The Resident Evil franchise is no strange to bizarre storylines and plots. And when it comes to the monster and boss designs, things get weird pretty quick. Resident Evil Village has taken things in an equally unexpected direction in these regards. The enemy designs in this game are pretty inventive, and some of the boss fights are really fun. While it may not be the best game in the franchise, it certainly looks incredible. And the hype that has been drummed up around Lady Dimitrescu has been well-earned in the gameplay, and her boss fight. Something that has drummed up some controversy is in fact those same monster designs, though.
Dutch filmmaker Richard Raaphorst claims that Capcom ripped off monster designs from his film. In the 2013 film Frankenstein’s Army, various monsters are shown off. The film features one ghoulish freak in particular that tipped off the creator of the problem. During that film a monster with a propellor where its head should be is seen. There also happens to be a very similar monster in Resident Evil Village.
In a post on LinkedIn, Raaphorst shared screenshots comparing the two creatures. He went on to claim that his creature design had been used “completely without authorization or credit in the newest Resident Evil game.”
As users on social media reacted to the accusation, more users attempted to point out similarities. It would seem that many models used in Resident Evil Village
One could potentially argue that these similarities are intentional, but that they have a reason to exist. There are very clear literary allusions to Dracula throughout RE VIII, and it could be said that Capcom wanted to allude to another horror classic as well. But really, it’s pretty hard to not notice the design similarities in some of these cases. And while some of the designs bear pretty different features, it’s clear that there’s some inspiration there.
One could also explain the differences away with parallel thought processes that follow from the design aesthetic of the level. in the case of the enemy most are pointing to as being stolen, it’s from a junkyard area. It’s not too big of a stretch to think that a virus-mutated freak would be replaced with junk from that area, possibly an aircraft engine. It’s much more of a stretch to suggest Capcom straight up stole the design.
“Oh dude, this is worse then [sic] I thought,” Raaphorst wrote. “First I felt angry, then proud, but now I see this, I feel sad.”
