10 Perfect Double Features To Watch With Zach Cregger's 'Resident Evil'

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection Published Sep 26, 2026, 4:38 PM EDT William likes watching movies and writing about those movies. Anything else is minutae. Sign in to your Collider account Zach Cregger's Resident Evil has finally been unleashed in theaters, and it continues the filmmaker's dominance in the horror genre. It set a new box office opening record for the franchise and has received the best reviews of any video game adaptation. If Hollywood takes the right lessons from the film, horror fans could potentially be in for a wicked treat of new cinematic reinterpretations of the best video games in the genre. Whether that comes to pass or whether Cregger himself returns for a sequel remains to be seen, but for now everyone can enjoy the film on its own terms. As is often the case when a horror film satisfies a bloodthirsty audience, they often only become more ravenous for similar movies. In the case of Resident Evil, there are luckily a great number of films that should slake that thirst. In addition to the seven other Resident Evil films that have been produced, all of which differ greatly from Cregger's, there are plenty of other zombie films and wild ride horrors to enjoy as double features with Resident Evil. 'Dawn of the Dead' (1978) Image via United Film Distribution Company It's no hyperbole to state that the Resident Evil games, and by extension Cregger's film, wouldn't exist without George A. Romero. The legendary horror director invented the modern zombie with his seminal classic Night of the Living Dead. Romero himself directed a commercial for Resident Evil 2! Indeed, the wealth of his filmography would make a proper double feature with the newest Resident Evil. The best of which would be his second zombie masterpiece, Dawn of the Dead. Continuing the undead plague that began in Night of the Living Dead, Romero's follow-up expands beyond that film's isolated farmhouse to show the true spread of the dead before settling into its iconic mall setting. The darker elements of the first film, which reflected the social upheaval of the '60s and disillusionment of the Vietnam War, are replaced with a more humorous satire of American culture and consumerism. That gives the film a lighter tone that aligns more with Cregger's film, and together they offer a wonderful double feature of zombie cinema's past and future. 'The Thing' (1982) Image via Universal Pictures One of the most distinctive things about Cregger's Resident Evil is its snowy winter setting. It sets it apart from the other films in the franchise, since none of them feature even a single flake of snow, and also puts it in the esteemed company of other wintry horror classics. Paramount to that category is John Carpenter's The Thing. While there are other snow-set horror films that more closely align with the tone of Resident Evil, which will be featured further down this list, none can compare to the power of Carpenter's creature feature classic. Based on the novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, the film follows a group of researchers in Antarctica who come face to face with a cosmic threat in the form of an alien with the ability to perfectly imitate any organism. A work of pure paranoia with gloriously gory moments of horror, the film's nihilistic tone made it massively unpopular in the more escapist '80s when it was released. Time has been kind to it, and it's grown from a cult classic to a canonized work of horror. Some of its scenes have the same relentless pacing as Resident Evil, and there's a clear lineage from Rob Bottin's creature effects to the monstrous creations of the Umbrella Corporation. 'Evil Dead II' (1987) Image via Rosebud Releasing Corporation One of the few films that Cregger has specifically named as an influence on his film is Sam Raimi's gonzo horror sequel Evil Dead II. Both films feature a heavy mix of horror and comedy, but on a more specific level, there's a certain similarity between their respective protagonists. Austin Abrams' Bryan is an everyman who finds himself completely unprepared for the onslaught of horrors he's subjected to. If there's any horror protagonist who could relate, it's Bruce Campbell's Ash, whose war against Kandarian demons and deadites drives him similarly to the brink of madness. Evil Dead II recaps the events of the first film, where Ash and friends come to a cabin in the woods and unwittingly unleash an ancient demonic force, before going off in its own wild direction. Taking as much inspiration from the Three Stooges as it does from the horror genre, the film is a madcap live-action cartoon featuring gallons of blood and an unhinged visual style. 'Dead Alive' (1992) Image via Trimark Pictures Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, known as Braindead outside of North America, is one of the many films clearly inspired by the Evil Dead franchise. It takes the silly, gory madness of Raimi's films and takes it to its zenith. Few horror films have as high a volume of gore as Dead Alive. By the film's climax, where zombies have overtaken an entire house, much as they have in the Resident Evil game, blood is spilled by the megaliter. It's utterly ridiculous and an absolute blast to watch with an audience of horror fans. Like Bryan and Ash, Lionel (Timothy Balme) is out of his depth, a meek man who lives with his domineering mother. His life gets supernaturally complicated when she's bitten by a Sumatran rat monkey and turns into a zombie. While Lionel tries to keep his mother's undead condition a secret, she spreads her affliction to others, including a kung fu fighting priest. Dead Alive is a good time for anyone with a strong stomach, and it would make for a very fun double feature with Resident Evil. '28 Days Later' (2002) Image via Searchlight Pictures If Resident Evil sits in the middle of the spectrum between comedy and horror and Dead Alive is on the silly end of it, then Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later is on the grim opposite. Once again, it features a young male protagonist thrust into a world of horrors, but this world looks far more apocalyptic in comparison. While the film was already in production when 9/11 occurred, its brutality and grainy digital video visuals are the purest encapsulation of the post-9/11 hardcore horror attitude. A zombie film in spirit if not in name, the film follows the outbreak of a rage virus that turns people into mindless killing machines. The helpless protagonist here is Cillian Murphy's Jim, who wakes up from a coma in a London devoid of life and quickly finds himself running for his life. The film is often credited with inventing the sprinting zombie, even though several films had featured them before, but there's a supercharged quality to the infected in this film that makes them utterly terrifying. 28 Days Later launched a franchise, but the original offers a gritty counterpoint to the rollercoaster ride of Resident Evil. 'Dead Snow' (2009) Image via Euforia Film Many snowy horror films exist for anyone who prefers a chilly atmosphere, but not all of them would pair well with Resident Evil. Really, there are only two others that make sense for a solid double feature. There's the forgotten vampire thriller 30 Days of Night, which doesn't explore its premise to the fullest but does have some nasty kills, and then there's the more outrageous Dead Snow. Set in the snowy mountains of Norway, the film doesn't just have zombies in winter, but full-blown Nazi zombies. If there's any subset of the undead that's become a favorite of horror fans, it's those wearing a swastika, and director Tommy Wirkola provides plenty of them in this ridiculous movie. The protagonists of Dead Snow are the more typical college kids out to drink and party in a remote cabin until they run afoul of some undead SS members. There's gore galore and some outrageous body part bits in Wirkola's film, which moves fast enough to make it an enjoyable slice of horror pulp, even if it's not the most original either. 'Train to Busan' (2016) Image via Next Entertainment World If there's one thing all of Cregger's horror films have in common, it's their management of different tones. Barbarian, Weapons, and Resident Evil all walk a line between humor and horror, and often swing wildly from genuine emotion to outrageous jokes. That kind of tonal balance is something that many American filmmakers struggle with, but which many international filmmakers excel at. For example, the South Korean zombie movie Train to Busan, directed by Yeon Sang-ho, balances intense action, horror, humor, satire, and an emotional storyline in what is one of the best zombie movies of the 21st century. Set almost entirely on the titular train, the film follows a distant father trying to keep his daughter safe as more and more of the supercharged undead overtake their transport. The pacing and escalating tension of the film are very similar to Resident Evil, though Train to Busan gives a little more time for its supporting characters and the film's central father-daughter relationship, which serves as the bloody beating heart of the story. The ending is actually one of the most emotionally wrenching of any horror film of the last ten years. Resident Evil might actually be needed just to give the audience time to dry out their tear ducts. '1917' (2019) Image via Universal Pictures As the only non-horror film on this list, Sam Mendes' World War I thriller 1917 might seem an odd choice to pair with Resident Evil, but it does have a connection. Cregger has mentioned it as an inspiration, calling Resident Evil the child of 1917 and the aforementioned Evil Dead II. It's not hard to see how Cregger was inspired by it, since the film is a non-stop race from point A to point B. The sustained look of panic on lead George McKay's face is strikingly similar to Austin Abrams, with the only difference being that he's dodging bullets and bombs instead of zombies. Made to look as though the entire film takes place in one continuous shot, it follows McKay as a British soldier tasked with delivering a crucial message to the front lines. Similar to how the supporting characters in Resident Evil serve as plot functions, so do most of the other soldiers that McKay encounters. 1917 is designed mostly as an immersive battle experience, and in that way it is a very effective film. Paired with Resident Evil offers a unique comparison between two roller coaster films. One designed for pulp and the other for prestige. 'MadS' (2024) Image via Shudder If Resident Evil and 1917 collided together, the resulting wreckage might look a little something like MadS, a frenetic, propulsive horror ride. Like 1917, it's one continuous shot. However, MadS reportedly accomplished its single-take method for real without any hidden edits or digital stitching. The film was extensively rehearsed and shot five separate times to get the final single-shot result, which is an impressive technical achievement and effective horror immersion. It's a pure shot of adrenaline that sprints toward a bleak ending that's similar to Resident Evil. The film rotates through three protagonists, beginning with Romain (Milton Riche), who gets bitten by a mysterious woman. Everyone who's seen a zombie film can imagine what happens next as Romain begins to act erratically and violently and spreads his infection. MadS offers a unique perspective on a zombie outbreak by depicting it in real time as it spreads from person to person. It's a literal non-stop horror film and would make for a breathless double feature with Resident Evil. 'Weapons' (2025) Image via Warner Bros. Perhaps the most obvious pairing with Resident Evil would be another one of Zach Cregger's horror films. A solid triple feature could be had watching all three of his films, but as much fun as Barbarian is, Weapons makes more sense for a bloody dual with Resident Evil. Both films feature Austin Abrams in key roles in addition to humans turned into mindless monsters. The differences between the two films would also make for an interesting contrast as well. Where Resident Evil is a one-track roller-coaster ride of survival horror, Weapons breaks off into different narrative branches to slowly reveal its supernatural horror mystery. Instead of a mad dash through Raccoon City, the film is a slow burn in a small Pennsylvania town, rocked by the disappearance of seventeen children over one night. Instead of the masses of zombies and mutating monsters, there's a modern-day witch who casts spells that cause people to turn homicidal. Watching Weapons, it's easy to see why Cregger was a natural choice for a Resident Evil movie, even if he deploys his horror and humor skills to vastly different effects. Abrams as well showcases his talent for playing scared shitless, but the film belongs to Amy Madigan, who won an Oscar for her role as the terrifying Gladys. Weapons Release Date August 8, 2025 Cast Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Toby Huss, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Clayton Farris, Melissa Ponzio, Ashley Ames, Jason Turner, Carrie Gibson, Carl Kennedy, Jared Simon, Derek Chouinard, Robert Hendren, June Diane Raphael, Amy Madigan, Whitmer Thomas, Luke Speakman, Sarah Kopkin, Sergio Duque, Jaymes Butler, Callie Schuttera, Jonathan Auguste Runtime 128 minutes Director Zach Cregger Writers Zach Cregger