Weapons has just been digitally released and director Zach Cregger is still receiving praise for it. He has his work cut out for him with his upcoming Resident Evil reboot, which he recently revealed will be an original story and not one adapted from the games. While that may be concerning, recent news helps maintain our confidence in the project.
Dariusz Wolski, a renowned cinematographer whose work includes Napoleon, Sweeney Todd, The Crow, and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, has been brought on as director of photography for the film.
The announcement comes as a delight and possibly a relief to fans of the games who were disappointed that the reboot would not follow any of the story lines. I admit, when I learned after watching Barbarian that he would be making a Resident Evil film, I thought about how well he could explore the Lisa Trevor story line.
“I am the biggest worshipper of the games, so I’m telling a story that is a love letter to the games and follows the rules of the games,” Cregger told Inverse. “It is obedient to the lore of the game, it’s just a different story.”
While it can be tricky to effectively tell an original story when adapting a videogame (just ask Paul W.S. Anderson), understanding the atmosphere and charm of the original games is vital. By telling his own unique story within the game’s lore, and utilizing Wolski's style, he just might pull it off.
Wolski started out as a cinematographer for music videos featuring some of the most recognized artists and groups; Elton John, David Bowie, Sting, etc. His work on the music video for Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun” earned a nomination for the 1990 MTV Music Award for Best Cinematography.
He was brought on as director of photography for the gothic comic book film The Crow (1994). Wolski relied heavily on backlighting—a technique in which the primary light source is positioned behind the subject at the forefront. The method helps define both characters and setting, as well as hiding the rest of the set. The film had a modest budget for the visuals that director Alex Proyas envisioned. To conceal the production’s limited set space, Wolski also used many close-up shots that not only accomplished that, but invoked more emotion from the audience through intimate shots.
Close-ups and focus mimic the fixed camera angles of the original Resident Evil games, which were developed for the PlayStation. The angle helped convey a sense of dread in the player by hiding most enemies off screen, often not knowing if a monster was nearby until you walked into the next screen. Indeed, may of us can recall playing the first two games—our character limping around a corner with health at “Danger,” no ammunition, and silently pleading that a zombie was not waiting on the next screen.
There have been numerous live action adaptations of the Resident Evil series, most notably the series created by Paul W.S. Anderson, which starred his wife Milla Jovovich as the original character Alice. The films are notorious for their attempts at intermixing original story lines with those from the games, as well as contradicting their own plot and background. A stand-alone reboot directed by Johanes Roberts called Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was released in 2021. It combined the plots of the first two games into a single film. While more faithful to the source material, it was riddled with an uneven pace and questionable dialogue delivered by an equally questionable cast.
With Wolski joining the project, Cregger further verifies his word as the biggest worshipper of the games. Even without their familiar story lines, the claustrophobic atmosphere of the games can easily transfer onto the screen with the two powerful creative forces.
Cregger is co-writing the film with Shay Hatten, who cro-wrote Army of the Dead. It will star Mikey Madison (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Austin Abrams (Weapons). Production began in August.