Residential revelations: Rediscovering little-known lore through unlikely avenues
- Jack Walters
- May 24
- 7 min read
To paraphrase Poe, once upon an evening dreary, while I scrolled, bored and boring, over many a quaint and curious advert of forgettable lumps, I saw something which changed my rhythm entirely, an advertisement for a convention appearance by Catherine Disher. Like many folk my age, I recognized her from her role on the Hallmark Channel’s The Good Witch movies and tv show, a staple of my grandmother’s television screen, so I was flummoxed when I saw Jill Valentine on the advertisement beside her. Likely the most popular female lead in the Resident Evil franchise, and the one who has appeared in the most games, Jill Valentine has a special place in the tell-tale hearts of many Resident Evil bosses (they glow for a reason, besides just telling you where to aim for.)
Confused and intrigued, I delved deep into Disher’s IDMB page and confirmed that she had been the voice actress for Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Further scrolling showed a surprising amount of roles I recognized, mostly voice acting credits for a variety of cartoons, such as the 1997 X-Men cartoon (more on that below) and, surprisingly, a leading role in the 90s television show Forever Knight. And right there on the list, I read “Resident Evil 3: Nemesis- Jill (voice).” Further research led me into a rabbit hole, giving not only a new insight into the development of Survival Horror, but also a reminder of how the history of horror can hide behind our assumptions, leaving sinister secrets hidden until we make the effort to dig them from their graves.
Disher’s career ranges from single-episode roles in television shows, both live-action and animated, to larger roles such as Mayor Martha Tinsdale in Hallmark’s Good Witch and medical examiner Natalie Lambert in Forever Knight. Born in England, educated in Montreal and New Hampshire, and a graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada, Disher brings a polish and talent to every role, but at first glance she doesn’t seem to have more than a passing affair with horror, if that. The vast majority of her roles are children’s cartoons, which can be unintentionally terrifying at times, and many are cozy romcoms, often produced by Hallmark media.
A more dedicated fan might know off the top of their heads that Disher starred as the female lead in Forever Knight, which ran from 1992 until 1996. Forever Knight tells the story of Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective and struggling to cure his vampirism after an un-life of blood-drenched horror. Despite it popularizing the concept of the vampire rejecting his or her monstrosity and the allure of blood, the show has largely fallen off the public radar, perhaps overshadowed by latter examples of the concept such as Angel or Moonlight, both of which featured centuries-old vampires trying to redeem themselves through service, and who had slightly more believable names. Although Disher brought a much-needed human touch into the role in addition to technique and effort, even spending a day in a morgue to prepare for the role, Forever Knight doesn’t stand out as much as her Hallmark roles or her voice work in countless children’s cartoons.
Many horror fans who hear of Forever Knight aren’t going to immediately make a connection between the vampire-cop’s confidante and even one of her most popular roles, that of Jean Grey in the 1990s X-Men cartoon, let alone the first lady of Survival Horror. However, amongst Disher’s many voice-acting credits is Jill Valentine, and in arguably the character’s most vital piece. Released by Capcom in 1999, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is the last entry in the OG trilogy and introduced elements still used today in the ninth mainline entry in the series, Resident Evil: Requiem, as well as giving us major insights into the character. Disher’s performance is strong despite the difficulties of dubbing a Japanese game in the 90s, as mentioned in her interview with RE fan channel Residence of Evil.
At first glance, this discovery seems minor, a surprising and fun coincidence that might make one look at those Hallmark movies a little differently. Love on the Danube, Disher’s most recent recurring role, would likely have a different atmosphere with zombies. However, the recent remaster and release of the original games has led to a rediscovery, with Disher reporting encountering more RE fans in the interview. Rediscoveries like this can lead to a deeper understanding of a favorite series, as happened with this author as he stumbled into a hitherto unknown (to him) burrow in the Resident Evil rabbit hole. Catherine Disher isn’t the only actress who is known for non-horror roles but has been a major influence in the RE franchise.
With today's vast proliferation and random amalgamation of pop culture, even fans who are on a all-horror diet may have seen memes from the 1993 children’s tv show The Big, Comfy Couch, in which Loonette the clown and her dolly Molly learn about the world. Barring a severe case of coulrophobia, the show is as far from a horror piece as a Hallmark movie, as dolly Molly does not have the soul of a serial killer hidden inside her, as far as we know. Many RE fans will likely also assume the show has little to do with the world of survival horror, and yet, Loonette the clown, or rather that actress who portrays her, Alyson Court, is in a way the face of the franchise, or at least one of the primary ones.
Alyson Court, like Catherine Disher, has a long list of acting credits, many of which are voice acting credits in children’s cartoons, and excellent ones at that. But one of her most famous roles, Jubilee in the 1990s X-Men, led to Court’s role of Claire Redfield in Resident Evil 2, which she reprised in many spin-off games and even the first RE CGI film, Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008). Released in 1998, Resident Evil 2 was a strong sequel to the original survival horror game, improving on every element of the first game, including the voice acting.
RE 2 introduced us to Claire Redfield, a mainstay character and arguably even more of a series sweetheart than Jill Valentine. Claire has appeared in countless spin-off games, and until the mid-2010s, Alyson Court was Claire’s voice actor until 2012, bringing one of the pluckiest survivors of Racoon City to life. Court had a major influence on the character, as later iterations of Claire in 2000’s Resident Evil: Code Veronica, 2009’s Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, and the Degeneration film do show a strong resemblance to Court. While it has never been confirmed by Capcom, the developers of Resident Evil, it seems likely that more than Court’s voice has been given to Claire. Court’s influence on Resident Evil is not limited to voice-acting, either. She worked as Motion Capture Director for Resident Evil: Outbreak and as a Motion Capture Talent for Resident Evil: Outbreak File #2.
Even though I am the biggest RE nerd I know, all of this was news to me until I stumbled upon Catherine Disher’s role, and in digging into these actress’ history with the franchise, I stumbled across something even more fascinating, a further twist in the rabbit hole that shows a surprising new shadow in the history of Resident Evil. The campy voice acting which endeared the OG games to players of the 90s came about, in a way, as a result of the 90s X-Men cartoon which is currently seeing a revival in X-Men ’97.
Find your nearest crystal ball, cursed mirror, or just rewind Sadako’s cursed VHS tape if you have a VCR handy, and look back at the late 1990s, when Capcom is working on the latest installment of its Marvel vs. Capcom series. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Superheroes is in development, and Capcom reaches out to the producers of the cartoon in order to have the voice cast, Alyson Court amongst them, reprise their roles as various characters. Besides having the original voice actress of Ada Wong as an announcer, there’s a deeper connection between this fighting game and RE. The Voice Talent Coordinator for X-Men is Susan Hart, and this is the first of a long line of Capcom games where Susan Hart has a credit. Hart has worked as voice director for such horror hits as Dino Crisis and Devil May Cry, and no less than four mainline Resident Evil titles, including RE 3. She also worked as a sound producer for Resident Evil 2.
Sound can be absolutely vital in horror, with aural elements often making or breaking a scene. From the iconic “Ch-ahhs” of Friday the 13th to the lonely, over-loud footsteps of Claire or Leon as they creep through the monster-infested halls of the Racoon City Police Department, sound plays a key part in scares, and with dialogue being a major source of plot and characterization in the early games, having a solid team both in and out of the recording booth was vital, and Resident Evil’s team had heavy influence from X-Men. Both Disher and Court state that Marvel Vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes as what put them on Capcom’s radar, which in turn leads to Court playing Claire Redfield and Disher playing Jill Valentine. We find a single chromosome in the DNA of Resident Evil, one which may seem minor, but which helped to spread the infection instead of immunity to RE’s charms.
Sometimes it's hard not to typecast actors. Looking at Catherine Disher from just her more recent work, it’s easy to think she’s only done Hallmark movies. Seeing one of the many memes of The Big Comfy Couch, an RE fan wouldn’t realize they’re looking at a younger Claire Redfield. Dedicated fans of Disher or Court might remember Forever Knight or see them mentioned in association with X-Men, but Resident Evil remains a murky silhouette in the corner of our eye. We convince ourselves that there's no connection with the same conviction as the skeptic convincing themselves there's no such thing as ghosts. But as we engage with our preferred genre, we dig deep in the dirt to uncover the long-hidden secrets, without realizing that sometimes those secrets are walking close by until they reach out and bite us. So the next time a voice sounds oddly familiar, when bells are rung in the darker corners of your mind as an unsought image, reach out and do a little searching. You never know what you might find waiting in the darkness.
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