Resident Evil’s Most Terrifying Moments Ever

I’ll never forget my first encounter with a zombie. At the time, I’d never seen anything like it before in a video game. Sure, we have seen zombies, but nothing like in the original Resident Evil in 1996. I died instantly (largely due to not having a clue how the controls worked), but it was a terrifying moment that became iconic for millions of gamers, as the zombie slowly turned its head with blood dripping from its mouth.

Elsewhere, who could forget about the epic jumpscare of the zombie dogs (Cerberus) jumping through the windows of the Spencer Mansion? I damn near pooped myself, and I know I wasn't alone. In the 2001 remake, this moment was recreated, but it happened at a different point in the game, just to keep veteran fans on their toes.

As a bonus entry, that low-res 1996 cut-scene of the Hunter making its way into the Spencer Mansion is a memory that will last forever. I remember thinking, “What on earth is that?” Then, before I knew it, it sliced my head off like a tinned hot dog sausage.

Talk about first encounters, meeting the Licker for the first time, as it was crawling on the ceiling, drool dropping from its mouth in an epic cut-scene that had Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield gawping up in absolute terror. For me personally, this is my favourite moment in Resident Evil 2. This encounter was recreated in the 2019 remake, but just like in 2001, Capcom did it slightly differently from the original.

Lieutenant Marvin Branagh, your time with us may have been brief, but it was oh so bittersweet. I’ll never forget the frantic music as the lovable cop turned into a zombie right in front of our very eyes in 1998. At this point, it was the first time I’d seen a zombie transformation in the series. Accompanied by that panic-inducing music. In the 2019 remake, Marvin had a lot more character, and we got to learn a little bit more about the lovable cop, which made his zombie turn more heartbreaking.

Tyrant-00, aka Mr X. Originally, Mr X only appeared as a stalker enemy in Scenario B for Leon and Claire in the OG RE2. A giant, relentless threat that pursued us throughout the game, or so it felt, because unbeknownst to us at the time, it was all scripted. In the 2019 remake, he appeared in all scenarios, and this time, he was an actual stalker with his appearances far less scripted. I’ll never forget the sounds of his feet stomping and bashing through the doors of the RPD, letting me know that Mr X was always near.

Now, this isn't a knock at Resident Evil 3, because it was more of an action-oriented game by design, and genuine scary moments were few and far between, in my opinion. That being said, the introduction of the Nemesis is probably as iconic as any other moment in the series.

In the 1999 original, when Nemesis absolutely brutalised the coward that is Brad Vickers, who left his fellow S.T.A.R.S members for dead in RE1, some might say he got what he deserved as a helpless Jill Valentine watched on.

At the time, when the Nemesis stalked you in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, it felt organic and not scripted, well, at least on your first playthrough. Naturally, the nemesis returned in the 2020 remake, but oddly, unlike Mr X in the RE2 remake, the Nemesis was scripted again. What a wasted and baffling opportunity that was.

The original 2005 release on the Nintendo GameCube was more of an action-packed affair, unlike the 2023 remake, which implemented more horror but with plenty of action to boot. However, that’s not to say that the original game was short of horrific moments, because it most certainly was.

The first horrifying moment that I will never forget is hearing the unnerving sniffling sound of a creature known as the Regenerator (and there was an Iron Maiden variant later on). We heard this monster before we got to see it, listening to its feet shuffling on the floor and heavy breathing around the corner. Then, we lay our eyes upon it!

It has humanoid features, bright red eyes, a huge mouth with sharp teeth, gangly arms and legs, and worst of all, as the name of this creature suggests, it quickly regenerates with no way to kill it. Well, that’s until you learn of its weakness, that is. Before we knew how to kill this Los Plagas abomination, this thing tormented millions of RE4 gamers across the world, and to be fair, it probably gives a fair few fans nightmares to this very day.

Look, I tried. I’m a big fan of Resident Evil 5, and even with its fun DLC episode, Lost in Nightmares, there’s not a single moment that scared me, and to be fair to Capcom, this is also by design. At its core, RE5 is a co-op action game and can barely be considered a survival horror.

Resident Evil 6 tried to have some scary moments, but nothing from all of its four bonkers campaigns had me on edge or jumping out of my skin. I suppose there was a brief moment early on in Leon’s campaign in the subway with the shadows of zombies sprinting in your direction, but that’s about it for me. So, sorry RE5 and RE6, I tried.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is packed with so many terrors, other than that grotesque battle with Marguerite later in the game. Yet, two specific moments come to mind. Firstly, after Ethan Winters finds his wife mysteriously at the Baker compound (not as mysterious as her having a YouTube channel, mind), there’s a moment when, let’s say, Mia turns, very early in the campaign.

It takes place in a pitch-black basement (a classic horror trope), and you hear her breathing heavily and almost inhumanly. Then you see hands appear from the dark, hair dangling, she crawls up long, narrow wooden stairs. And before you know it, she’s seemingly possessed, her face is disfigured, and she’s hellbent on killing you. This early moment in RE7 has lived with me for years and set the tone of the game.

The second most terrifying aspect of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is being stalked, harassed and ridiculed by the relentless and damn-near indestructible Jack Baker. If the Baker mansion wasn't already a scary enough place, knowing that Jack is on the prowl, calling you a “little piggy”, had me on constant edge, and that level of stalker fear, for me, is only topped by the Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation.

Resident Evil Village is a very memorable game for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it’s a fantastic game with its emphasis on mythical creatures inspired by werewolves, vampires and ghostly spirits. It’s a concept that perhaps shouldn't work in this series, but it absolutely does. On top of that, it has memorable characters, an interesting story, plenty of scary moments, action and more.

Arguably, one of the scariest, or I should say, intimidating characters, is Lady Dimitrescu, otherwise known as the “Tall Vampire Lady”, played by Maggie Robertson. Much like Mr X and Jack Baker, Lady D would stalk and torment you in her huge castle, often referring to you as a “stupid man thing”. However, it might be fair to say that some may have found being stalked by the voluptuous lady more of a pleasure than torment, but I’ll leave it at that.

That being said, the giant baby, aka fetus monster, is far from a pleasure. That thing is pure nightmare fuel, and that’s putting it mildly. By now, you’ve probably seen clips of this horrendous creature in House Benevientio, and I’ll never forget the first encounter. It was close to 3am, and I yelled “WTF?” before making Ethan turn and run for his life! Honestly, I’d be hard–pressed to pick a scarier moment than this in all of Resident Evil.