Zach Cregger Recalls RESIDENT EVIL Stunt That Nearly Killed Austin Abrams: “It Would’ve Killed Him”
The new Resident Evil movie is shaping up to be a much grittier and more intense take on Capcom's legendary survival horror franchise, and if Zach Cregger gets his way, audiences are going to feel every second of that intensity.
That commitment to practical filmmaking almost came with a devastating cost, though, as the filmmaker recently revealed that one stunt came terrifyingly close to ending in tragedy for star Austin Abrams.
While speaking during a Q&A, Cregger looked back on filming one of the movie's biggest action sequences and explained just how dangerous it became when they decided to do the effects for real instead of relying on CGI.
The sequence, which can briefly be spotted in the trailer, follows Abrams' character sprinting down a city street as infected creatures launch themselves from rooftops above him.
Cregger explained: “It’s in the trailer momentarily, but [Abrams is] running down the street, and there’s zombies on the roof of the buildings on either side, and they’re all leaping at him.
“And so, we had to basically design this thing where he’s just running and bodies are just falling and detonating all around him. And I knew I didn’t want to do it with VFX because I feel like it would just look like VFX. So, I was like, ‘How do we do this where all these explosions are real?'”
Instead of creating the sequence digitally, the production built an elaborate practical setup. Abrams had to run through an incredibly precise path while 150-pound, body-sized blood bags were dropped from cranes around him to simulate zombies crashing into the street.
Everything had been carefully rehearsed, but one of those massive falling props came frighteningly close to striking the actor.
Cregger recalled: “It would’ve killed him. If he had been one step to the right, he would’ve died. [The shot is] in the movie, so it’s f*cking worth it. I was pretty stunned. … That’s what’s so great about making movies is you have this scene, you have this amazing idea in your head, and then you just have all these people help you realize that idea and immortalize it on the screen.
“And there’s a real sense of teamwork and accomplishment. I’m very proud of this movie. I feel like I grew a lot making it, just as a filmmaker.”
That's an absolutely wild story, and it's the kind of reminder that even with extensive planning and safety measures, practical stunt work can still become incredibly dangerous in an instant.
In Resident Evil, Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier whose routine delivery turns into a desperate fight for survival after a sudden outbreak throws everything into chaos.
Cregger co-wrote the screenplay with Shay Hatten, and the cast also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, and Johnno Wilson.
Sony landed the project last March, with the film set to hit theaters on September 18.