First Reactions to Zach Cregger's "Resident Evil" Are In

Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” is drawing enthusiastic early word after Sony Pictures screened the opening 30 minutes for audiences and press in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas, giving horror fans their first real look at the director’s take on the long-running video game franchise ahead of its September 18 theatrical release.

Attendees described a fast, disorienting opening built around Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams whose routine delivery run collapses into a biohazard nightmare. Several who saw the footage said it captured the visual rhythm of the games themselves, praising Cregger’s camera work for making the sequence feel like something closer to playable survival horror than a typical studio adaptation. Multiple viewers singled out Abrams’ performance, calling his panicked, clumsy energy the right anchor for a story Cregger has summarized in blunt terms: a man has to get from one place to another, and everything goes wrong along the way.

The screening doubled as buildup to a live Reddit Q&A with Cregger, where he described his approach as chaotic, primal and grounded, built around a single protagonist rather than the interwoven timelines that defined his previous films “Barbarian” and “Weapons.” He told the audience the footage they had just watched represents Bryan’s best moment in the entire film, warning that conditions only deteriorate from there.

Cregger has also acknowledged reshaping the film’s tone after test audiences responded to an earlier cut. He has said the film played funnier than intended in early screenings, prompting him to trim jokes so the humor would not undercut the tension. He has described the finished version as the most violent movie he has made, a claim that tracks with its R rating for bloody violence, gore and language.

The film runs parallel to the events of “Resident Evil 2” rather than adapting any single game directly, and Cregger has framed it as a personal project built from genuine affection for the source material rather than a rebrand of an unrelated script. The cast also includes Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry and Kali Reis. “Resident Evil” premieres at Fantastic Fest on September 17 before opening wide the following day.

#ResidentEvil : Zach Cregger is cookin’ with napalm. It’s a wild, hilarious, unpredictably bonkers thrill ride from start to finish. Kinetic action leans heavily on demented body horror. Mutant mayhem galore! Austin Abrams is perfect as our doofy, hapless hero. pic.twitter.com/zsn63rD4Ej
— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) September 16, 2026

The best thing about the #ResidentEvil games is that you never know what’s next. And that’s exactly what Zach Cregger’s movie is. It’s wildly unpredictable, super gross, really funny, and constantly scary. Have one or two small gripes but overall I really enjoyed it. pic.twitter.com/1JbW6jQVbP
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) September 16, 2026

#ResidentEvil is a PHENOMENAL edge-of-your-seat experience.
Zach Cregger's best movie yet. It shines in its simplicity. A one-night thriller about one person trying to survive. Austin Abrams brings so much comedy to this role.
Funny, exciting, and demands to be seen with a… pic.twitter.com/4fW8s6CuyU
— Jonathan Sim (@TheJonathanSim) September 16, 2026