Resident Evil 2 goes full-meta with live-action trailer for new video game remake

Are you ready to get dead again?

To hype the release of its much-touted Resident Evil 2 remake tomorrow, Capcom has sprung a humorous surprise on the franchise's horror fans: Along with the launch trailer, the gaming company has unleashed a live-action teaser that's a terrifying homage to Mr. Zombie himself, George Romero, who directed the 1998 TV spot for the original legendary survival game.

Of course, when the first RE2 debuted on PlayStation two decades ago, it went, um, viral, becoming one of the most critically lauded and best-selling video games of the '90s, if not all time. The franchise proved so durable that it spawned an entire Resident Evil movie series starring Milla Jovovich that went on a rampage at the box office.

And now that the Resident Evil 2 remake brings things full circle, it's fitting (and rather bone-tingling) that the game which inspired six hit blockbuster films is itself getting a little live-action love as a nod to Romero, the Father of the Zombie film who literally invented the genre with 1968's classic Night of the Living Dead and its subsequent sequels, including Dawn of the Dead.

For those who missed some of the teaser footage unveiled at last year's E3, the highly anticipated redo retains the claustrophobic horror of the earlier games while updating its two iconic heroes, police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield. 

The two once again encounter some pretty bloodthirsty flesh eaters in Raccoon City while on a mission to investigate just what caused the zombie apocalypse and how they might be able to create a vaccine to stop it. Of course, gameplay is replete with the usual hair-raising action as the two infiltrate the dastardly Big Pharma company Umbrella, whose experiments created this undead world.

By the looks of the launch trailer below, gamers are in for a hellaciously good time.

The Resident Evil 2 remake will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on Jan. 25.