9 September 10 - 16, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Whereas most horror films, Cregger’s previous work included, are 80% buildup, 20% legitimate scares, the director seemed committed to inverting that ratio this time around. Once the tension starts ratcheting up, it never really goes away, and effective jumpscares and sharp cam- erawork had our entire audience leaning in, gasping and generally celebrating the madness on screen. “He’s just kind of stumbling from one heavily adrenalized situation to the next,” Cregger said on Tuesday. “‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons’ had those moments, but it was like, ‘Can I build an interesting movie that is mostly those moments?’” Some fans of the franchise may be turned off by the fact that Cregger’s not bringing in longtime characters from the “Resident Evil” games to tell his story, or choosing not to adapt a specific game’s storyline. The re- sult, however, still feels like it’s happening in parallel to a “Resident Evil” game. But that’s what makes this adaptation so thrilling. It honors the games’ atmosphere, but it brings its own toys to the sandbox. In Cregger’s film, the t-Virus (which causes the horrific mutations in the games) has just broken out, and he drops an everyman into the middle of the world and makes him learn the rules, set piece by bloody set piece. It’s a faithful adaptation of the world and the vibe, without just delivering a watered down version of something you can play through at home on your PlayStation 5. It’s simultaneously fresh and familiar — a deli- cate balancing act. While he wanted to make something true to the spirit of the entire franchise, during the AMA Cregger shared that his two major inspirations on the film were “Resident Evil 4” and “Resident Evil 7.” “Seven is where Ethan comes into it… I like that you’re just kind of a normal dude going through this horrible situation, but four has the rhythm that I really like, where you’re moving from set piece to set piece, lo- cation to location,” he said. One of the most surprising revelations from the AMA was that Cregger himself has never seen any of the other “Resident Evil” films. He’s a devoted fan of the games, but has never felt compelled to watch the mov- ies because they didn’t seem to capture what he loves about the franchise. He acknowl- edges the irony, now that he’s created his own adaptation that fans worry will go too far afield from its origins. “I’ve been kind of, like, bristling a little bit,” Cregger said. “That there’s been so many people who love the games who have been… picking nits with this movie, and then I feel defensive… and I feel like, ‘But they just don’t understand!’ And then I have to realize that is exactly what I did with the other movies that came before, where I had that attitude.” Having seen a decent chunk of what he’s put together now, we can say with confidence that this is the “Resident Evil” film fans have been waiting for — effec- tively rendered and thoughtfully con- structed. When the roughly 30-minute AMA came to an end, we only had one complaint: that we have to wait two weeks to see the rest of the film. Austin Zook Writer/director Zach Creggar answered questions via livestream
