Resident Evil was actually inspired by two Christmas classics

Snowy setting aside, you wouldn't think that the new Resident Evil might have a lot in common with your average Christmas flick. However, director Zach Cregger has now revealed that two festive classics have actually informed his horror movie.

Fresh off the record-breaking success of the adaptation based on Capcom's video game series, the filmmaker – who co-wrote Resident Evil with Shay Hatten – has weighed in on his new take on the zombie franchise.

Led by Weapons star Austin Abrams as medical courier Bryan, the film follows this everyday man as he's tasked with delivering a package to the Raccoon City General Hospital and finds himself involved in some gory, nasty chaos.

Not particularly great at his job, Bryan tries his best to fend off relentless attacks from the monsters with every means at his disposal.

Cregger explained that the brief for Abrams included switching between three beloved characters of the big screen, including Die Hard hero John McClane, played by Bruce Willis, and Home Alone's very own troublemaker Kevin McAllister, portrayed by Maculay Culkin.

"You know, we had a shorthand on this where we figured out kind of early on that his baseline is Marty McFly from Back to the Future, right?" Cregger said on The Empire Movie Podcast as Resident Evil hit cinemas last week.

"And then there are moments where he's a little more badass. And so we would, we would call that John McClane," he continued.

"And then there are moments where he's like, super like little bitch mode. And that would be Kevin McAllister."

The filmmaker and Abrams said it was "fun" to "calibrate" Bryan's approach before each take.

"So we would go, 'Am I McFly, McClane or McAllister?'" Cregger added.

The film has earned positive reviews and currently sits at a 95% critic score on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, where it's Certified Fresh. Digital Spy gave it four stars, arguing that it "perfectly captures the sweaty-palmed experience of playing the games".

Resident Evil is in cinemas now.

Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of Dolly Parton's life, is here. Buy Dolly in newsagents or online.

Reporter, Digital Spy

Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy. 

Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).