Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Took Cues From Two Unexpected Christmas Classics

Horror reboots rarely find their footing by playing it safe, and few filmmakers understand that better than Zach Cregger. After delivering two of the genre’s most talked-about original films in recent years, his decision to tackle a beloved video game franchise came with its own set of creative puzzles to solve.

Chief among them was figuring out exactly who his protagonist should be. Rather than building the character from scratch, Cregger turned to a surprising well of cinematic inspiration to help shape the emotional core of his survival story.

Although Cregger’s new ‘Resident Evil‘ unfolds in a snow-covered setting rarely associated with holiday cheer, the director has revealed that two beloved Christmas classics, ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Home Alone,’ served as key reference points while developing his film’s lead character, alongside ‘Back to the Future.’

Speaking with MovieWeb, Cregger explained that he and lead actor Austin Abrams developed a specific shorthand while filming, using these three films as quick emotional touchstones for how the protagonist should react in any given scene. “We would huddle up, and it’d be a scene, [Austin Abrams] would be like, ‘Do you think I’m more like McLean [Die Hard] or McFly [Back to the Future] here?'” Cregger recalled in the interview. “It’s like, you’re McFly here. Most of the movie you’re McFly.”

That framework gave Abrams a clear emotional map for his character Bryan, a hapless medical courier thrust into the middle of a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. According to Cregger, Bryan spends most of the film confused and reactive like Marty McFly, occasionally rising to the occasion like John McClane, and at other points panicking entirely like Kevin McCallister from ‘Home Alone.’

The Christmas movie comparisons take on extra meaning given the film’s unconventional wintry backdrop. Unlike the games’ original September 1998 setting, Cregger’s adaptation unfolds during a blizzard, a deliberate creative choice the director has defended repeatedly in interviews, insisting it simply “looks really f***ing cool to have a horror movie set in the snow.”

The first trailer for Zach Cregger's ‘RESIDENT EVIL’ has been released.

In theaters on September 18. pic.twitter.com/eeVCAGzy6M

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 30, 2026

That snowbound atmosphere gives the Die Hard comparison particular resonance, echoing the claustrophobic, wintry tension that made the 1988 action classic so enduring. Cregger has also cited the Coen Brothers’ ‘Fargo’ as a direct visual influence on the film’s snowy aesthetic, admitting he lifted at least one shot directly from that movie.

Cregger’s confidence in Abrams didn’t happen overnight. The two first worked together on ‘Weapons,’ and Cregger has said he knew almost immediately during that shoot that he wanted to build his next project around the actor, eventually writing ‘Resident Evil’ with Abrams specifically in mind for the lead role.

That collaborative shorthand appears to have paid off in the finished film. Critics reviewing ‘Resident Evil’ have praised Cregger’s ability to blend genuine dread with dark comedy, a balance that mirrors the tonal shifts baked into his character-building process with Abrams from the very start.

Cregger has been careful throughout the film’s promotional cycle to clarify that ‘Resident Evil’ tells an entirely original story rather than adapting any specific existing game plot, insisting he wasn’t interested in retelling stories fans already know from the franchise. Despite the wintry setting shift, he’s maintained that the film remains faithful to the spirit and internal logic of the games that inspired it.

With ‘Resident Evil’ now playing in theaters following its September 18 release, audiences finally have the chance to see how those unlikely Christmas movie influences translated to the screen. For a franchise built on dread and survival, borrowing emotional beats from holiday classics might be exactly the kind of unexpected choice that sets Cregger’s version apart.

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