Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil got one clear note from test audiences: they liked the movie, but it made them laugh too often. The director went back in and removed as many jokes as he could. The leaner cut tested better, and Cregger says he likes it more too.
What did test audiences say about Resident Evil?
The early screenings were not a disaster. Audiences responded well to the film overall, but the amount of comedy kept coming up in their feedback. Cregger listened, cut the jokes that were getting in the way, and tested the movie again.
The new version scored better with viewers. Cregger also prefers it, saying “there’s not a single joke I took out of this movie that I miss.” He has not shared the test scores or identified which scenes changed.
Why can too many jokes hurt a horror movie?
Comedy can release tension at exactly the right time. It can also tell the audience that the danger is not worth taking seriously. If every scare ends with a punchline, the film has to work much harder to make the next threat feel real.
That is especially risky for a Resident Evil movie built around an ordinary man trying to survive a citywide nightmare. Bryan is not a trained soldier or an experienced monster hunter. The fear works best when the audience believes he may not know what to do next.
Is Resident Evil supposed to be serious?
Not completely. The games have always mixed horror with huge monsters, dramatic villains, and lines that fans quote because they are a little cheesy. That camp is part of the franchise.
Fans are already split on where Cregger should draw the line. Some want the film to stay tense and stop using jokes to soften every dangerous moment. Others think Resident Evil without a little weird humor would lose part of its personality. The movie does not need to choose between being scary and being fun, but the scares have to survive the joke.
Will the finished movie still have humor?
Probably. Cregger said he removed as many jokes as he could, not that he erased every funny moment. Bryan’s situation can still create nervous or dark humor without turning each attack into a setup for a gag.
The change is better read as a tone adjustment than a complete rewrite. Test audiences liked the story before the cuts, and the second version simply worked better for them.
What is the new Resident Evil movie about?
Resident Evil follows Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams, through one night of chaos. It is an original story set alongside the events of Resident Evil 2, not a retelling of Leon Kennedy’s campaign. The first trailer and clip introduced Bryan’s version of Raccoon City without replacing the game’s heroes.
Cregger has said the movie borrows the games’ survival-horror rhythm: limited ammunition, healing items, changing locations, and weapons that improve as Bryan pushes forward. Those ideas make the decision to reduce the comedy easier to understand. The film wants viewers to feel each bad choice and each missing bullet.
Who is in the Resident Evil cast?
Austin Abrams leads the film as Bryan. The cast also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser. Cregger directed the movie and wrote it with Shay Hatten.
When does Resident Evil open in theaters?
Sony and TriStar will release Resident Evil in theaters on September 18, 2026. Until then, fans can compare this movie’s survival-horror approach with the games in our look at why a former Resident Evil 2 director wants an optional non-horror mode.
Would you rather see Resident Evil lean harder into horror, or keep more of the games’ campy humor?
