Fans of Resident Evil are already a little upset that the new movie isn’t a specific adaptation of a game. In fact, from the first trailer, director Zach Cregger’s take on Resident Evil almost looks like a different franchise altogether. But when the guy who wrote and directed Barbarian and Weapons puts his name on a major property like this, you have to trust him a little. At least until you see the movie. And now, in a new video, he begins to earn that.
Co-written and directed by Cregger, Resident Evil stars Austin Abrams (Weapons), Zach Cherry (Severance), Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country), and Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai). Sony describes the plot as “an all-new story,” which follows Bryan (Abrams), “a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in an action-packed, non-stop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos.”
What does that have to do with Resident Evil? Let Cregger explain.
Now, we are almost certain there is more to Cregger’s Resident Evil than that. Case in point, doesn’t it look like he’s doing this interview from a super clean laboratory set? Surely the Umbrella Corporation, the kind of overarching presence in this series, is a part of this.
But even beyond that, how can you listen to what he’s saying here and not agree? There have been tons of different iterations of Resident Evil, and the one thing that makes all good ones so good isn’t the action. It often isn’t even the story. It’s that dread. That ability to make you not want to play the game you are playing because you’re too scared to see what’s around the next corner. Eliciting an emotion like that is so rare in any kind of art, let alone a video game, and if Cregger can capture that feeling with this story and then sprinkle a little bit of lore around it too, we think it’s going to be special.
Two things that are also special are these new posters Sony just revealed for the film. Check them out.
Resident Evil will be here for spooky season on September 18. Make sure you’ve got a few boxes of shells and a green plant before you go.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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