Capcom’s Resident Evil is the most successful survival horror franchise in gaming today. Debuting in 1996 for Sony PlayStation, the series has spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs over the course of 24 years. Known for its surprise scares, zombie hordes, and vicious Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.Ws), Resident Evil has incorporated many ways to scare the players.
In a series based around horror elements, many cutscenes could qualify as terrifying whether it’s due to a monster, a horde, or a madman. With that said, this list will cover the freakiest and frightening moments over the course of two decades.
10 The First Zombie - Resident Evil
It goes without saying that the iconic Resident Evil series got its start with a zombie attack. In this particular instance, it takes place shortly after the opening. Upon entering your first set of doors, you’ll come across a figure devouring the remains of another.
In the original PlayStation release, this was Capcom’s way of flexing their FMV muscle while scaring the player with the danger they would face. The remake enhanced the cutscene to make it even more bloody and gory. While this lead immediately into a confrontation with the game’s first enemy, it was recommended to leave the room and have Barry kill the zombie in order to not waste ammo.
9 Resident Evil 2 - The Licker
While Raccoon City is home to monsters of all kinds, one particular standout includes The Licker. This B.O.W. is particularly frightening due to its appearance. When the cutscene plays, it shows a pool of blood at the feet of the player who, upon gazing upwards, sees the creature climbing across the ceiling.
Its long tongue and agility illustrate just what the player is up against. To make matters even more stressful, the Licker can attack based on their sound proximity. As the creature approaches the player in the cutscene, it sets the stage for what the player will have to deal with.
8 Margurite Appears - Resident Evil 7
“I told you to stay out of here!” As the player approaches a door in the second area of the Baker Residence, Marguerite dashes into the face of the camera and pushes the player into a hole. Her shrill yell and sudden appearance greatly surprised players.
Resident Evil 7 was the series’ first mainline experience in a first-person view. This opened many opportunities for Capcom to scare the player with surprise moments. For the record, the boss fight against her is every bit as disgusting and terrifying as one might expect from her.
7 Nemesis Attacks - Resident Evil 3
No list about terror and Resident Evil would be complete without the most terrifying, S.T.A.R.S-hunting monster of them all: Nemesis. The main antagonist of Resident Evil 3, this nigh-unstoppable juggernaut pursued Jill Valentine through all corners of Raccoon City.
Nemesis first appears in Resident Evil 3 by attacking and killing Brad Vickers right in front of Jill. Without warning, she’s forced to engage him. A QTE appears where the player must choose whether to fight or run. Nemesis comes to the list for his first, dominating appearance while the entire game features him appearing to kill the player, often without warning.
6 Resident Evil 7 - Attacked by Mia
The story of Resident Evil 7 involves Ethan Winters entering the Baker Establishment to save his wife, Mia. Unfortunately, whatever happened to the Baker Residence has clearly affected Mia. Upon meeting her, she attacks you from the bottom of a set of stairs.
Despite the violent and gory interaction that happens between Ethan and Mia, this is not the last encounter. In fact, she appears again to attack Ethan once more. Only this time it involves watching Ethan violently lose his arm.
5 Bathtub Zombie - Resident Evil
As Jill, one of the rooms the player must investigate is the bathroom in the Spencer Mansion. Upon entering, Jill is surrounded by walls in a close-knit space. With no other place to investigate, she unplugs the full bathtub.
At this point, a zombie arm grabs her and attempts to attack her. Thankfully, Jill saves the player the trouble of fighting it by curb-stomping the creature before vomiting out her innards. While this saved a fight for the player, the surprise might have left players with a permanent sense of caution of bathtubs in horror games.
4 Resident Evil 7 - Lucas Baker’s House of Horrors
Perhaps the single most twisted, psychopathic, and evil villain in the entire series, Lucas Baker loves nothing more than to torture his victims. He has nothing but a good time setting traps for people while taunting them to their demise. Yet he himself is not a monster by appearance. Rather, his actions are both monstrous and psychologically horrifying.
The man Lucas kidnaps is sent to a house of horrors for survival. Even after losing his arm, he tries to escape before setting up his own bomb and, upon its explosion, bleeds out and dies slowly. As a bonus, the game offers a gambling mini-game with Lucas where they play against a dead man.
3 Regenerador - Resident Evil 4
In a series filled with monsters of any size, quite possibly the most terrifying is an otherwise uncommon enemy encounter from the last area of Resident Evil 4. Within the laboratory, the player will encounter a human-like B.O.W. slowly huffing and breathing while lumbering towards the player. In an instant, it grabs Leon from a yard away and the close-up shows its horrifying glowing eyes and sharp teeth gnashing into his flesh.
While the first Regenerador does not appear in a cutscene, the others the players face will appear in the room they’re exploring. Once they’ve found the key they’ve needed, a cutscene will play featuring the Regenerador being freed and roaming on the loose. This short cut scene alone tells enough that the player must either run for their lives or fight a battle against a regenerating horror.
2 Tyrant Appears - Resident Evil 2 Remake
What separates Tyrant (RE2) from Nemesis (RE3) is that Tyrant doesn’t have the same type of scripted appearances. You’re not going to “lose” him as you would Nemesis or even with the Tyrant of the original PS1 release of Resident Evil 2. Rather, he stalks you throughout the RPD, through various rooms, until a certain point in the game.
This menace first appears on a surveillance camera before shattering it, hinting the danger of the creature. But he appears shortly after with little warning, no cinematics either. Just appears down a hallway before chasing the player throughout the game until the inevitable final confrontation.
1 Resident Evil 7 - Sorry Deputy
Again with Lucas, this fiend loves setting up games for his victims. In this case, the deputy that appears and gives Ethan the survival knife winds up dead. Unfortunately, even though Jack Baker killed him earlier, Lucas still had plans for him. For one of the keys, the player reads a note. “Stick your hand down the pig’s throat,” Lucas says.
This entails finding the deputy’s rotting corpse, now beheaded, and doing the unthinkable. Desecrating the corpse means Ethan travels his hand into his severed throat socket and retrieves the key from within. Sad truth is that it’s worse than this entry can do justice for. It’s absolutely as disgusting and terrifying to the point that no one would actually want to do this.
NEXT: Jill Valentine’s Original Actress From Resident Evil Has Been Found
