Zach Cregger directs the eighth Resident Evil film despite never seeing the others

Zach Cregger is directing the eighth feature film in the Resident Evil franchise, following his successful horror films Barbarian and Weapons.

The story follows medical courier Bryan, played by Austin Abrams. He is transporting a cooler containing a transplant organ between two hospitals when he becomes caught near a zombie outbreak around Raccoon City, Colorado.

Bryan’s journey through the locations

The character moves through a snowy road, an abandoned farmhouse and a sewage tunnel, reflecting the structure of a video-game run in which he must find resources to survive in each new area. The film was shot in rural Czechia.

Cregger used over-the-shoulder angles associated with third-person shooters. His aim was to create a 90-minute PlayStation session even for viewers unfamiliar with Resident Evil.

The director has not seen the earlier films

Cregger describes himself as a fan of the games but said he has never seen any of the previous movie adaptations. The franchise began with a PlayStation game in 1996, while the first film was released in 2002; the new production will be the series’ eighth movie.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the franchise’s highest-rated film is 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, with 39%. The film series had approached $1.2bn in cumulative box office before being surpassed by the Conjuring Universe and the Alien series.

A science-fiction film is planned next

Cregger rejects the idea that he first made an unrelated film and then attached the Resident Evil name to it. He describes Bryan as partly based on himself, including his anxieties, and says the character is better suited to playing the game than surviving inside it.

After Resident Evil, Cregger plans to make The Flood, a science-fiction film. He wrote the script after the death of Trevor Moore, his close friend and fellow member of the comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’Know.