✎ Editor’s notes on 12 facts

FILM · 2026 · USA

Resident Evil

Directed by: Zach Cregger
Runtime: 94 min
Studio: Constantin Film, Subconscious, Vertigo Entertainment

12 archived facts 3 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Oct 2026

A hapless medical courier fights for his life amid an outbreak of a deadly mutagenic virus in an isolated mountain town.

12 Interesting Facts About Resident Evil

Name: Resident Evil
Released: 2026

Interesting Facts (1)

#001
The F-word and its derivatives are used 152 times, with 106 of them coming from Bryan himself. Counting the games and the previous movies, this is the most amount of swearing in a Resident Evil title; it is, however, perfectly in line with Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil: Requiem, where they're mostly said out of fear or anxiety rather than to be gratuitous.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
The word "f*ck" being said 152 times isn't a record for a film. As far as I know, in Scarface, even though it's from 1983, it's said over 250 times. In this film, the anxiety and fear may have led to saying that word, as noted. I wrote this note before watching the film (I watched it afterwards; the notes below). I've seen the first versions of the Resident Evil films. I thought the first three of them were successful.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Austin Abrams fleeing in terrorImage: IMDb
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Production Story (8)

#002
Zach Cregger said in interviews (including one for Hollywood Reporter) how the film originally had a lot more humor and jokes, but then he had to cut most of it out due to negative reactions from audiences during test screenings, who disliked how funny the film was. Following these cuts, the film received much better reactions during later test screenings, and even Cregger admitted how the audience liked and enjoyed the film much more after the cuts made on those scenes and moments. What's interesting is, Cregger's previous films, Barbarian and Weapons, were also often criticized for the "funny" scenes and all the humor in those, with some saying how it caused the films to suffer from inconsistent tone.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
What we call humour can be nice, but I'm not really someone who loves comedy shows and comedy films. Because comedy is a separate element in art. Not like drama, crime, thriller or mystery. It's built on laughing, which people already do constantly. People laugh a lot, they laugh at everything — I even read that the muscles that make us laugh are roughly four times more numerous than the ones that cause pain.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Zach Cregger at the Resident Evil presentationImage: IMDb
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#003
After the film was shown at test screenings, Zach Cregger revealed he had to dial down the jokes, adding: "I learned that people really like the movie, but they thought it was too funny. So over the course of my testing, I stripped out as much of the jokes as possible." After some of the jokes were removed, Cregger added: "I found out not only did the audience enjoy the movie more, but I also liked the movie a lot more."
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Don't get into comedy except for Pulp Fiction. Comedy is something else. Not everyone can do comedy. Comedy shouldn't be inside a world like Resident Evil either. It has nothing to do with the real Resident Evil.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Zach Cregger at the Resident Evil eventImage: IMDb
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#004
Zach Cregger described his take on Resident Evil as one gigantic sequence that follows its regular guy as he undertakes a perilous journey like "Frodo going into Mordor."
Editor’s noteArka Evren
A very nice explanation. As I've seen from the previous Resident Evil films, the Resident Evil films are full of horror and slightly dark. Mystery is also part of the mix. In this world, zombies run. Zombies don't walk like in The Walking Dead. I hadn't watched the film yet when I wrote this note; if the zombies don't run in this film either, I'll dock it major points.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Austin Abrams in a dark tunnelImage: IMDb
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#005
Released in the year of the 30th anniversary of the first Resident Evil (1996).
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Resident Evil was a game, then the films came. The first three films were good, then they went bad too; since I haven't played any of the games, I won't say anything about them. But even the Umbrella corporation in the film was scary. So it's more of a mystery mixed with horror than just horror. The lead actress did a good job too. I have some grasp of the Resident Evil world from the films, but what matters is the games. I watched this film (after writing the note) because I'd enjoyed watching the first Resident Evil films. Maybe there'll even be a series someday, since turning games and films into series has become a trend in the last five years.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Leon S. Kennedy close-upImage: Wikimedia Commons · Capcom France, CC BY 4.0
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#006
The "jumper" creatures who fall all over the street and cars don't appear to look any different than other infected humans in the film, but in the script they were described in much more details because the scene was supposed to show them more clearly. For example, the first jumper was a Fast Food Worker, then there was a fused creature made of mother and daughter, one even more mutated made of three children, another which was fused from man and his dog, and one which was made from an old lady.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
These are things we didn't see in the first films. I got curious about the film and watched it afterwards. The first three Resident Evil films are good, and the different style of zombies or creatures in this film excited me. When I wrote this note I didn't have much to say about the film because I hadn't watched it yet. But since I have a good grasp of general and popular culture, and moreover I'm interested in art and science, I can look at even films I haven't seen from different angles and get people thinking differently. Yes, that came out a bit like bragging, but that's how it is.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Bloody street and carsImage: IMDb
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#007
In the "Zach Cregger on Survival Horror" teaser, Cregger espouses his love for the games and the thousands of hours he spent playing them. He draws on his own experiences with the games in his directing for the film, such as his frustration when missing or the camera angles evoking those used in the games.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
It's good that writer and director Zach Cregger is into the games. As a director, screenwriter and actor who's been making short films for 13 years, there are two games that have influenced me most artistically.
One is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the other is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
CoD: MW 2 in particular shaped how I look at the art of film and television. These two games have also helped me in certain ways with the short films I've made. The camera angles in both games are so aesthetic that you'd only find a work this aesthetic in cinema in The Godfather.
Especially in the final scenes of CoD 4: MW and CoD: MW, the way the camera moves side to side and shakes points to something important about my own art-making. The Godfather is also the film closest to my own art in the world of movies.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Austin Abrams in a moment of horrorImage: IMDb
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#008
Zach Cregger said on fan reactions to the movie where he admitted that he took liberties with his adaptation and explained why he chose not to make one to one adaptations of existing games in the series: "the games are so well executed, and to me, Leon and Claire and these characters, they exist so perfectly in the games that anyone I cast and any difference that I do with them would be, probably, to the detriment of what I was trying to do."
Editor’s noteArka Evren
Let me say again that I haven't played the game, but the screenwriter and director Zach makes an important self-criticism here. As someone who's heard plenty about the quality and popularity of the games, who also likes playing games and has played many, I haven't played any of the Resident Evil games. One reason is that the game is a horror game and I'm scared of horror games. The only horror game I've played is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Besides that, I've played another Frictional Games game that looks like a horror game on the surface but, looked at deeply, promises far different things than the horror genre. Soma was a game about consciousness, and there isn't much art about consciousness. Soma, and if you're a careful reader, maybe a bit of Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground. But as someone who's watched most of the films, especially enjoying the first three, the screenwriter and director's self-criticism here deserves credit. He's probably played the game — though it wouldn't be possible for someone who hadn't played it to write and direct a film like this — and chose a different path because he thought he couldn't build a world as good as the game's.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Austin Abrams in the Resident Evil filmImage: IMDb
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#009
The film gives names to the various monsters Bryan encounters in his journey, including "The Pedestrian"/"The Monster" (the woman Bryan runs into while driving, later colloquially known as "The Pile" by fans), the older male occupant of the farmhouse is referred to as "The Farmer", and the vomiting old man in the hospital is referred to as "The Puker". In the finished film, none of the monsters have "official" names.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
To avoid being like the first Resident Evil film and to be original, they tried to make more original monsters. I watched the film a few days ago while entering the interesting facts for this film. It's a film I liked. It's better than most films made today. But one of the most surprising things was the dog's mouth suddenly splitting open in the middle. That scene reminded me of The Thing. The Thing is a film I really like. The dog in this film was just like the dog in The Thing. I guess there's some inspiration from there.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): The woman hit while driving and the driverImage: IMDb
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Behind the Scenes (3)

#010
To capture the feel of playing the games, Zach Cregger used camera angles straight out of them. The first-person views looking down the sights of aimed weapons are the most noticeable, but they're far from the only ones. Third-person and over-the-shoulder angles also appear and shift as Bryan aims and moves. Cregger also utilized high-angled fixed cameras to mimic the early games. A great example is when Bryan reaches the top of the farmhouse stairs. The camera is far back, high in the corner on the opposite wall, giving the audience a familiar, awkward vantage point.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
I watched the film, and in one scene they use a camera angle that goes straight down the character's arm to the gun, exactly like a first-person shooter, right from the character's point of view. Honestly, I liked that. It's something you rarely see in films or series. Gamers are everywhere!
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Resident Evil Requiem over-the-shoulder aimingImage: Wikimedia Commons · Capcom France, CC BY 4.0
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#011
The opening of the movie replicates a video games transition from a cut scene to the player taking control. Gamers will notice when Bryan hangs up the phone, the camera pans around in such a way that indicates the transition to gameplay. Therefore when Bryan hangs up the phone the viewer now becomes the player.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
It was nice to watch a film made by an actor-turned-director. I didn't get what was going on in that scene while I was watching, but there was another scene like this. He fires his gun at the lock and says "Ah, I'm really bad with guns," then sticks the gun right against the lock and fires. That felt like a nod to gamers to me.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Bryan on guard in the bedroomImage: IMDb
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#012
Zach Cregger said the way he directed the movie, was because he wanted audiences to feel like they were playing Resident Evil in their head while watching the film.
Editor’s noteArka Evren
That's understandable, but it shows the film is far from original. Apart from that, there will most likely be a second one of this film. While the first film was being put together, the second was already being thought about. If you ask me, that baby will be born, and when that baby grows up, maybe it'll be the savior of the world. Or it'll save its father from this situation. It doesn't seem like it'll be a very optimistic story, but I think the baby will grow up and dive into this world.
sufferwithme / Founder / Editor
Resident Evil (2026): Austin Abrams in a tense moment at the doorImage: IMDb
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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work