Director Zach Cregger (known for Weapons) is returning to the survival horror genre with a new film. To heighten the tension, he chose to use real-life effects instead of computer-generated imagery – a decision that almost led to an accident involving the main actor, Austin Abrams.
Using Practical Effects Sometimes Comes at Great Cost
As Cregger explained:
There was a scene where the character was running down the street, being chased by zombies jumping from rooftops. Instead of using visual effects to show them exploding on impact, we decided to do it practically. We rigged up 150-pound bags of blood suspended from cranes, carefully timing their drops to coincide with his run and the height of the buildings. It took a lot of pre-planning and rehearsals – we spent several days a month practicing to get the timing right.
Filming one scene was incredibly dangerous. The actor was sprinting while a camera car chased him, and there was a real risk of being hit if he fell. Explosions were going off all around him as he ran and jumped over vehicles, and even hit the cars he was jumping over. During one take, an explosion went off prematurely, and he narrowly avoided being hit in the head – it could have been fatal. Thankfully, everything worked out, and the scene made it into the final cut. It looks amazing on screen.
The Resident Evil Reboot Goes Back to the Franchise’s Roots
In the movie Resident Evil, actor Abrams plays Bryan, a delivery driver whose simple trip to a hospital in Raccoon City turns into a nightmare when a deadly virus breaks out. The film also features Zach Cherry, Kalie Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser. Importantly, the movie tells a new, original story and doesn’t rely on characters from previous Resident Evil films, as the director wanted to capture the feel of the classic games while creating something fresh.
I’m avoiding using characters directly from the games because I don’t think I could improve upon them, and it wouldn’t be right to simply reuse elements that are already so strong in the source material. However, I am working on…
Resident Evil will debut in movie theaters on Sept. 18, 2026.
2026-07-25 01:39