Austin Abrams has defended the surprising ending of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, calling the decision to kill his character Bryan and turn him into the film’s final monster “risky and gutsy.” In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Abrams explained that he was initially surprised by the decision but appreciated Cregger’s willingness to avoid the safer ending audiences might have expected.
Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier who becomes trapped in the middle of a T-virus outbreak while attempting to deliver a crucial ingredient to Raccoon City General. His journey gradually becomes both a survival story and a personal redemption arc as he realizes how much he wants to build a family with his pregnant girlfriend, Michelle.
Austin Abrams Praises Resident Evil’s Uncompromising Ending
Bryan’s fate becomes clear during the film’s final act. Although he successfully delivers the substance needed to create a cure, the Umbrella scientists fail to complete it before his infection takes over. Bryan ultimately transforms into the grotesque amalgamation creature that has pursued him throughout the movie.
Abrams told The Hollywood Reporter that he was “crazy and shocking” when he first read the ending. He particularly praised Cregger for taking the risk of killing a protagonist audiences had spent the entire movie following.
“I love that Zach takes those risks,”
Abrams said, describing Bryan’s fate as “really risky and gutsy.” He added that modern movies can sometimes avoid permanently killing characters audiences care about, while older films were more willing to leave viewers with painful endings.
That approach is particularly important to Bryan’s character because his story is not simply about surviving the outbreak. At the beginning of the film, he struggles to accept Michelle’s pregnancy and initially reacts by trying to avoid the responsibility of becoming a father.
As the outbreak forces him through increasingly dangerous situations, Bryan changes. He helps strangers, continues toward the hospital despite being infected and eventually records a message for Michelle admitting that he wants to have a family with her.
Bryan’s Final Message Makes His Death Even More Tragic
The emotional weight of Bryan’s ending comes from the fact that Michelle never learns how much he changed. Bryan records a message expressing regret over his earlier reaction to the pregnancy and tells her that he believes she would be an amazing mother.
Abrams explained that this makes the ending especially tragic because Bryan reaches the emotional realization he needed to make, but there is no guarantee Michelle will ever hear it.
“She thinks he doesn’t want to have this baby, when he actually does,”
Abrams told The Hollywood Reporter.
“He changed and got better, but no one will ever know about it.”
Rather than giving Bryan a final moment of redemption through a delivered message, Cregger leaves him trapped by the consequences of the outbreak. His transformation also gives the ending a darker connection to the Resident Evil games, where players frequently encounter monstrous creatures without knowing who those enemies once were.
For Abrams, Bryan’s fate was therefore not about the character deserving to die. Instead, the tragedy comes from watching someone genuinely change just as circumstances make that change meaningless.
Resident Evil is currently playing in theaters nationwide.