Whisper it – but I think we might actually be getting the first ever decent Resident Evil movie this year.
Or, at least, judging by the teaser that just dropped for Zach Cregger’s new entry into the canon of the iconic horror gaming franchise, it looks like we might. Moving in to a major franchise like RE was not what I expected from Cregger, given the success of his last movie and the black mark that hangs over the adaptations of this series, but I’ve actually come to see this as a pretty geat choice for Cregger – so let’s talk about the first teaser and why RE might be the perfect place for Cregger to flex his horror muscles next.
Zach Cregger has a couple of things to do with this movie: follow up his critical and commercial hit Weapons with something that can match the hype, and navigate the ever-difficult world of horror video game adaptation. And few games have as many crappy adaptations to their name as Resident Evil; the series has been subject to seven film versions at this point, almost all of them received with a spectacular lack of enthusiasm, with the most recent movie, Welcome to Raccoon City, five years behind us and, frankly, best forgotten.
Which brings us to the question of what exactly Cregger is going to do with his first Resident Evil story. Because the series, while it has a few specific aspects that define its world – the T-virus infected monsters, a handful of iconic villains like Albert Wesker and Nemesis – it’s approach to that world has spanned everything from classic European gothic horror in Village to the sickly, sticky familial nightmare of Biohazard to to Escape-from-New-York style action-adventure in Resident Evil 2. When it comes to the genre lens through which you take on the world of Resident Evil, there’s almost nothing you couldn’t feasibly do.
Which makes it such a good fit, I think, for Cregger’s distinct horror style. Weapons and Barbarian showed chops in everything from supernatural murder-mystery to black comedy to outright splatter, and, judging from this trailer, he’s going to be bringing aspects of his back catalogue to this take on the Resident Evil world. While the series might have strayed from its strictly-zombie origins, Cregger seems to be setting his sights with this teaser on something that scratches that outbreak-centric itch, with an original story that takes place concurrent to the second game’s events. Austin Abrams leads, a really great choice not just because he and Cregger have had so much success before, but because it gives Cregger a chance to create a new iconic leading man for the RE series. Maybe one that punches a few less boulders than we might have come to expect, but still.
I would love to hear what you think of this teaser, and of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil in general, in the comments below, especially if you’re a fan. Do you think this is the right approach or would you have liked to see him adapt one of the mainline games directly?
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via TechRadar)
No But Listen 