When it was announced that Weapons and Barbarian director Zach Cregger is making a Resident Evil movie, I was both psyched and also a little worried. Cregger is fast building a very specific brand of unconventional horror that blends dark comedy with non-linear storytelling, which is great for original horror movies, but I was and am concerned it might clash somewhat with the tone and style of the Resident Evil IP.
Is Cregger reining it in and conforming to a different vibe for Resident Evil? Or instead, is he fully doubling down on his unique filmmaking approach and just letting the Resident Evil world be his playground? Well, in an interview with EW, it definitely seems more like the latter.
“It’s an entirely original story,” Cregger revealed. “When you watch it, you’ll be like, ‘This is very Zach.’ It’s just [that] it takes place in the Resident Evil world. I don’t think fans of the games are gonna be bummed.”
Cregger is being intentionally vague, naturally. He can’t say much about the actual substance of the movie just yet, but he did strongly suggest it won’t feature fan-favorite characters like Leon Kennedy, which isn’t new.
“I’m not gonna steal Leon and put him in an original story. I think that would be presumptuous,” Cregger said. “But I respect the games enough where I’m gonna like tell a Resident Evil story in the Resident Evil canon that still leaves everything they love intact from the games, you know what I mean?”
I kind of know what he means, I think. I would file Leon Kennedy and other beloved Resident Evil characters under things people love from the games, so their apparent absence from the project would seemingly contradict at least a small part of what Cregger is saying here.
That’s not a criticism, by the way. I’ve been vocal about my opinion that the series needs to move on from series mainstays like Leon Kennedy; I’m just thinking out loud, really.
“I think that when you see it, you’ll understand how I can be obsessed with original ideas and still make a movie that is an IP-based thing,” said Cregger. “I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense now, but I hope that it will later.”
What it all boils down to for me is: Can a horror movie that’s “very” Zach Cregger – even a great one in and of itself – also be a great Resident Evil movie? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, it’s spooky season! Turn off the lights, light a pumpkin-scented candle, and pick something from our list of the best horror movies to watch right now.
