You have seen Austin Abrams be the opening kill, play a bully who is attacked by a scarecrow bully, get put under a witch’s curse, and have mutated zombies leave him blood-smeared and screaming in terror.
Abrams’ career isn’t just contained to horror. You have seen him in other genres in movies/TV, but what he does in Resident Evil (2026) has me ready to say it. He’s earned the royal title of a “Scream King” that will have him join the ranks of actors who have continuously appeared and done their best work in the genre, from Bruce Campbell and Tony Todd to Bill Skarsgård and Dan Stevens.
Let’s take a look at what Austin Abrams brings to the genre.
Slashers and Killer Scarecrows
‘Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark’ (2019)Credit: Lionsgate Films
On TV, you might have watched Abrams in the fifth and sixth seasons of The Walking Dead. In the movies, he’s started out as the guy who dies first.
Teen besties McKayla (Alexandra Shipp) and Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) want to capture a serial killer to become his copycat in the horror-comedy Tragedy Girls (2017). To lure him in, Sadie goes on a date with Craig (Abrams), who doesn’t know he’s bait until he gets a machete to his face. When the wound isn’t fatal, McKayla and Sadie finish the job.
In Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark (2019), Abrams plays the bully Tommy, who loves to harass and intimidate a group of friends. He is the first to be targeted by a haunted book that sends the ghoulish scarecrow Harold after him, ending with Tommy getting turned into a scarecrow.
None of these movie roles are heroic, and Abrams uses that as a strength in his bigger roles in Weapons and Resident Evil.
Beware of the Witch
‘Weapons’ (2025)Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
No one is safe from the dark magic of Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) when she abducts a classroom of kids and zombifies adults to do her bidding. James (Abrams), the addict wandering around town, is among the unlucky bunch who find this out.
Abrams’ performance here is distinct from what he did in Tragedy Girls and Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark in his gaunt body and the jumpy or dazed responses to scary situations around him. If he’s not getting beaten up, he’s getting flung across a room, bringing Abrams close to the physicality of Bruce Campbell’s time as Ash in The Evil Dead series.
What he did as James is why I was looking forward to what Weapons director/writer Zach Cregger, reteaming with Abrams, could deliver in Resident Evil.
Zombie Trouble
‘Resident Evil’ (2026)Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing
The extreme threats on-screen can have everyone thinking they are smarter than the horror movie characters. Not everyone is quick to get into survival mode, though. This is true of medical carrier Bryan (Abrams), who agrees to transport one more package at the end of his shift.
Because Resident Evil is a famous IP, we know there will be a siege of mutated zombies, and it’s made clear from the beginning that Bryan is an everyman who isn’t prepared to deal with that danger. The movie shows no mercy to him, which is why I fully believe this is the role that earns Abrams that Scream King title.
Why should only Scream Queens be the ones who actually scream? Scream Kings tend to include actors who are known for their menacing presence, like Tony Todd and Bill Skarsgård. Or there are the stoic and brave men, like Patrick Wilson in The Conjuring movies. The constant shrieking Bryan does reminds me of the underrated Scream King who actually shrieked, Mark Patton, from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985).
I’m self-aware enough to know my survival skills in a horror movie scenario wouldn’t be expert level right away, if at all. So I feel seen in Bryan with how panicked he is. It leaves him vulnerable, which is infinitely more interesting to watch in all his clumsy efforts to stay alive.
More Scream Kings Like Bryan, Please
‘Resident Evil’ (2026)Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing
Throughout the runtime, Resident Evil constantly reminds us that Bryan is bad at using guns, a primary weapon he needs to use. He’s not athletic; he can’t jump over an electric fence without getting zapped. And the reason he even gets into the zombie mess is that he wants to avoid communicating his anxieties to his girlfriend about her pregnancy. He isn’t exactly a confident guy.
In an interview for Letterboxd, Cregger spoke about “three touchstones” for Abrams to bring into his portrayal of Bryan, which consisted of Marty McFly from Back to the Future, John McClane from Die Hard, and little Kevin from Home Alone. All three are non-horror characters, further adding to how ill-prepared he is to face a zombie apocalypse.
I want to add in someone else that Abrams’ performance had me thinking about. The TV show Courage the Cowardly Dog, where the titular scared-yet-determined dog always pushed through his fears to defeat creepy creatures, very much like what Bryan does. He finishes his mission; it just doesn’t end well for him.
Do you think Austin Abrams has become a Scream King?
