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Editorial · Ranked List

Every Zach Cregger Horror Movie, Ranked by Score

By Alan Willey ·

Zach Cregger has directed three horror films: Barbarian (2022), Weapons (2025) and Resident Evil, which Sony Pictures released in US theaters on September 18, 2026. On the Watch Darkly curator scale, Resident Evil ranks first at 7.7 overall, Barbarian second at 7.5 and Weapons third at 7.1. Resident Evil has the lowest fear score of the three, 4.1, against 4.95 for Weapons and 6.9 for Barbarian, and the highest gore score, 7.0. Before release, Cregger said the film would be "not at all like" Barbarian and Weapons and compared it to Evil Dead II. Each entry below lists all five of the film's scores.

  1. 01

    Resident Evil(2026)

    Resident Evil is Cregger's highest-scoring film at 7.7 and his least scary at 4.1 for fear. Bryan, a medical courier, has one night to get a package through the Raccoon City outbreak, and much of the humor comes from him reacting the way an ordinary person would. Its gore (7.0) and atmosphere (8.1) scores are the highest of the three. We counted 11 jump scares first-hand while watching it, 2 of them major. We also list thirteen films like it.

  2. 02

    Barbarian(2022)

    Barbarian was Cregger's solo writing and directing debut. It scores 7.5 overall and 6.9 for fear, the highest fear score of his three horror films. A woman arrives at a rental house in Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood the night before a job interview and finds it already booked by a stranger. Its atmosphere score is 8.0.

  3. 03

    Weapons(2025)

    Weapons scores 7.1 overall, third of the three, and has the highest intensity score, 7.7. Seventeen children from the same third-grade class run out of their homes at 2:17 a.m. on the same night. The film tells the story in chapters, each following a different person in the town. Its fear score, 4.95, falls between the other two films.

Common questions

What is Zach Cregger's best movie?
Resident Evil (2026), at 7.7 overall on the Watch Darkly curator scale. Barbarian (2022) is second at 7.5 and Weapons (2025) third at 7.1. Their fear scores are further apart: Barbarian 6.9, Weapons 4.95 and Resident Evil 4.1.
Which Zach Cregger movie is the scariest?
Barbarian, at 6.9 on our Fear axis. Weapons scores 4.95 and Resident Evil (2026) scores 4.1.
Is Resident Evil (2026) scarier than Barbarian and Weapons?
No. Its fear score, 4.1, is the lowest of Cregger's three horror films. Its gore score, 7.0, is the highest, and much of the film is played for laughs. We counted 11 jump scares first-hand while watching it, 2 of them major.
Is Resident Evil (2026) funny?
Yes. Most of the humor comes from its lead, a medical courier who reacts to the outbreak the way an ordinary person would. Before release Cregger compared the film to Evil Dead II, and The Independent's review called it a funny, delirious reboot. The film also has grim material, including children in danger.
Do I need to have seen Barbarian or Weapons, or played the games, before Resident Evil (2026)?
No. Cregger's three horror films are separate stories with no shared characters. Resident Evil (2026) tells an original story set in the games' world, with new characters. Cregger said he would not retell Leon's story because the games already tell it.
How many jump scares does Resident Evil (2026) have?
11, counted first-hand by Watch Darkly while watching the film: 2 major and 9 minor. The film page lists the time of each one.
Why are Miss March and The Civil War on Drugs not on this list?
They are comedies from Cregger's years with The Whitest Kids U' Know, not horror films, and they are not in our catalog. This list covers his horror films only.