Resident Evilhas stood the test of time as a franchise because of the changes it was willing to make when one idea or concept became stale or out of fashion. This was the case withResident Evil 4, which took on the emerging trend of modern action games at the time while still managing to retain the popular survival-horror mechanics that madeResident Evilsuccessful to begin with.Resident Evilhas always been able to discern its atmosphere and tone through the genre of gameplay that it features in any singular installment, and that is made evident throughResident Evil 4’s unique and niche tone.
Resident Evilis likely most famous for its zombies if fans did not know much about the franchise overall, and yet zombies have always been the least interesting part of any infection or virus concocted in the series. It takes more than gratuitous gore and jump-scares to elicit horror, andResident Evilhas always understood that when it comes to making its fixed camera angles as tense and intentionally obfuscating as they are. However, withResident Evil 4’s turn to a religious and cultist brand of horror, it finds itself creating parallels with a seminal horror franchise inEvil Dead.
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Resident Evil 4 Remake Opens Like an Occult Horror Movie
Resident Evil 7is the franchise’s most explicit attempt at channeling modern horror tropesand it is largely successful at doing so. The parallels displayed betweenResident Evil 7and iconic horror movies such asThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreorSaware undeniable in the Baker family’s disgusting eating habits and Lucas’ torture apparatuses, for example, while still making its own fresh stamp on horror by marrying it with classicResident Evilmotifs.
Meanwhile,Resident Evil 4was an even greater departure from the corporation conglomerate of Umbrella since it dove into a rural European village to assess a parasitic infection that could brainwash individuals. This leads to the worship of Lord Osmund Saddler, and is where Leon is dropped into the narrative ofResident Evil 4once the President’s daughter is kidnapped.
This would sound like a terrifying premise on its own, butResident Evil 4is far more comedic and whimsical than fans might initially think. Leon and other characters share quippy one-liners and some sequences are absolutely too absurd or ostentatious to take seriously, such as when Leon is chased out of the castle by a giant animatronic statue resembling Ramon Salazar.
That said, theResident Evil 4remake’s opening cutscene establishes its cultist-horror tone immediately by showing Saddler’s zealots sacrifice a young woman in a dimly lit dungeon. If horror fans rememberthe 2013 reimagining ofEvil Dead, this prologue cutscene will be highly reminiscent of that movie’s own prologue scene where a girl is exorcized.
Indeed,Evil Deadis likely the closest resemblance in horror movies that fans could find forResident Evil 4. BothEvil DeadandResident Evil 4are terrifying when they want to be, but are also capable of being hilarious, campy, and nonsensical at the same time.
TheEvil Deadreimagining is a much more horror-forward approach to the franchise than its predecessors, concentrating more on body horror and gore as opposed to silly actor performances and gimmicky jump-scares.Resident Evil 4does not shy away from gore even if it is not what fans remember most about it, and the remake is incredibly faithful to the original as to not dilute how campy its narrative is.
Evil Deadis not as much of a religious or cultist horror asResident Evil 4, but the same ritualistic sacrifices and seemingly demonic possessions are apparent in both.Resident Evilwould unfortunately not return to that same occult atmosphere untilResident Evil Village, though with as much adoration toward it as fans have shown it would be excellent to see it reprised in futureResident Evilgames somehow.
Resident Evil 4is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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