A film director has claimed Capcom used one of his creature designs for a monster in Resident Evil Village.
SMALL SPOILERS FOR RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE CREATURE DESIGNS AHEAD
Richard Raaphorst, who directed the 2013 found-footage horror flick Frankenstein's Army, shared some comparison images on his LinkedIn page between the monster from his movie and the one from Village. The creature, which looks a bit like a Big Daddy with a desk fan glued to his face, is seen standing in a similarly derelict building in the first image. The second image shows both the movie and game version of the creature on fire.
"In 2013 I directed my film Frankenstein’s Army," Raaphorst wrote in the accompanying post. "It’s a crazy monster movie filled with my own creature designs, one of which has been used—completely without authorization or credit in the newest Resident Evil game."
Making a mini thread of how weirdly similar some of the monster designs are in @RE_Games Resident evil: Village & @RichRaaphorst's Frankenstein's Army (2013)⚠️!Creature Design Spoilers Ahead!⚠️RE:VIII On the Left, Frankenstein's Army on the Right. pic.twitter.com/RH06esjBCaMay 9, 2021
Twitter user CloneKorp also tweeted a thread of even more monster comparisons from Frankenstein's Army and Resident Evil Village with strong likenesses. Raaphorst replied to the thread saying "Oh dude, this is worse than I thought. First I felt angry, then proud, but now I see this, I feel sad."
Raaphorst told me that he wants to make it clear that he doesn't know if Capcom did it on purpose, "but the material is too much of a coincidence." He also said that if Capcom "would have informed [me] beforehand, I would have been super flattered."
Raaphorst also told me he doesn't intend to take any sort of legal action against Capcom, saying "I just wish they gave me credit."
While it's not uncommon for horror media to draw inspiration from other sources within the genre, the similarities between propeller-head in particular are rather striking. Whether it's uncredited inspiration or a surprising coincidence remains to be seen. If there's one thing I do know, it's that horror games and films love sticking daft inanimate objects on top of human bodies.
I've also contacted Capcom for a comment regarding the claims and will update if they get back to me.
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