Video game elements teased in the first trailer for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil

Resident Evil - Courtesy of Sony Pictures

The first teaser trailer for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil film is here, and the vision teased from one of the genre’s breakthrough directors is one that makes us want to dust off the PlayStation 1 and find an old TV to play the first two games on.

Described by Cregger himself as a love letter to the game series, the film does not adapt a storyline from the games but introduces a new story meant to exist “concurrently” with the characters and events of Resident Evil 2. 

Despite being longer than most teasers at almost two minutes, it offers some terrifying glimpses into Cregger’s take while leaving little context and plenty of imagination. But we still get a good direction on where he’s taking us.

The film follows Bryan, a courier transporting medical cargo who gets swept up in the T-Virus outbreak as he arrives in Raccoon City and must survive against the infected monsters. 

Supplies are integral

One of the most defining aspects of the games is the resources, and how sparingly ammo must be used. In the trailer, Bryan can be seen with three different weapons at various stages: a pistol while walking towards a farm in the outskirts of the city, a double-barreled shotgun while inside the farmhouse, and a machine gun when he’s within the city itself. In the games, we generally start out with a pistol with limited ammo, but throughout the course of the game pick up more efficient weapons to fight the different monsters we face. 

There is also a moment when Bryan reaches for a set of keys attached to a body (before something drags it into the shadows), which is a common theme in the games.

During a shot when Bryan is on the phone, a green herb can be seen in a bucket above his head. Green herbs are used for health replenishment in the games, and Cregger even confirmed the bucket was pulled directly from Resident Evil 4. 

The T-Virus creates more than just zombies

While zombies were the main enemy, at least for the first three games, they were not the only ones, and that’s the case for the upcoming film. Cregger stated that zombies are not prominent in his film, though they do have a significant presence in at least three scenes. During the trailer, Bryan locks a door on an approaching herd, and while running in a city street numerous zombies plummet from the buildings, exploding all around him. 

The teaser also features other, original creatures that aren’t fully exposed. The first being a multi-limbed creature that reaches out from a dark doorway. Described by Cregger as a “mechanism” of the infected, it’s made up of at least three arms and two pairs of legs that stretch out like spider's legs.

The second original creature is found in a sewer, when Bryan quietly approaches an immensely obese and pale man who seems to be hairless. The creature is a nod to Cormac McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian, and his appearance is based off that of Judge Holden, the psychopathic antagonist who’s described as seven-feet tall and as white as porcelain. 

Its cinematography is similar to the games

Resident Evil - Courtesy of Sony Pictures

The camera work, which was overseen by legendary cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, is mostly third person. A steady cam was utilized for most of the shoot, with a wide, over-the-shoulder lens, and it routinely follows Bryan throughout the trailer. This is heavily reminiscent of the camera work in the games. 

There will also be scenes featuring first-person shooters, which was utilized in later games. 

While we saw a lot in such a short amount of time, we still have a lot to see from Zach Cregger’s adaptation of the iconic game series. 

Resident Evil will be released in theatres September 18, 2026.