Recent movies prove horror cinema is alive, but success might spell the genre’s demise (again)

The reception of Sinners, Weapons, Together, and Bring Her Back shows that audiences would still much prefer to get their scares at the theater than at home. These excellent and original works from 2025 prove horror currently reigns supreme, though that might actually work to its detriment—again.

The upcoming Resident Evil movie will put Hollywood to the test

The success of Barbarian and the expected success of Weapons earned director Zach Cregger the chance to direct the upcoming Resident Evil movie adaptation. Despite a mainline game series that never let Capcom down saleswise, the Resident Evil movies are currently one hell of a minefield to navigate, especially for a director with such a unique voice.

Even without mentioning the absolutely bizarre series of animated Resident Evil movies, the live-action movies have always been a strange affair. That's been even more noticeable recently, when Resident Evil suffered both a terrible movie reboot and a baffling Netflix show that bombed hard. Cregger is a known Resident Evil fan, one who has already stated his intent to create an original take on Resident Evil that respects the lore. That's wise, as the Resident Evil series of movies found its peak success when following Alice, a character made for the movies as she engaged with select parts of the series lore.

https://youtu.be/19LGIQNmN4M

Cregger might be the best director in the world to helm Resident Evil right now. This man has the rare ability to align horror and comedy without derailing the movie's tone or killing its scare factor, and that's especially important for this series. Because yes, Resident Evil is scary, but is it truly Resident Evil without moments so campy that even a Leon S. Kennedy-style character couldn't help but stop his quest for survival to poke fun at them?

Cregger's continued success will likely grant him some leeway with the studio. Still, there's no telling if or when he'll be hit by a barrage of studio notes capable of completely derailing the film or, worse, turning it into yet another soulless product that'll probably still make a lot of money.

Hollywood's studio system can't stop misusing auteurs

Horror movies are currently the best, if not the only, way of profiting from original ideas in movies, but studios risk mishandling this string of success, as it has many times in the past. It's very common to see auteurs doing one or two great films, then vanishing into obscurity after a seemingly inexplicably "bad" film. A grim reminder is Ari Aster, the director who began with the fantastic Hereditary, then the fine but less original Midsommar, then the plain bonkers Beau is Afraid.

That's because of a phenomenon Hollywood lingoists call the "blank check movie", which is what happens when a studio gives a director full control over a high-budget project following a surprise hit. Hollywood is known for being overbearing when it comes to dealing with the artistry of their creatives, but it sometimes goes the opposite route—to achieve the same disappointing results. An auteur needs a high amount of freedom to see their work flourish, but getting full control of a huge budget and a large production crew when one still lacks the necessary experience might prove a crushing blow.

There's another common road taken by Hollywood, one that Disney has infamously taken numerous times in the recent past, usually to poor results. That's picking up a director known for original movies and then getting him to direct a big movie from an existing franchise. The big budget from the "blank check movie" remains, but the director is often forced to contend with a myriad of insurmountable studio demands. This is the route Cregger is now walking as he directs the upcoming Resident Evil adaptation. Sadly, as we've just seen, Hollywood is no longer the place where one's career fails only because their movies fail to sell tickets. I wish Cregger the absolute best of luck in his adventures, whether in or outside of Raccoon City.

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