The tension is rising with every bit of fresh rotting footage that comes stumbling out of Zach Cregger’s next big project, Resident Evil — and that really is a good thing. From skydiving zombies faceplanting cars to oversized human-shaped mutations hiding out in sewers, the Weapons director’s venture into the popular survival horror franchise doesn’t look to be holding back, which makes sense given how wild he was allowed to go with it.
Speaking to Empire about the new movie, which sees his former Weapons star, Austin Abrams, transporting an organ across Raccoon City, Cregger was borderline giddy about the gruesome playground he’d been given the keys to. “I was given total freedom. I have the final cut. I was not interfered with. I didn't have anyone putting any sort of limitations on me," the director assured.
Being up with the dead comes with issues, though, and Cregger didn’t hide the matter of taking on such a massive franchise and the pressure that can come with it. "It's an incredibly demanding job, and I feel like I could burn out. You have to push yourself so hard to make a movie. Every day on set, you have to be the energy source that 150 people feed off, and I don't know if I'll be able to keep it going. At the very least, I'm gonna have to take years off,” Cregger guessed. “I could change my mind. Maybe in two years I'll be singing a different song. I have no idea. But this is how I've felt for a while.”
It’s certainly an upgrade. Switching from zombie swarms to scary aunts with lipstick in their teeth and magical twigs is a leap, but Cregger promises that the same kind of batshit tone audiences loved with Weapons and Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) will make itself known in Resident Evil. "Gladys was a very specific flavor. There are a couple of things in this movie that are really wild, and who's to say whether any of them will be the same lightning-in-a-bottle thing that Gladys was. But there's some imagery in Resident Evil that is so fucked-up and weird.”
Splendid. Exactly what we like to hear, and considering Cregger’s work up until now, feels absolutely guaranteed. You can see how much Resident Evil checks both categories when it arrives in theaters on September 18. Should you require more scares than that in the meantime, check out our guide to all the most excting upcoming horror movies.
