Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Sep 10
Zach Cregger Cut Jokes From Resident Evil Before Sept. 18 Release
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Sep 10

Zach Cregger Cut Jokes From Resident Evil Before Sept. 18 Release

3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Sep 10

Summary

  • Test screenings pushed Zach Cregger to remove much of Resident Evil’s humor after audiences said the horror film was “too funny,” and he said both viewers and he liked the revised cut more.
  • Cregger said Barbarian and Weapons taught him humor can help horror, but only in small doses, and he does not miss any of the jokes he stripped out.
  • The Sept. 18 release tells an original story about a medical courier, played by Austin Abrams, whose delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital collides with the T-virus outbreak rather than adapting a specific game plot.
  • Fan backlash has centered on Cregger’s decision to skip legacy characters such as Leon S. Kennedy, but he said he accepted that risk and would rather make his own version than try to satisfy every faction of the franchise.

Insights

Will ignoring hardcore fans to create an original Resident Evil story revolutionize how Hollywood adapts video games?
Could Cregger’s upcoming sci-fi project actually be a secret adaptation of the terrifying Halo parasite?
How did a grueling, disease-ridden shoot produce what critics are already calling the best video game movie ever?