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Zach Cregger has revealed Resident Evil will be "structurally unique" – and now I'm super intrigued by his gun-upgrade comments.
In a resurfaced Screen Rant interview, the filmmaker promises his take will be "weird" and that fans have "never seen a movie like what we're going to do" with it. "I've never seen the [existing adaptations], so maybe I'm wrong, and [they] do this, but I don't think so," he continues. "It's more like I'm obsessed with the game and wanted to give the experience I have with playing these games to the big screen. That's the goal, and I think we're gonna do that."
Given his previous horror hit Weapons, which explored the different perspectives' of various different characters within the same story, it's hardly surprising to learn that Resident Evil will play fast and loose when it comes to chronology. What's curious, though, is how that'll work as Austin Abrams' lead Bryan arms himself against virus-infected enemies.
"A lot of the references to the games, if you don't know them, they're just gonna go right over your head," Cregger told GamesRadar+ during our set visit last year. "The pacing of the games is very much in the movie. But if you don't know the games, that's not going to penetrate; you won't realize it... and the graduation of guns. You start with a pistol, you graduate to a shotgun, and then by the end, he's holding a machine gun. All the gamers are going to understand exactly what's happening, but if you've never played it just won't register."
Weapons built to a satisfying conclusion, as Julia Garner's Justine and Josh Brolin's Archer closed in on witchy antagonist Gladys (Amy Madigan), so I'm choosing to trust Cregger for now. But I'm admittedly a little dubious as to how the concept of steady progression will land in a non-linear story...
Also starring Paul Walter Hauser, Severance's Zach Cherry, and True Detective: Night Country's Kali Reis, Resident Evil releases on September 18. For more, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.
