Resident Evil Trailer Shows Zach Cregger Understands That Zombies Aren’t the Scariest Part of Horror Movie

The new Resident Evil trailer is evidence that Zach Cregger understands zombies are not the scariest part of the franchise.

The latest video shows more of Austin Abrams‘ Bryan before things take a sinister turn. Bryan, a medical courier, agrees to deliver outside of the zone in Raccoon City, which pays double. The trailer then cuts to Abrams driving down a snowy path, where he hits a woman who appears to be a zombie. The rest of the footage teases the action-packed journey that Bryan will embark on. What started as a simple delivery run quickly becomes a fight to survive.

Zach Cregger directs Resident Evil, his first movie after the Oscar-winning Weapons, from a script he co-wrote with Shay Hatten. Cregger, who has expressed his love for the video games, clearly understands the spirit of Resident Evil.

The new Resident Evil trailer proves atmosphere is scarier than zombies

Resident Evil is more than a game about zombies. The true horror in the game is the atmospheric dread players feel as they advance in a mission. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. Every turn feels like it could be your last. The fear of not knowing what will happen next is scarier than the threat of zombies.

Don’t get it twisted, there are zombies in Sony‘s Resident Evil. Cregger makes sure to showcase some zombies in the trailer as a preview of what’s to come without revealing too much. However, the real terror lies in the atmosphere — the nightfall setting, Bryan’s anxious personality, the use of flashlights, the blood-soaked explosions.

Cregger is smartly pivoting away from the action premise of the Milla Jovovich movies and embracing the video game’s horror elements. The risk could pay off, as Resident Evil is shaping up to be one of the fall’s most anticipated releases.

“It’s not survival action, it’s survival horror,” Cregger said at a special screening for the movie (via Mama’s Geeky). “You always feel like you have just enough to survive but probably not. And that is so portable into a movie. I just wanted to make a movie that would celebrate everything I think make those games so special, but not cannibalize the stories that those games tell so well.”

Resident Evil opens in theaters on September 18, 2026.

Source: Comingsoon.net