The Resident Evil Movie Is Borrowing One Great Idea From Recent Games

The film’s survival-horror vision centers on an overwhelming feeling of dread rather than action. The protagonist concept places an untrained person into a Resident Evil setting, mirroring the experience of being dropped into the game repeatedly with rising stakes. The approach echoes Resident Evil 7’s Ethan Winters, a civilian without firearms experience or bioweapons knowledge, and Resident Evil Requiem’s Grace Ashcroft, who is also a rookie in self-defense. The sneak peek shows the lead character struggling with basic shooting tasks, becoming frustrated when unable to perform simple actions. The film also signals the inclusion of creatures associated with Resident Evil 6.

""What I love about survival-horror games-and Resident Evil mostly-is this overwhelming feeling of dread," Cregger said. "I had this idea for a story in the world of Resident Evil, but it's kind of like me, if I was dropped into a Resident Evil game. I'm terrible with guns; I wouldn't know how any of them work, and I would miss 99% of all of my shots. This is my opportunity to be loyal to the games-in spirit and tone-and build a story that puts you in that scenario again, and again, and again, with increasing stakes.""

"While previous games had put you in the boots of people who had been trained in firearms and special tactics, Winters was a civilian with no real experience in handling firearms or dealing with bioweapons. Capcom would repeat that idea with Resident Evil Requiem, as its co-protagonist Grace Ashcroft was a complete rookie when it came to self-defense and helped emphasize the survival-horror aspect of the game."

"The video above includes a few examples of how lead actor Austin Abrams's character isn't exactly a deadly marksman in the film, as he quickly becomes frustrated at his inability to shoot the lock off of a door. It also looks like the film will take a page out of the least-liked game in the series, as it's been teased that creatures from Resident Evil 6 will appear in it."

Read at GameSpot