Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie is out in a few months, and while it looks like the Weapons director will be putting a fresh spin on Capcom’s survival-horror franchise, he’s clearly also been inspired by one of its best games. In a new sneak peek at the movie, Cregger briefly spoke about his vision for survival-horror–“horror, it’s not action”–and his idea for a protagonist who was in way over his head.
“What I love about survival-horror games–and Resident Evil mostly–is this overwhelming feeling of dread,” Cregger said. “I had this idea for a story in the world of Resident Evil, but it’s kind of like me, if I was dropped into a Resident Evil game. I’m terrible with guns; I wouldn’t know how any of them work, and I would miss 99% of all of my shots. This is my opportunity to be loyal to the games–in spirit and tone–and build a story that puts you in that scenario again, and again, and again, with increasing stakes.
Cregger’s idea sounds eerily similar to Resident Evil 7 and its lead character, Ethan Winters. While previous games had put you in the boots of people who had been trained in firearms and special tactics, Winters was a civilian with no real experience in handling firearms or dealing with bioweapons. Capcom would repeat that idea with Resident Evil Requiem, as its co-protagonist Grace Ashcroft was a complete rookie when it came to self-defense and helped emphasize the survival-horror aspect of the game.
The video above includes a few examples of how lead actor Austin Abrams’s character isn’t exactly a deadly marksman in the film, as he quickly becomes frustrated at his inability to shoot the lock off of a door. It also looks like the film will take a page out of the least-liked game in the series, as it’s been teased that creatures from Resident Evil 6 will appear in it. New Resident Evil posters have also debuted online, and unsurprisingly, they hint at the Umbrella Corporation being responsible for the chaos that has befallen Raccoon City.
