New Resident Evil movie's runtime confirms it as the shortest of the series to date

Horror and video games fans will soon be in for a treat, as Zach Cregger's reboot of the Resident Evil film franchise is set to hit the big screen next week (18 September). And now, with the release looming, we have more details.

As per the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the upcoming survival horror will have a runtime of 90 minutes, making it the shortest entry in the series to date. The previous record was set by 2004's Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which was 93 minutes long.

Cregger's film is also substantially shorter than the previous entry in the franchise, 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. That film, also a reboot of the series, clocked in at 107 minutes.

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The latest entry is set parallel to the events of video game Resident Evil 2, though the setting has been updated to the present day. It follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who finds himself caught in a viral outbreak.

Directed and co-written by Cregger, who is known for Barbarian and Weapons, the film also stars Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson and Paul Walter Hauser. Cregger, who has co-written the screenplay with Shay Hatten, also serves as a producer.

The director had previously explained the decision to update the setting from the original game, which was released in 1998. The action also takes place in winter, and the filmmaker noted that this was a deliberate choice.

"It takes place in the snow in 2026. That's why [Bryan] has an iPhone," he said. "Because I took liberties to tell a story I wanted to tell and make the movie look the way I wanted to make it look."

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"I am not doing exactly a one for one Resident Evil 2 adaptation. There are differences between this movie and the game. So I just want to acknowledge that... I think it looks really f**king cool to see a horror movie in the snow," he added.

The film is the eighth overall entry in the franchise, with the first six being helmed by director Paul WS Anderson. Raccoon City was directed by Johannes Roberts, before the series was rebooted once again.

Resident Evil is released in cinemas on 18 September.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.