Zach Cregger Discusses the Innovative Camera Techniques in ‘Resident Evil’

Avatar photoValentina Kraljik
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Video game adaptations have long faced challenges in translating the immersive gameplay experience to the big screen, often resorting to shaky handheld shots instead of capturing the essence of gaming. Zach Cregger’s reboot of ‘Resident Evil’ aims to tackle this issue by embracing the franchise’s survival-horror roots rather than presenting it as a conventional action film.

This ambition became a focal point of discussion leading up to the film’s release, with Cregger emphasizing his desire for the camera work to replicate the feeling of actually playing the games. Now that the film has premiered, the director is revealing the lengths his team went to achieve this effect practically, steering clear of digital enhancements.

According to DiscussingFilm, Zach Cregger explained that the first-person shooter scenes in ‘Resident Evil’ were filmed using camera rigs attached directly to firearms and, at times, even to lead actor Austin Abrams’ head. He noted, “We mount it to a machine gun & shotgun… you have to mount it rigidly to the gun to get that first person ratio… If the barrel’s too high in the frame or slightly not aiming dead center it feels dead wrong.”

This meticulous attention to detail highlights how seriously Cregger approached the film’s video game-inspired sequences, treating even minor misalignments as detrimental to the viewer’s immersion. Instead of relying on digital simulations in post-production, the team chose to physically attach cameras to the weapons, ensuring the barrel’s positioning in the frame matched what a player would see while holding the gun.

Attaching a camera to Abrams’ head for specific shots added another layer of realism, allowing the film to capture his character’s perspective as he navigated the chaos of Raccoon City. This technique sacrifices the flexibility of a traditional camera operator for a more authentic first-person experience that longtime fans of the games would instantly recognize.

In ‘Resident Evil’, Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier who becomes embroiled in a harrowing fight for survival after hitting a woman with his car and deciding to help her. Cregger has described Bryan as “more of an Ethan than a Leon,” a character who realistically “misses like 90 percent of the shots he takes with a gun,” marking a deliberate shift from the skilled, gun-savvy protagonists typically seen in the franchise.

This character choice influences how the first-person scenes are portrayed, as Bryan’s lack of combat experience transforms each gunfight into a frantic struggle rather than a power fantasy. The camera shifts between third-person and first-person perspectives to reflect his attention darting between various threats, rather than adhering to a single visual style.

Screenshot 2026 09 18 at 08 18 54 Resident Evil 2026 Rotten Tomatoes

Cregger has indicated that the first-person sequences draw inspiration from ‘Resident Evil 7: Biohazard,’ ‘Resident Evil Village,’ and ‘Resident Evil Requiem,’ games that similarly utilized perspective shifts to enhance tension. The film also incorporates other familiar elements from the series, such as environmental exploration, item scavenging, weapon upgrades, and nostalgic callbacks like green herbs and typewriters scattered throughout Raccoon City.

Joining Abrams in the cast are Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser, contributing to a story co-written by Cregger and Shay Hatten. The film debuted in theaters and IMAX on September 18, marking it as one of the most ambitious attempts to translate interactive horror gameplay into a cinematic format.

Both fans and critics have highlighted the practical camera work as one of the film’s standout features, with the rig-based approach distinguishing it in an era where many blockbusters rely heavily on visual effects. Cregger’s commitment to physically mounting cameras instead of digitally simulating perspectives reflects a broader dedication to grounding the film’s horror in tangible, hands-on filmmaking.

This dedication to precision, even down to concerns about a barrel being slightly misaligned in the frame, underscores the seriousness with which the production approached the legacy of its source material.

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