Resident Evil Director Cuts Jokes After Test Audiences Find It Too Humorous

Zach Cregger’s take on Resident Evil is just around the corner, and the director has been on what he calls an “apology tour” to address the mixed reactions to the film. Surprisingly, he doesn’t seem too bothered by the feedback.

In a recent chat, Cregger shared that he resonated with the critiques from test audiences who felt the movie leaned too heavily on humor. He mentioned that after taking their feedback to heart, he ended up enjoying the film even more.

“I learned that people really liked the movie, but they thought it was too funny,” Cregger explained. “So over the course of my testing, I stripped out as much of the jokes as possible.”

He added, “I then found that not only did the audience enjoy the movie more, but I also liked the movie a lot more. A little bit of humor goes a long way in a horror movie, and there’s not a single joke I took out of this movie that I miss.”

It’s a bit amusing that Cregger, known for blending humor with horror in his films, had to dial back the laughs for a Resident Evil adaptation. The games are famously quirky, and Cregger seems like an ideal choice to bring that vibe to the big screen.

Ultimately, what matters is that Cregger feels the film has improved with these adjustments. Given his recent success in the horror genre, I’m inclined to trust his instincts.

It’ll be intriguing to compare the final film with the leaked script from March to see which jokes didn’t make the cut.