Resident Evil Director Zack Cregger Was Right to Make Major Change To First Cut Of Movie

Why Resident Evil Director Zack Cregger Was Right to Make Major Movie Change After Test Screenings

Published Sep 19, 2026, 11:20 AM EDT

Chris Tilly is the Deputy Movies Editor at ScreenRant, having previously worked as writer/editor/manager/presenter at the likes of IGN, Fandom, Time Out, Dexerto, and HotDog.

Chris also helps program film festivals, hosted the movie podcast Clash of the Titles, and his hands briefly appear in Shaun of the Dead, while outside of work he's a huge supporter of Crystal Palace FC.

Zack Cregger has enjoyed a meteoric rise in genre film over the last four years, culminating in his take on the Resident Evil franchise hitting screens this week. The writer-director started out in comedy, as part of sketch group The Whitest Kids U' Know, and as an actor in sitcoms like Friends With Benefits and Guys With Kids.

Cregger remained in that genre for first movie Miss March – which he co-wrote and co-directed with Trevor Moore – and the result was a critical and commercial failure. But Cregger's fortunes changed when he tried his hand at horror in 2022, via rental house chiller Barbarian. The reviews were almost universally positive, while it grossed nearly $50 million, from a budget of just $4 million.

Cregger followed that with missing kids thriller Weapons, which took his career to the next level, making more than $270 million, from a $30 million budget. Which meant Cregger could then pretty much do what he liked in the genre space. And he chose to make a Resident Evil movie, one that isn't a direct adaptation of the game, but which plays out in Raccoon City in parallel to the events of Resident Evil 2.

The film just screened at Fantastic Fest, where it got big laughs throughout, though not too many that the gags interfered with the scares. During a post-screening Q&A, Cregger discussed the similarities between horror and comedy, stating:

"I think that when you are working primarily in sketch comedy, you are training your brain to be constantly searching for the absurd jump that will cause a surprise. The absurd leap of logic. The scenario to bend in a way that nobody could see coming."

He added: "Horror-comedy is an equation. It’s math. It’s about a + b = a surprise. 'How do I subvert your expectations using timing and tone.' I’m trying to elicit a physiological response, whether it’s a startle or a chuckle is almost immaterial. It’s the same tool-kit."

But while there's humor laced throughout the film, Resident Evil features fewer laughs than he originally planned, for one very good reason...

How Test Screenings Changed Everything For Zach Cregger

Even though Cregger's background is in comedy, he found himself removing gags from Resident Evil while editing the movie. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about test screenings, Cregger said:

"I learned that people really liked the movie, but they thought it was too funny. So over the course of my testing, I stripped out as much of the jokes as possible.

"I then found that not only did the audience enjoy the movie more, but I also liked the movie a lot more. A little bit of humor goes a long way in a horror movie, and there’s not a single joke I took out of this movie that I miss. So that perspective was really helpful."

Taking A Fresh Approach To The Resident Evil Franchise

Cregger received criticism from longtime fans for not directly adapting one of the games, and not utilizing beloved protagonist Leon Scott Kennedy.

But throughout the film's pre-release press tour, the writer-director made it clear that he's focussed on capturing the spirit of the game, telling CinemaCon that "over the last couple of decades, I have played a shi*t-ton of Resident Evil,” before adding "if you love the games, you will feel their influence everywhere in the movie.”

He's also out to recreate other aspects of the game-playing experience, telling Deadline: "To me, the most important thing to make it a Resident Evil story is the tone and the rhythm. It’s like this kind of slow progression deeper and deeper into hell. And in the first act of the movie, he’s creeping into darkness, and then at a certain point, he’s running for his life."

Why First-Person Shooting Is Only Part Of The Story

The Resident Evil games are largely first-person shooter, and fans have been wondering if there will ever be a purely first-person film adaptation. In that aforementioned THR interview, Cregger says that while he likes that concept, "I'm not the guy to do it."

Regarding his approach to the material, Cregger says: "I went moment by moment, and I tried to pick the angle that is going to honor the moment. That is the beginning and the end of my concern. I tend to think that the third-person perspective that the games utilize is wildly effective, and so that ended up being the movie’s predominant visual language. The movie is stronger for it.

"But it’s only inspired by the games; there wasn’t any sort of rule. So I jumped from third person to first person to objective all the time, and it’s a blend. It’s a moment-by-moment thing."

He adds: "I remember seeing the trailer for Doom, and there was a first-person-shooter shot. And I remember thinking, 'Dude, I wish they did that for the whole movie. That would be so cool. 'And I also remember when Hardcore Henry came out and being like, 'If they pulled this off, that would be so cool.'

"But when it was time for me to make Resident Evil, there was never even a consideration that I would be adherent to a video game style all the way through. I just knew that I would be failing in many, many moments. So I’m still hoping for a movie that does [third-person for the entirety], but I’m not the guy to do it."

Resident Evil is in theaters now.

Resident Evil