To mark the launch of Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom gathered some of Spain’s most prominent horror voices – writers, filmmakers, and game developers – to reflect on how the franchise shaped the culture of fear across three decades.

Resident Evil Requiem has arrived, and Capcom was not content to let it pass quietly. To celebrate the launch, the offices of RedBull Spain hosted a gathering of notable figures from the horror world: writer Javier Sierra, Paco Plaza – the acclaimed director behind the REC saga – games critic Sergio Martín, writer Javier Perez Campos, author of works such as The Intruders and Nocturnes, and Jordi Mesa, game developer and film director. The subject: how the Resident Evil series reshaped the face of horror over thirty years – and why the genre would not be the same without it.

Every expert present agreed that the original Resident Evil in 1996 marked a turning point. “With Resident Evil, horror went mainstream at a time when it simply wasn’t,” said Sergio Martín. The game not only laid the foundations for the survival horror genre in video games, but sent a creative shockwave through the entire entertainment industry: three years later Konami answered with Silent Hill, and a full zombie renaissance followed across cinema – from Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead to the 28 Days Later series.

From REC to Requiem: How the Game Shaped Cinema

Paco Plaza openly acknowledged that the Capcom series was a fundamental reference point when making REC. “It’s an influence with enormous weight, like Stephen King or John Carpenter,” he said. “When we were making REC, video game culture was very present in our minds, and we reflected a lot on how rewarding it is as a medium – because you are at the center of the scene.” The idea of zombies lunging directly at the camera, for instance, was partly drawn from the game.

Jordi Mesa identified the key to the series’ lasting success as its ability to tap into a primal survival instinct: “We have been doing this since prehistory.” Paco Plaza extended the thought, drawing parallels with the dystopian texture of contemporary reality – a mutating virus, as with the coronavirus, is no longer purely fictional. “Reality itself looks like a dystopian script,” he said. Javier Perez Campos, meanwhile, distilled what makes horror perennially powerful: “Fear is the best way to bring society together.”

The event also served as a tribute to the franchise’s 30th anniversary. Requiem draws directly from the legacy of Resident Evil 2 from 1998 and reads as the closing of a circle – from the corridors of the Spencer Mansion to the streets of Rhodes Hill. What comes next, no one yet knows.

Source: 3DJuegos