Zach Cregger's Original Resident Evil Ending Would Have Been Even Bleaker
by Jeremy Mathai · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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Spoilers for "Resident Evil" to follow.
Moviemaking is more of an art than it is a science, as co-writer/director Zach Cregger's "Resident Evil" so gruesomely reminded us this past weekend. Fans expecting a straightforward, uncomplicated video game adaptation were in for a rude awakening with this refreshingly original "Resident Evil" project. But even the most vocal of online skepticism couldn't stop this runaway train from doing its thing, snagging a franchise-best opening at the box office after already garnering overwhelmingly positive reviews across the board. Oftentimes, the correct course may not always be the obvious one.
Cregger had to learn that same lesson himself, too. As those who've seen the film now know, Austin Abrams' traumatized medical courier Bryan ultimately winds up succumbing to the nasty monster bite he suffers approximately midway through his misadventure. But first, the movie's climax unfolds as a tense game of passing the baton, with various Umbrella Corporation scientists attempting to recover their cure to the t-Virus. Meanwhile, Bryan desperately tries to get it and save himself from a grisly, tentacled fate.
Speaking to Collider, Cregger revealed that he ultimately went back to the drawing board in the edit and opted for a "reorganized" ending to bring this horrific story to a satisfying close. Apparently, his original ending would've been only subtly different from, yet much bleaker than, the already-plenty-dark final version:
"One of the missteps I made early on was not [focusing on Bryan's need for the t-Virus cure]. And so we reorganized the chain of events [...] Originally in the script, that scientist pulls the needle out, and as soon as Austin grabs the woman's face, he drops it, and it shatters. Then the rest of the movie is just Austin killing the scientists, and [test audiences] were just like, 'No, it's over.'"
Zach Cregger saved Resident Evil's ending by following his own 'contingency plan'
While that might sound like the same basic setup of the "Resident Evil" ending currently showing in theaters, the devil is in the details. Since we keep cutting to Bryan pleading with the scientists to help him, and because we know one of the scientists stashed that needle full of the t-Virus cure in their pocket, we're fully invested in Bryan's plight ... right up until the syringe falls from the top of Raccoon General Hospital, and Bryan finishes transforming into a virus-infected monster.
According to Zach Cregger, though, this almost didn't work. As he told Collider, it all came down to a single shot of footage that he instinctively decided to capture just in case. "Thank God, I shot for this as a contingency plan. It was like my Plan B," he explained. "I shot that shot of the scientist putting the needle in his pocket, just because I had a feeling. I was like, 'I feel like I'm going to need that.'" He added:
"So, then we were able to build a new sequence of the end, and I shot a contingency of him going for the stab, in Prague when we were doing our thing, as just like, 'If I need it, I should just get it.' And thank God, because that's what we ended up using. It keeps the stakes all the way until the end. It's like, 'Save him, save him,' whereas before it was just like, 'Kill them,' I guess? 'Kill them all?' I don't know."
There's a lesson in this, aspiring filmmakers: Always have a backup plan, and always get that extra shot, even if you're not sure you'll need it. "Resident Evil" is now playing in theaters.