# Resident Evil reboot earns bloody first praise

> Early reactions say Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil is scary, gory, and built for a packed theater.
- Title: Resident Evil reboot earns bloody first praise · Variety
- Summary: Early reactions say Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil is scary, gory, and built for a packed theater. Zach Cregger’s first studio franchise movie is being framed…
- Keywords: resident evil, zach cregger, sony, zombie horror, video game adaptation, austin abrams, horror reboot, film reactions, ej moreno, barbarian, weapons, entertainment
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/news/resident-evil-first-reactions-zach-cregger-reboot-scary-1236862900
- Author: Zack Sharf
- Published: 2026-09-16T03:09:28+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: resident evil, zach cregger, sony, zombie horror, video game adaptation, austin abrams, horror reboot, film reactions, ej moreno, barbarian, weapons, entertainment
## Cregger takes on IP
Zach Cregger, known for Barbarian and Weapons, is making his first studio franchise move with Sony’s Resident Evil reboot.
## Scares still hit hard
Early press reactions say the franchise setting has not dulled Cregger’s taste for wild, bloody horror.

> joining a franchise has done nothing to weaken the filmmaker’s knack
## A big-screen horror play
Critics are pitching the movie as a loud, communal theater experience, not a small, quiet scare piece.

> you have to see on the biggest screen with a big crowd!
## Adaptation praise lands
The first responses place Resident Evil near the top tier of video game movies, a category fans often judge harshly.

> easily among the best video game adaptations
## Bigger and bloodier
EJ Moreno singled out the scale, scares, and fun, calling the reboot a horror blockbuster with spectacle on its mind.

> Zach Cregger goes bigger, scarier, and at his most fun.
## Key takeaway

Zach Cregger’s first studio franchise movie is being framed as a big, crowd-pleasing horror swing, not a watered-down IP job.