'Resident Evil' film brings video game's ethos to the big screen

US director Zach Cregger is a huge fan of the "Resident Evil" video game franchise, so when he was tapped to direct its new film adaptation, he gave himself one objective: "Be authentic to the spirit of the games."

The "Weapons" and "Barbarian" filmmaker did so by leaning into the visual language of video games, shooting the film from the perspective of the protagonist, played by Austin Abrams.

Cregger decided it was more important to match the vibe of playing "Resident Evil" than using the characters or plot from the series.

"It's a new character, but the story should feel like the gameplay feels," he told AFP in an interview.

The new film, which hits US theaters on Friday, follows Bryan (Abrams), a courier who takes on a late-night delivery job from a hospital that quickly devolves into a nightmare.

By placing the camera behind Abrams so it was "swinging around to look at what he's looking at," he choreographed it such that it "feels video game-like" from that first-person perspective.

Another way he adapted the game was in the progression of weaponry available for the hero.

"You start with a pistol, and then you get a shotgun, then you get a machine gun," Cregger explained.

"I feel like people who play the games...are gonna recognize many aspects of the games in this movie."

While previous movie adaptations of "Resident Evil" -- such as those starring Milla Jovovich -- were more action movies, Cregger went all-in on horror for the latest edition.

"I wanted to really lean into the horror, and that slow sense of dread that the games have done so well across all of them," Cregger said.

That is not to say the new film lacks action sequences, and leading man Abrams said he had to get in shape to shoot the movie -- though he did not want to look like he was playing a superhero.

"A part of the challenge was...I wanted the character to not be someone that looked like they could do this," Abrams told AFP.

"I feel like the more in-shape he is, the more you feel like, 'okay, man, maybe you can do this.'"

The 30-year-old actor admitted he had never played "Resident Evil" until he landed the film's lead role, but he is now familiar with the challenge -- and he does not think he would make it through the ordeal his character Bryan has to survive.

Cregger said he knows the "Resident Evil" fan base might not be totally satisfied with the lack of characters or details from the games themselves, but he stayed true to his vision.

"I'm sorry that's not what this movie is, but I feel like if I had done that, I would have screwed it up," Cregger said.

"To me, the best thing to do is to tell an original story that celebrates everything that I love about the games."