(From L-R): Producer Jeremy Bolt, Kory Davis, Director Paul W.S. Anderson

Last month was the 15th Anniversary Screening of Director Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptation of the hugely successful video game, RESIDENT EVIL. Since the release of the film, the franchise has gone to amass a billion dollars and become a favorite among fans of the horror/sci-fi genre. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Kory Davis (aka moviedude18 on Twitter) hosted a nostalgia screening and cosplay event at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres. The screening, which also coincided with DVD/Blu-ray release of RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER, gave fans a chance to see RESIDENT EVIL on the big screen once again and to have a meet & greet with writer/directer Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt. Shannon had the chance to attend the event and speak with Anderson and Bolt, as well as Kory Davis, to learn why RESIDENT EVIL is so important to them.

Nightmarish Conjurings: Hi Kory, thank you so much for speaking with me! So tell me, what is about RESIDENT EVIL that you love so much? 

Kory Davis: With all my events that I’ve done, I think this is the 36th event in two years, I’ve never really done a franchise fueled one. RESIDENT EVIL came out when I was 12 and it’s now celebrating it’s 15th year and it’s probably one of my absolute favorite franchises because it’s just fun. I say this in the best compliment you can say, but the films are just about turning down your brain functions a little bit and just have fun. To me I feel as though action movies have too much going on and are usually around 2-1/2 hours long. None of the RESIDENT EVIL films are event two hours long. They are just a lot of fun and you even see people dressed up as the characters which is a lot of fun.

NC: It really is amazing to see how many people turned out for this event in full on costume! Jeremy, you have been the producer on these films, so what made you want to get involved doing a film about the video game RESIDENT EVIL? 

Jeremy Bolt: Passion for George A. Romero and passion for movies about survival. Combining the undead zombies with survival was heaven, and throw in a bit of post-apocalyptic OMEGA MAN is even better. The films, along with directors such as John Boorman and Ridley Scott, have really influenced Paul and myself. We brought action, science fiction, all of those things, into RESIDENT EVIL. I think in fairness, Capcom when making the game, clearly were very influenced by George A. Romero.

NC: Paul, you’ve done such a huge franchise that has spanned 15 years. Where would you like to see the horror genre go from here? 

Paul W.S. Anderson: I’ve never seen RESIDENT EVIL as horror, I’ve seen them as kind of science fiction/action movies in many ways. I mean they have elements of horror but they have kind of always been a little restrained. Considering they are zombies movies, you don’t see the intestines pulled out, that’s not what these movies are about. They’ve always had, to me, a bigger arc than that. I love horror but I wouldn’t describe these movies as hardcore horror movies. With that said, I am interested to see where the genre will go from here.

NC: Now that the series has come to an end, what can we expect to see from you in the future? 

Paul W.S. Anderson: I’m doing a film called MONSTER HUNTER which is an adaptation of another video game and this one is about hunting monsters, so I’m kind of staying in my wheelhouse, I’m not making any romantic comedies (laughs). I would like to go back to what I did with EVENT HORIZON and do another straight, terrifying horror movie. I haven’t quite found the project yet, but I’m definitely looking.

RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER is now out on Blu-ray/DVD.

Shannon McGrew
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