Filmmaker claims Capcom used his creature designs in Resident Evil Village

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Fans of his films have since pointed out even more similarities.

Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters
(Image credit: Capcom)

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."

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.

Mollie Taylor
Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.  

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