The first trailer for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil—the one that was shown at CinemaCon—has people talking, and yeah… this thing looks like an absolute monster (in the best way).
Coming off Barbarian and last year’s Weapons, Cregger is on a serious run right now, and this feels like a natural evolution of everything he’s been building toward. If Barbarian was claustrophobic horror and Weapons leaned into shocking, gross-out chaos, this looks like both of those dialed up and injected straight into a full-on action nightmare.
The premise alone has me sold: Austin Abrams playing essentially a random guy stuck in Raccoon City, just trying to survive one absolutely brutal night. It’s been described as a zombie version of Mad Max: Fury Road, and honestly, the trailer backs that up. It doesn’t over-explain anything—just throws you into the chaos.
There’s a really cool video game-like progression hinted at too. You see him scrambling, grabbing different weapons, leveling up his chances of survival moment by moment. It feels less like a traditional adaptation and more like you’re watching someone play through a live-action nightmare run—and I mean that as a huge compliment.
Visually, there are already some insane standout shots. The big one? Abrams sprinting through a street packed with abandoned cars while zombies literally hurl themselves off buildings behind him, smashing onto the pavement. It’s chaotic, it’s violent, and it tells you exactly what kind of movie this is going to be.
This might not be for the die-hard purists expecting a straight-up adaptation of the games—no Leon, no familiar hero framing—but all the core DNA is still there: zombies, grotesque creatures, tight spaces, and that constant sense of escalation.
And honestly? That stripped-down approach might be the best thing it has going for it. If this really is just one guy going from point A to point B through absolute hell, it could end up being one of the most intense takes on Resident Evil we’ve seen.
I’m all in. This has serious “favorite movie of the year” potential for me, especially with a September release slot that feels perfect for something like this.
If this trailer is any indication, Zach Cregger isn’t slowing down anytime soon—and this might be his biggest swing yet.
