the series, drawing particular inspiration from the pacing and tone of “Resident Evil 2,” “3” and “4” specifically.
With only the film’s opening thirty minutes screened publicly so far, early reactions have remained largely limited to that initial footage, leaving plenty of the movie still unseen. Still, Cregger’s comments about bullet-counting and health tracking suggest he’s committed to translating the specific tension of resource scarcity in a way few previous adaptations have attempted.
Austin Abrams leads the film’s cast alongside Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser, with Cregger directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten. As “Resident Evil” approaches its September 18 theatrical release, Cregger’s promise to make audiences genuinely count bullets alongside the protagonist offers one of the clearest signs yet of just how faithfully he’s translating the franchise’s signature tension to the big screen.
Will Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil finally feel like playing the game?
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