SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for “Resident Evil,” now playing in theaters. The games started out as scary, third-person shooters that packed in scares even while the graphics were low on pixels. The original Capcom game released in 1996 and introduced gamers to heroes Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine who must escape a spooky mansion filled with zombies.
They later uncover the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company that let loose a zombie virus while experimenting with bio-weapons. The 1998 sequel ramped things up and brought in Chris’ sister Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy, who had to escape the zombie-infested Raccoon City.
Later sequels, remakes and reboots spread the zombie virus into hillbilly homes, vampire villages and further around the world as the Umbrella Corporation’s disease took hold. The games have been massive hits for gamers and horror fans alike, and they were adapted into six live-action movies helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich.
After a failed reboot with 2021’s “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,” the film franchise is getting revamped again by “Barbarian” and “Weapons” director Zach Cregger, who’s made a fully original story separate from the games. The movie takes place in Raccoon City and features the Umbrealla Corporation, but star Austin Abrams’ character Bryan is simply a medical courier who’s in way over his head during a not-so-routine delivery. Check out all of the video game references from Cregger’s movie below.
A seemingly normal dog chases Bryan when he looks for refuge in an abandoned barn after encountering his first zombie. He climbs up to the rafters for safety then foolishly chucks the ladder down at the dog, forcing him to painfully jump down to the ground to escape. But the dog keeps pursuing Bryan and rams its head through the barn wall in an attempt to bite him.
When the dog gets stuck, its head opens up to reveal horrifying tendrils that snap at Bryan. In the video games, zombie dogs are one of the most classic and earliest enemies players encounter. Bryan encounters a monster that spews acidic vomit at him while he’s stuck in the hospital elevator, and it’s inspired by a classic video game zombie.
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