Sony Pictures has released a new trailer for Resident Evil. Given that every previous live-action instalment has a "Rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes, it should be hard for filmmaker Zach Cregger to top what's come before.
Of course, after movies like Weapons and Barbarian, it's hard to imagine him delivering anything other than a great adaptation of the long-running video game franchise. It does, however, look vastly different from those, as the expected badass leads like Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine have been replaced by a hapless media courier played by Austin Abrams.
He finds himself dealing with the bloody madness that's come to define Raccoon City, and this take on Resident Evil looks suitably chilling. There are some big set pieces and scares in this latest sneak peek, and a little humour, making the movie feel very much in line with Cregger's past work.
Also interesting is how the movie pays homage to the games, as Abrams' Bryan is shown discovering weapons and ammo in similar spots to those. Of course, it's no secret that Cregger is a fan, even if he's not adapting a specific game or storyline.
"They were kind enough to hear me out and let me run with it," Cregger recently told Empire of his approach to adapting the hit video game franchise. "It’s really a Zach Cregger movie that just happens to be a Resident Evil movie."
"The concept here is that we’re following an idiot," the filmmaker said of Abrams' character. "Not that he’s stupid, but he’s not your typical game character, with no combat skills whatsoever and completely inept at survival. Bryan is very much an everyman who happens to be burdened with this kind of sacred mission that’s going to take him into the heart of everything. It’s kind of like Frodo going into Mordor."
The trailer features some impressive set pieces, all of which look like they'll keep horror fans on the edge of their seats. Addressing his approach to those, Cregger noted, "It feels like one gigantic sequence. Things pop off about five minutes in, and it basically stays like that until the end. What I love about the games is that you move from set-piece to set-piece."
"Every location has a unique challenge. So again, I’m borrowing from the games directly in that rhythm, where you’re just running through a gauntlet," he concluded.
From the mind of visionary filmmaker Zach Cregger (Weapons, Barbarian) comes a thrilling — and terrifying — reinvention of the Resident Evil franchise. In an all-new story, Resident Evil follows Bryan (Austin 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.
The cast also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser. Cregger directs from a screenplay he wrote with Shay Hatten, and producers include Robert Kulzer, Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, Carter Swan, and Asad Qizilbash. The executive producers are Oliver Berben, Victor Hadida, Richard Wright, and Robert Bernacci.
Resident Evil is set to be released in theaters on September 18.