Resident Evil

Zach Cregger

It seemed a little odd that Zach Cregger, who delivered Barbarian, one of the best horror movies in recent years, and Weapons, which won an Oscar for its villain actress, Amy Madigan, would do a licensed project as his next outing. But now that Cregger’s Resident Evil trailer has arrived, you can understand why.

The new spot features Euphoria/Weapons star Austin Abrams as a man on the run in a world infested by zombies. There’s not another person in the trailer aside from him, and we know that the film focuses on his terrifying journey almost exclusively. Here’s the spot:

That’s just…fantastic. There was some concern when we learned that this would A) not be an adaptation of any one game and B) not feature any of the characters from the Resident Evil franchise, the likes of Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong and so on. Abrams is not playing one of those guys, if you couldn’t tell already. So why stamp it with the Resident Evil badge at all?

I think the trailer makes that clear. By setting it in the world of Resident Evil, you have access to the slate of horrifying zombies and monsters that are above and beyond traditional genre fare. We are way past fast zombies and slow zombies here and into territory we’ve only seen in, well, Resident Evil movies, but this is a far cry from the endless Milla Jovovich franchise. It is pretty apparent this is from the guy who did Barbarians, even in this very short spot.

I also imagine that this is going to have broader appeal than some video game adaptations. General audiences will see a crazy-looking zombie movie with a cool title and the fact that it’s (sort of) based on a video game won’t even register. Gamers and Resident Evil fans will show up to see how this is handled, and at this point, should know going in it’s going to be a different take on the world and not to expect any Marvel-style cameos.

Resident Evil is “filmed for IMAX” and will be out this fall on September 19, 2026. While Abrams is the only character in the trailer, he’s not the only one in the movie. Black Bird’s Paul Walter Hauser, True Detective: Night Country’s Kali Reis and Severance’s Zach Cherry are also there, presumably as other survivors. The entire film takes place in one night.

Cregger has become a must-watch horror director. Barbarians was great, but Weapons really took his profile to the next level, and Resident Evil has a great chance of being excellent as a result. September is too far away.

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