Zach Cregger Brings Video Game-Inspired Horror to "RESIDENT EVIL", in PH Cinemas September 16!

Base image courtesy of Columbia Pictures PH, edit made by Roy Remorca/Cinegeeks PH

Zach Cregger is bringing his own take on “Resident Evil” to the big screen while staying rooted in the language and atmosphere of the original video games. The filmmaker, together with co-screenwriter Shay Hatten and creature effects supervisor Shane Mahan, has created a new collection of infected creatures for the film, combining teeth, tentacles, blood, and other horrors with a sense of realism designed to make the scares hit harder.

“Everything had to have a shock value and a sense of realism to play against the humor,” Hatten said. Cregger also drew directly from his own experience with the games when building the movie’s world, including smaller visual details longtime players may immediately recognize. “If you've played the games a ton, you won't be able to help but notice some of the healing spray cans and some of the green herbs,” Cregger said.

Watch the Trailer:

Watch the official trailer here: https://youtu.be/xUhD0rM3qaA

The film follows Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, a medical courier tasked with transporting a package to Raccoon City. What begins as a seemingly ordinary delivery quickly spirals into chaos as zombies overrun the streets and Bryan finds himself trapped in a night of mayhem and destruction.

Cregger is also borrowing from the visual language of the games through the way the film follows Bryan. Rather than simply using familiar imagery, the director wanted the camera itself to evoke the experience of playing “Resident Evil,” often keeping the audience positioned over Bryan’s shoulder as he moves through corridors and reacts to whatever may be waiting around him.

“We are locked over Bryan’s shoulder because I'm really interested in honoring that video game language,” Cregger explained. “And with the games, you really are perched on the shoulder of someone.” As Bryan turns to investigate his surroundings, the camera follows his point of view, helping translate the tension and uncertainty of navigating the games into a cinematic experience.

For Abrams, the combination of horror and comedy makes the film especially suited for a packed theater. “There’s a non-stop kind of energy to ‘Resident Evil,’” he said, adding that the mix of scares and humor is designed to feed off an audience reacting together.

That communal experience is also central to Cregger’s approach. A longtime fan of the franchise himself, the filmmaker hopes the movie works both for audiences who know the games and those entering the world for the first time. “Going to see a horror movie in a theatre is a communal experience,” Cregger said, describing the film as a roller coaster ride made more fun by experiencing it alongside a room full of strangers.

“Resident Evil” opens in Philippine cinemas, including IMAX, on September 16.