Resident Evil Village - Beyond the Horror

Series references

Ethan's house

We begin with literature.

A Historical look into the Architecture of Eastern European Castles and Keeps by George Trevor

Dude designed the Spencer Mansion and Baker residence.

Gun Survivalist: A Heavy Firearms Manual for Field Combat Situations by Joseph Kendo

Robert's brother conceived the Silver Ghost, Leon's starting weapon in Resi 4.

Joke comes at the end.

Let me explain.

Mushrooms are a type of fungus, and fungus is a form of 'Mold'.

Resi 4 (cancelled Hallucination build)

Donna remotely controls Angie (and vicious friends) inside House Beneviento.

In what would later evolve into Devil May Cry, Leon is attacked by knife-wielding living dolls.

Resi 5

During boss battle with Heisenberg, Magneto wannabe says "I'm going to murder that boulder-punching asshole, but you're first."

HA HA HA!

Teddy bear

Plush toy is merely a treasure item.

Reused asset?

After all, we've seen shit before.

Resi 3

Resi 7

But wait.

In Revelations 2, Natalia gives Lottie big hugs.

Resi 4
Ada's Jet-ski Key.

Code: Veronica

Optional boss fight takes place at Otto's Mill.

Considering tough bastard wields an axe.

Steve the Monster

Best of all.

Resi Evil 1996 (uncut intro)

Before we assume control of Chris, our man sparks up a fag.

Across the board

Now the fun really begins.

House Beneviento

On the way to undoubtedly game's best section, numerous dolls swing from trees.

This echoes Dario Argento's giallo classic Deep Red.

One more.

A ball of yarn is seen on table.

Random?

Not really.

Prior to Amanda's death, look what's sitting on chair.

It's entirely plausible that gloomy interior was based on 'The House of the Screaming Child'.

P.T.

Telephone

Okay, Ethan also takes a call in Resi 7.

Baby

As we can hide from horrific monstrosity, gameplay mechanic very briefly smacks of Clock Tower 3, and/or spiritual sequel Haunting Ground.

The Shining

Angie taunts Ethan by saying:

"I'd make a much better daughter than Rose. Please won't you stay with me - forever?

As there's a distinct pause between 'me' and 'forever', this is very similar in principle to the Grady twins.

"Hello Danny. Come and play with us. Come and play with us Danny. Forever. And ever, and ever."

Hidden mother photography

Donna holding Angie seems to be lifted what was popular during the Victorian era.

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Once Ethan gives Angie the point with scissors, heads begin to erratically shake.

Adrian Lyne's iconic thriller was bizarrely remade in 2019.

Want some free advice?

Great.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR FUCKING TIME.

Castle Dimitrescu

Less kick ass, but still interesting.

Dead by Daylight

Within castle walls, the scream of a terrified female is heard.

Bringing in Peter Griffin.

Shut up Meg.

This was no accident, because Leon, Jill and Nemesis will join asymmetrical universe on 15 June.

Brides of Dracula

Lady D's daughters, Bela, Cassandra and Daniela (not necessarily in that order).

Some examples.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Van Helsing

Hellraiser

Shortly after getting captured, Ethan is literally hooked.

Miscellany

Mia, sorry Miranda, pours a glass of Regina Rose, Romanian for Red Queen.

This is assumed to be a shout out to live-action, but another RED QUEEN was introduced in The Umbrella Chronicles.

However, bottle of plonk is likely referring to name of Nero's sword in Devil May Cry 4 and 5.

Moreau is a direct nod to crazy bastard scientist appearing in H. G. Wells novel The Island of Doctor Moreau.

In-game file describes tests he performed on other human subjects by sending them to sleep and placing Cadou in their tummies.

Finally.

Goats of Warding basically replace Resi 2's Mr. Raccoon toys.

Destroying all twenty collectibles rewards 16,000 CP and the Heretic trophy/achievement.

But that's just for shits and giggles.

The Witch

Animal can be ignored or... 

Black Phillip is pure bleating evil.

Fun fact.

'Charlie' was reportedly a nightmare to train and extremely dangerous.

Ralph Ineson's ribs suffered the brunt of serrated horns and Finchy spent the rest of a five-week shoot on painkillers.

Stay tuned for my 'probably' feature.

The Unholy - The scoop and digest

Based on James Herbert's 1983 novel Shrine (ntbcw similarly titled film The Shrine), Evan Spiliotopoulos directs, writes and produces under Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures banner.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Gerry

Cricket Brown - Alice

Katie Aselton - Natalie

William Sadler - Father Hagan

Marina Mazepa - Mary

Cary Elwes - Bishop Gyles

Summary

1845.

A woman accused of witchcraft is burned alive.  Before dying, her spirit is transferred to a doll.

Present day, Boston.

Skeptical journalist Gerry reports the strange and unexplained.  He finds the same plaything (dated February 31, 1845) inside a tree and purposely crushes object, unwittingly releasing spirit. 

Alice, a deaf-mute, is drawn to the tree and suddenly speaks, claiming she's been cured by the Virgin Mary.

She begins to perform miracles, but is source of power divine or satanic?

Doubt weakens faith

Not awful, just incredibly stock.

There's no tension, gore or suspense, but cast take shit seriously.

Even unmasked, appearance of CG monster is rather boring and jump scares are at best average.

Mary Elnor (Alice's descendant) performed the same healings so people would feed her and Satan faith, giving licence to steal souls.

During the Feast of Immaculate Conception, cloaked apparition appears and very briefly has some fun.

Alice sacrifices herself to protect Gerry and Mary disintegrates.

But it's cool, as begging to the man upstairs brings her back to life, albeit once again a deaf-mute.

Oh my.

Spiral - The scoop and digest

Darren Lynn Bousman (who directed Saw II, III and IV) returns to reboot franchise.

Chris Rock - Det. Ezekiel 'Zeke' Banks

Max Minghella - Det. William Schenk

Marisol Nichols - Capt. Angie Garza

Samuel L. Jackson - Marcus Banks

Summary

During Independence Day, Det. Boswick chases a thief and gets jumped by a masked assailant.

He's given the choice to either lose his tongue or life to oncoming train.

Choo choo wins.

We're introduced to Zeke, who years prior went all Serpico.

Against his wishes, Captain Garza partners him with rookie Schenk.

After visiting murder scene, it becomes obvious that MO is extremely similar to that of Jigsaw.

Let the games begin.

Formulaic

Style and sombre tone of well received original took huge chunks from Seven.

This goes deeper, as set up of one scene almost copies Sloth.

Screenplay was 'polished' by Rock and it shows, as sometimes delivery of wise-cracks can be funny.

Having said that, dialogue plagued by 'we're gonna get this guy' wears thin.

Voice introducing traps is bizarrely robotic and a piss poor replacement for Tobin Bell's velvet tones.

As he 'died' part way through, it was so obvious that Schenk would be the killer.

Torture devices lack imagination and climax makes no fucking sense.

Marcus is rigged to a trap draining his blood.  Armed with only one bullet, Zeke can either shoot Schenk, ultimately killing father, or save pops by blasting spiral target.

Zeke decides to rescue him.

SWAT team forcing entry activates a pig police puppet which is connected to Marcus in another room.  When concealed firearm is revealed, he's gunned down and Schenk escapes.

So because of how events play out, mofo dies anyway.

Game over.

Resident Evil Village

Warning.

Major spoilers.

Summary

Three years after the events of Resi 7, Ethan and Mia have started a new life in Romania and since had baby Rose.

For shits and giggles, adorable bundle of fun was born 8 February 2020.

One night, Chris's team infiltrate their home, murder Mia and kidnap Rose and Ethan.

Rude.

Ethan passes out and later awakes to the welcoming committee of vicious humanoid wolf creatures known as Lycans.

The search for infant begins.

Hail to the snow

Like predecessor, opening brims with menace.

Titular section branches off in many directions.

Playing area is generous enough (between 8-10 hours) and while outside is far from open plan, it's nice that we're not forced to follow a strict path.

Yes Resi 3, I'm talking to you.

In other words, exploration reaps non-essential rewards.

Voice acting is strong, script largely doesn't slice cheese and characters possess charisma.

It goes without saying that we gawp at relentless beauty.

The Duke

Corpulent toad is first encountered before Castle Dimitrescu.

(I love this guy by the way).

What're ya buying? (Chuckles).
Just something an old friend of mine used to say.

Emporium initially consists of three parts:

Supplies, Gunsmithy and The Duke's Purse.

Self-explanatory.

Later, The Duke's Kitchen becomes available and meaty result of killing whichever animal upgrades Ethan's abilities.

Bestiary

Lycan, Uriaş, Moroaicã, Vârcolac, Samca (straight from Silent Hill), Hauler and numerous Soldats complete an impressive line-up.

Oh yeah.

Lady D's equally bloodthirsty daughters serve as mid bosses and can only be killed when exposed to frosty wind.

Bela, Cassandra and Daniela.

As mother's first name is Alcina, it's as easy as ABCD.

House Beneviento

Prior to boss fight, gaff hosts an incredibly creepy section.

As we poke around inside Mia's mannequin, things soon escalate.

Complete with demented laughter, giant baby gives chase, hellbent on devouring Ethan whole.

Awesome.

Bosses

There's literally only one place to start.

Lady Dimitrescu

Towering presence stalks like Mr. X and turns up during scripted moments.

But is she (and offspring) vampires?

File excerpt begs to differ.

Due to a hereditary blood disease the subject must ingest human flesh and blood on a regular basis to maintain regeneration properties.

So insatiable appetite is forced.

Also, since when did vampires eat people?

I was under the impression that cannibalistic burden was associated more with zombies.

Oh the irony.

Anyway, internet sensation inevitably mutates.

Flying dragon is a sight to behold.

The rest.

Donna's puppet Angie plays a game of chase me, chase me.

Moreau

Karl Heisenberg

And finally.

Miranda

Moldy

Using Resi 4 as template is fine, but Jesus Christ, don't take it to extremes.

Although ass will get handed to you, ride on Standard difficulty won't be very bumpy.

Gore is sporadically visceral, but death sequences pussy out.

Ignoring House Beneviento, puzzles diminish after castle and not having to work for key items rapidly becomes boring.

There's too many bang bang sections and apart from 'that' sequence, quest is neither unsettling or scary.

New gameplay element of 'pushing' enemies away is fucking pointless.

Story twists and turns but outcome is predictable.

We know that Ethan died near the beginning of Resi 7 and the Mold gave him regenerative abilities.

Despite this, dialogue hammers fact home on multiple occasions.  For example, when Lady D tastes blood, she remarks 'Hm. Starting to go a little stale.'

Did we really think that Chris would be end boss or antagonist?

No.

Once we reach Heisenberg's Factory (which is confusing as fuck to navigate), quality goes downhill faster than a stoned slalom skier.

Final act with Chris sucks Megamycete.

As for Miranda - what a load of Saddler.

Post credits

Years later, Rosemary visits father's grave and departs for mission unknown.

With Ethan's story now complete, the future rests very much on female shoulders.

In the meantime, Code: Veronica must be remade.

Pretty please Capcom, with Alexia on top.

Resident Evil (2002) - Beyond the Horror

Less said about sequels the better (especially The Final Chapter), but Paul W. S. Anderson's original has grown on me over the years.

Enter the Hive (like you've never seen facility before).

Resident Evil

Eye eye

Ubiquitous in early games.

Cerberus

The smashing introduction of decaying mutt recreates one of the most effective jump scares of all time.

Mansion

Check out table and chequered floor in adjacent room.

Excuse my lockpick Barry, but what is this place?

A dining room.

You're right.

Resident Evil 2

Red dress

Alice's sexy little number was inspired by Ada Wong.

This is obvious, but at the same time - easily missed.

Licker

Just before one of the Hive's early experiments kills Spence, our skinless friend scampers on Loading Bay B's ceiling.

Attention to detail kicks fucking ass.

For shits and giggles.

Mutation is the result of creature feeding on fresh DNA.

Combinations

S.T.A.R.S. and RPD.

Grounded zombies have always been held in high regard.

Alice watches on as Spence crawls towards her.

Want an example?

Okay.

In this fixed format, the most common enemy is sluggish and easily avoidable.

Daily rag

When Alice escapes from the hospital, we observe special edition of The Raccoon City Times is dated Tuesday, September 24, 2002.

Significance?

Pass.

But more interestingly.

THE DEAD WALK!
Horror in Raccoon!
More victims dead.

Headline and article's title are lifted from censored intro and Day of the Dead (1985).

George Romero's original script for his version of Resident Evil can be found online

And there's more.

Kaplan is ambushed by zombies.

I'm suspicious.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Day of the Dead (1985)

Hmmm.

Internal vanity

Pass code for Dining Hall B's door is 04031965.
Director was born on 4 March 1965.

Code for Red Queen's chamber is 12177.
Milla Jovovich came into this world on 17 December 1975.
In order for this to work, date format must be American, but where's the 5?
Code is composed of five digits.

Why not just use 121775?

HA HA HA!

Coincidence?

Alice rescues Matt by bashing Lisa on the head with her own paperweight.

Same object is required to solve a puzzle in Resident Evil Code: Veronica.

Best of all.

In closing sequence, Alice grabs a riot gun from an abandoned police car.

I'm pretty sure said weapon is never seen again in subsequent sequels.

Placing Leon and Alice side by side.

Scarily, firearm debuted in Resident Evil 4.

I suppose Capcom are capable, as same game and Resident Evil 6 nicked laser hallway trap.

As did The Umbrella Chronicles.

Now I come into my own.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

For the first time EVER on the internet...

Licker is destroyed when dropped from the Alexi-5000, basically turning pseudo end boss into a fireball.

Although just a minor irritation to seemingly invincible antagonist, Nemesis feels the explosive effect of Mikhail's sacrificial grenade.

Patrol car

Selfishly, camera doesn't show it in full, but identification number is obviously ?84

What's this?

Police (and U.B.C.S.) are ultimately overwhelmed by the undead during intro 

REALLY?

Finally, my personal favourite.

Rain vs random zombie

Could they be any FUCKING similar?

Our paths won't cross again until I've guided Ethan through Village.

TTFN.