Zach Cregger on Horror, Comedy, and the Making of Resident Evil

When Zach Cregger was a kid, he dreamed of holding a camera and shouting, “Cut!” — a fairly standard Hollywood fantasy, but one that stuck with him for decades. He made his first feature in his twenties, and it bombed so hard he thought he’d been put in a permanent movie‑jail. So he switched gears, took on acting gigs, paid the bills, and kept his writing chops on the back‑burner.

“I was making a living, but I didn’t feel like I was doing what I was put on this earth to do,” Cregger tells Men’s Health, smiling in the sun‑lit corner of his Los Angeles loft. The turning point, he says, was realizing that nobody was actually watching his failures – “Nobody gives a shit whether I’m writing or directing.” That moment felt oddly freeing, like a blank page finally opening up.

At the same time, he was still part of The Whitest Kids U Know, the sketch‑comedy troupe that thrived on “let’s aim for the fences and be as weird as possible.” He admits half the sketches fell flat, but the other half taught him a crucial lesson: constantly ask, “What’s the most surprising thing that could happen right now?” He likens the process to a mental gym, a workout that kept his imagination limber for years.

Fast‑forward a few years, and that very muscle powered the creation of Barbarian (2022). A cramped Airbnb gone wrong, the film turned a simple set‑up into a night‑marish playground, and it caught fire with audiences. “The scares are absurd enough that you end up laughing out of nervousness,” Cregger notes, a reminder of his comedy roots sneaking into his horror.

His next big step was Weapons, a split‑narrative thriller that juggled missing‑child drama with a community on the brink. The movie not only impressed critics but also hauled in $270 million worldwide, and earned Amy Madigan an Oscar for her turn as Aunt Gladys – the villain you love to hate.

Now, at 45, Cregger is gearing up for what he calls his “biggest gamble”: directing the next Resident Evil film. He describes the project as a single, relentless sequence – “the whole movie is like one giant ride.” The pressure is real – the release is slated for September 18 – but his demeanor stays cool, punctuated by the occasional self‑deprecating grin.

When asked whether his career felt like a neatly stacked deck of cards – Miss March → Barbarian → Weapons → Resident Evil – Cregger shrugs. “I’m just playing the cards I get dealt,” he says, emphasizing that he doesn’t over‑analyze the trajectory, just keeps moving forward.

He also shared a tidbit about a script he wrote years ago called Henchman, a modest tale about a pharmacist caught in a Gotham‑level power struggle. It wasn’t a huge IP, but he loved the oddball premise, proving that his fascination with the weird never really left him.

So, what’s the secret sauce behind his rise? A blend of relentless curiosity, a willingness to fail spectacularly, and a comedy background that keeps the horror fresh and, at times, oddly funny. As Cregger puts it, “I went to the gym for horror while I was doing comedy.” And if that’s any indication, the upcoming Resident Evil will be a wild, sweaty workout for both the director and the audience.