The Resident Evil games have always been influenced by films. The very first entry on PlayStation was originally developed to be a remake of Sweet Home; a Famicom game based on a Japanese horror film. The film itself was a lot like Poltergeist (1982), both featuring scenes of men melting and hauntings.
It has become customary for Capcom to develop Resident Evil games with layers of references and homages to horror cinema. Some are mainstream, others are obscure, but no matter what; there are always a lot to find. Like always, Niche Gamer has assembled a team of scientists and film snobs to parse the Resident Evil games for the best horror films that inspired the games.
Resident Evil took various visual cues from all kinds of movies- some horror, some were Leon: The Professional (1994), The Mexican (2001) or even Black Hawk Down (2002). This Halloween season, between you replaying your favorite Resident Evil game; why not mix in one of the many horror films that inspired Capcom?
12 horror movies that inspired the Resident Evil series
1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the few movies that could easily be considered flawless in its execution. It is intensely raw and feels very realistic. By the end of the film, viewers tend to feel filthy with grime, sweat, and will want to take a shower. Naturally, the boys at Capcom knew that they had to take some cues from this immortal horror film.
Resident Evil 4 and 7 take some aspects of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and it should be obvious why. The chainsaw maniac, Dr. Salvador, was modeled after Leatherface, the film’s killer. Both characters have a similar build and frantically swing a chainsaw.
Resident Evil 7‘s “family” theme was also lifted from scenes in Chainsaw. There are some shots in the film that are copied in game, like the way how the Baker family is introduced at a dinner table. Both Ethan and Sally also get tied up to a chair and there is a elderly wheelchair bound family member.
2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
There couldn’t be a list of movies that inspired Resident Evil without bringing up George A. Romero’s “Dead“, movies. The original Dawn of the Dead was a massive zombie film in its day and its presence in Resident Evil 2 and 3 can be felt throughout.
The zombie attack in the city and the SWAT siege early on evoke many of the scenes depicted in both 2 and 3. The designs of Hunk and the Umbrella agents are seemingly modeled after the uniforms used in Dawn of the Dead. Similar gas masks are used and even serve a similar role as sweepers.
Dawn of the Dead (1978) is still a very good watch. George was at his peak when he made it and while the zombie makeup is unconvincing, the gore effects look awesome (courtesy of Tom Savini). The plot meanders for a while since the story is more about surviving long term in a mall than having a driving story, but there is no other zombie film with the same level of ambition.
3. The Shining (1980)
Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining is often cited as one of the scariest films ever made. It is a very slow, psychological, and layered film that doesn’t have a lot going on, but every scene is drenched with overbearing dread.
What Capcom took from The Shining was the uncanny setting. The Overlook has a similar ambiance to the Spencer Mansion and is full of locked doors. It doesn’t look like its haunted, but that’s partly why its unsettling. An even bigger homage is Resident Evil 7‘s antagonist being modeled after Jack Torrance from The Shining.
Jack Baker not only shares the same first name with Mr. Torrance; they’re both violent and abusive fathers. Both men aggressively stalk their victims and shout insane vulgarities and smash their way through the architecture to acquire their target.
4. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter’s The Thing‘s influence is seen in the creature designs through out all the Resident Evil games. The movie itself is a profoundly tense story about an organism that can imitate any lifeforms it comes in contact with. This usually results in extensive scenes of gruesome body-horror imagery that was achieved with some of the best practical effects ever made.
The visceral and deformed bioweapons like the lickers, bandersnatches, or any the forms that Birkin transforms into are clearly inspired by the creature effects from The Thing. The wolf enemies and tentacle-headed ganados are the most defined influences. There is a scene in a kennel during the film where dogs flare up a mess of tentacles like in Resident Evil 4.
The Thing is a smorgasbord of grotesque malformed monsters. You could point to any monster in the film and trace elements to any Resident Evil game to find all kinds of influences.
5. The Terminator (1984)
The first two Terminator films are chock full of little visual cues and references in the Resident Evil games, but only the first movie is a legitimate horror movie. Albert Wesker’s design seemingly takes elements from the big bad cyborgs in both movies- from his cold demeanor to his dark sunglasses.
The cold industrial labyrinths, drenched with moisture and cool lighting are sources that can be found in both series. Arnold’s deterioration in The Terminator is especially striking and his relentless stalking and rotting flesh gives him zombie-like qualities, and was undoubtedly the model for Mr. X in Resident Evil 2 and its remake.
There are even thrilling action scenes with large 18-wheeler trucks that peak with explosions in both films and that is how the intro to Leon and Claire’s scenario climaxes. The Terminator is a slasher film at heart and even though the sequels overshadow the horror roots, the first movie still reigns supreme as the scariest of the franchise.
6. Aliens (1986)
The best way to described Resident Evil as a whole, would be James Cameron by way of George Romero. You get a lot of the grisly and stylish horror from George, but Cameron’s action stamp is pressed all over Capcom’s franchise. Aliens is by far the most obvious example of how they figured out how to structure Resident Evil.
The lighting and sets resemble many of the late game locations in Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, 3, Code Veronica, 5, 6 and Revelations 2. Not only were the aesthetics copied, but some scenes are direct homages- specifically Luis Sera’s savage death in Resident Evil 4, which was lifted from a famous scene in Aliens.
This movie also climaxes with a thrilling escape sequence where the entire facility has a few minutes before it explodes and there is a battle with a huge monster. When Aliens came out in 1986, the movie was a massive event. It is still highly entertaining and fans of Resident Evil will get a kick out of how much it influenced the games.
7. Leviathan (1989)
Leviathan is a pretty stupid movie- even for a 1980s creature feature. The plot is derivative of much better movies, but it does have some awesome special monster effects from Stan Winston. The influences can be seen in various entries of the Resident Evil series; Capcom owes a lot to Stan Winston as a whole considering he had involvement in three films in this feature.
What makes Leviathan unique is its underwater setting and the aquatic theming in the monsters. Resident Evil Revelations takes several influences from this premise and co-opts some of the fish-like monsters from this movie.
Leviathan might be a dud that is saved by some cool monsters, but you won’t find another movie where Daniel Stern (Home Alone) endures some horrifying body-horror transformation. Aside from the creatures, the most impressive aspect in this film was the dry sets that were shot to look underwater – it is a very convincing effect.
8. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Of all the films in this feature, Tetsuo: The Iron Man is by far the most surreal and nightmarish. It is a layered work of art that is dense with symbolism, creative use of stop-motion animation, and a pounding industrial score. It is about a man whose body is becoming metal and battles a guy who also has an affinity with metal.
Resident Evil Village is incredibly bold to take influences from such an obscure film series (Tetsuo is a trilogy). Everyone knows about how Karl Heisenberg’s propeller-man from Frankenstein’s Army, but did you know that Karl’s boss transformation is lifted from the body-horror metal-forms from Tetsuo?
If you ever felt that Heisenberg’s boss form was unsettling, wait till you see the movie that inspired it. Tetsuo is a very raw and gnarly hour and seven-teen minutes. It’s truly an underground film that pulls no punches and is unlike anything else that influenced Resident Evil. It may be in Japanese only, but it has very little dialogue and is almost entirely driven by its visuals.
9. Dagon (2001)
Dagon‘s influence on Resident Evil 4 could not be more apparent. It features a protagonist who is being chased by cultists in a creepy Spanish village, there is a background character who is the spitting image of the weapon’s merchant, and there is copious body-horror imagery.
This was the movie Shinji Mikami likely forced all his staff to watch when they decided on the direction for Resident Evil 4. The aesthetics and overall production design is uncannily similar, as well as plot-points surrounding a cult that are infected.
Dagon is a very entertaining movie. There is never a dull moment and it is directed by one of the masters of Lovecraftian filmmakers: Stuart Gordon, director of From Beyond and Re-Animator. For Halloween viewing, you can’t go wrong with Dagon.
10. Resident Evil (2002)
At some point, the Resident Evil games began to cannibalize itself when it began to copy elements from the Paul Anderson movies. The first Resident Evil movie ended up inspiring the laser corridor in Resident Evil 4, and while Leon was able to overcome that trap, the character in the film was not so lucky.
It is telling that the weakest entries in the Resident Evil game series took aspects from the Paul Anderson movies. Resident Evil 5, Revelations, and especially 6 feel more like they are adaptations of the movies than they are sequels to the prior games in the series. The tone can be best described as “dumb Hollywood action movie”, which is exactly what Paul Anderson makes.
Considering that there are six of these films, it is mindblowing that not a single one is remotely watchable. They do have fans (somehow) and they do accurately reflect what the Resident Evil games were like during the seventh console generation.
11. Evil Dead (2013)
The Evil Dead movies were just barely referenced by the Resident Evil games. Fans could make some leaps in some connections. By the time Resident Evil 7 came around, there was finally something concrete and it was with the 2013 remake, Evil Dead.
The boys at Capcom took so much from this film, it borders on plagiarism. There is a girl named Mia who suffers from bouts of possession and savagely attacks those closest to her. The film’s style is steeped in darkness, rustic homestead and lots of mutilated hanging animals.
The mannerisms of the Baker family and Mia especially were ripped straight from this incredible remake. Most fans agree that the Bruce Campbell Evil Dead films and TV show is excellent, but most are not even aware of how awesome the 2013 Evil Dead actually is. Give it a chance and be sure it is the unrated version to get the most blood for your buck.
12. Blair Witch (2016)
Resident Evil 7 is a complex mixture of many influences. Most fans will easily pick apart Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Evil Dead homages, but because 2016’s Blair Witch was a bit of a dud at the box office, not many realized how much it inspired.
Everyone remembers Andre standing towards the wall like Mike did in The Blair Witch Project and how the found footage motif was used in Resident Evil 7. Marge Baker’s transformation was based on the hag, herself, from Blair Witch. The developers go as so far to even copy the sight gag of her reaching out for something.
It isn’t as grounded as the 1999 movie, but Blair Witch still manages to be entertaining. There is some chilling imagery that stands out and you can see why the boys at Capcom would feel compelled to lift some scares from this film.
That was only 12 horror movies that inspired the Resident Evil games. There are plenty more to discover for fans with keen eyes and even more movies that inspired the series that aren’t even horror films!
This Halloween season, why not watch a few of these with some friends? Are there other horror homages in Resident Evil that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
