Zach Cregger Has One Message for ‘Resident Evil’ Doubters: Just Watch the Movie

Zach Cregger knows that some Resident Evil fans are not happy with his upcoming movie. After the first trailers were released, parts of the fanbase started questioning whether the film really feels like Resident Evil at all.

Now, with the movie getting closer to its September 18 release, Cregger has responded to those concerns. His message is pretty simple: wait until you see the whole movie before deciding that it does not belong in the Resident Evil world.

Cregger spoke about the backlash during an interview with Seen on the Screen. The filmmaker, who previously directed Barbarian and Weapons, admitted that defending the new movie has become a regular part of his job.

“I feel like I’ve been on somewhat of an apology tour,” Cregger said.

He compared the experience to something much bigger than a normal movie debate. According to Cregger, it sometimes feels like he is trying to win an election just to convince fans that he understands the franchise.

“I feel like I’m running for office, trying to get these people not to call me a LARPer,” he explained.

For Cregger, the biggest problem seems to be that people are judging the movie based on its trailers. Some longtime Resident Evil players have complained that the film looks more like a standard zombie movie than a true adaptation of Capcom’s survival-horror series.

That criticism is understandable. Resident Evil has a very specific identity, and its fans know the games extremely well. They have spent years with characters such as Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. They also know the strange creatures, locations and survival-horror style that make the series different from other zombie stories.

Cregger, however, never wanted to simply remake one of the games.

The director has previously described his movie as a love letter to Resident Evil. Instead of taking one of the existing game stories and putting it on the big screen again, he decided to create something new inside that world.

The main character is Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams. He is not one of the famous characters from the games, and that choice has also caused concern among some fans.

But Cregger has explained that audiences already have the original Resident Evil stories in the games. Because of that, he did not want to simply repeat them in movie form.

That is a risky approach, especially after previous Resident Evil movies received mixed reactions.

The franchise has already had six movies starring Milla Jovovich, followed by 2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Neither approach completely satisfied the fanbase, which has left many viewers wondering whether Cregger’s version will finally get the balance right.

There are some reasons to be hopeful, though. According to reports about early test screenings, the new Resident Evil movie is short and moves quickly. The movie reportedly runs for less than 100 minutes and does not spend a huge amount of time explaining everything before the horror begins. That could work well for Cregger.

His previous movies have shown that he likes creating tension without giving audiences every answer immediately. He has also talked about making changes to the film’s music during editing. In some scenes, he reportedly removed music completely because he felt the silence made viewers more nervous.

That approach could help the new movie feel different from a typical big-budget franchise film.

Still, the biggest question is whether Cregger’s version will actually feel like Resident Evil. For now, the director appears confident that it will.

Rather than continue arguing with fans online or explain every scene before the movie arrives, Cregger wants people to watch the finished product. He believes the movie itself will make his case.

That may be the only thing that can truly settle the debate. Resident Evil fans have already seen plenty of trailers, heard plenty of interviews and formed plenty of opinions. But none of that can replace seeing the entire movie from beginning to end. Cregger is asking skeptical viewers to give him that chance.

Whether they leave the theater convinced or even more frustrated will become clear soon. The new Resident Evil arrives in theaters on September 18, and after months of fan debate, audiences will finally get to decide for themselves whether Cregger’s gamble paid off.

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