‘Resident Evil’ Director Zach Cregger Teases the Game Elements Coming to the Movie

Video game adaptations have historically struggled to translate the specific feeling of actually playing something into a satisfying two-hour theatrical experience. Most attempts settle for borrowing character names and general plot beats while abandoning the mechanics that made the source material distinct in the first place.

Zach Cregger appears determined not to make that same mistake with his upcoming ‘Resident Evil‘ film. The director behind ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons’ has spent months in interviews emphasizing just how closely his adaptation is trying to replicate the actual experience of playing one of Capcom’s survival horror games, rather than simply retelling an existing storyline from the franchise.

That commitment to authenticity extends deep into the film’s structure itself. Cregger has now detailed exactly which gameplay elements made the cut, describing a movie built around the same obstacles, items, and pacing rhythms longtime players will immediately recognize from the games themselves.

“There’s a lot of items from the games. He’s constantly coming up against these padlocks that are stopping him from progressing,” Cregger told Dread Central. “You won’t be able to help but notice some of the healing spray cans and some of the green herbs. You find these typewriters periodically as you’re moving through this world.”

Cregger elaborated further on the padlock mechanic in a separate conversation with Deadline, explaining that locks and barriers play a genuinely significant role throughout the story, repeatedly forcing the film’s protagonist, Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, to backtrack and search for keys, mirroring one of the most recognizable frustrations from the games. According to Cregger, that structural choice matters more than any single one-to-one reference, since it’s designed to recreate the actual flow of moving from one contained set piece to the next, each with its own distinct threat.

Among the film’s most direct nods to the source material is a green herb that appears in the background of an early scene, an object Cregger has said he recreated down to the exact copper-striped pot design from ‘Resident Evil 4,’ widely regarded as his favorite entry in the franchise. That level of specificity reflects Cregger’s broader approach to the project, which he’s described as a love letter built on being obedient to the games’ established lore while still telling an entirely original story.

That distinction matters to Cregger, who has been clear he isn’t interested in retreading ground the games have already covered. He’s said the film exists deliberately outside the perspective of established characters like Leon Kennedy, arguing fans already have that story told through the games themselves, and that his job is to capture the tone and mechanics of the experience rather than compete with existing canon.

With ‘Resident Evil’ currently slated for a September 18 release, Cregger’s approach represents a notably different strategy from the franchise’s earlier film series, which prioritized original action-heavy storytelling over faithful gameplay recreation. For a filmmaker who’s openly called himself one of the biggest fans of these games, translating padlocks, green herbs, and typewriters onto the big screen looks like his way of proving that devotion extends far beyond just referencing familiar names.

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