Editorials
Ranking 6 of the Scariest Boss Battles in ‘Resident Evil’ History Ahead of ‘Resident Evil Requiem’
In most cases, boss battles are meant to be a test of the players’ skills and evaluate just how much they’ve learned from interacting with the digital world up until that point in the experience. In the case of horror games, this usually means learning to manage fear, resources, and amateur cartography. That’s why it makes sense that boss battles make up some of the scariest moments in Survival Horror history, as these chilling challenges often represent the very best of what the genre has to offer.
With Resident Evil Requiem finally hitting store shelves this week, what better way of celebrating 9 mainline entries (and dozens of spin-offs) than by looking back on six of the scariest boss battles in Resident Evil history! After all, there are plenty of memorable biohazards to choose from, though some of our picks might not be the monsters you’re expecting.
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own personal favorite boss monsters if you think we missed a particularly frightening one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Verdugo – Resident Evil 4
While the Verdugo (also known as the U-III in the remake) can be accurately described as an undead Xenomorph with insectoid qualities, it’s the overall direction behind this encounter that makes it such a frightening experience. Not only is the Verdugo itself nearly invulnerable, but the game forces you to navigate a claustrophobic sewer system as you attempt to deal with this man-made monstrosity.
In fact, this is such a terrifying fight that the game actually does you a solid and encourages you to run away from the boss entirely, as even the developers were aware that a near-perfect organism would likely be too much for most players to handle the first time around.
Of course, that only makes it that much more satisfying when you finally replay the game and bring a rocket launcher to this fateful encounter.
5. Marguerite Baker – Resident Evil 7
I’d argue that Resident Evil 7 is hands-down the scariest RE game ever made, so it’s hard to pin down a singular moment that really stands out above the rest. However, when it comes to boss fights, the blood-curdling battle against Marguerite (the Mold-infected Matriarch of the Baker family) is easily one of the freakiest entries on this list.
While her “human” appearance is unsettling enough due to the game’s grimy textures and Texas Chain Saw Massacre–inspired aesthetics, the boss battle has Marguerite elongating her limbs to inhuman proportions as she controls disgusting insects and hunts you down through a dilapidated Green House.
However, even after all that, this boss encounter still isn’t nearly as scary as constantly running across the seemingly catatonic Eveline as she stalks you throughout your playthrough.
4. HAOS – Resident Evil 6
I’m aware that Resident Evil 6 is something of a controversial topic amongst fans of the series, but I think even the game’s biggest detractors are aware that the title contains a handful of terrifying moments that are worth remembering despite being part of an overall messy experience. One such highlight is the climactic fight against HAOS at the end of Chris Redfield’s campaign.
Looking like a Kaiju-sized cross between a humanoid corpse and a translucent octopus, HAOS was Neo-Umbrella’s attempt at creating an ultimate bioweapon capable of spreading the C-virus infection across the entire planet. Of course, what really makes this malformed creature so scary is its uncanny design, with its recognizably humanoid features combined with its desperate movements and “unfinished” aesthetics, making this boss unpleasant to even look at.
3. Lisa Trevor – Resident Evil REmake
Unkillable bosses were already a familiar trope by the time Lisa Trevor was added to 2002’s Resident Evil remake, but there’s just something off about this lumbering patient zero that continues to haunt our nightmares over two decades later. Whether it’s the fact that she appears to be wearing a mask made out of human skin or her pained movements as her arms remain trapped inside of a medieval-looking torture device, Lisa Trevor feels like she was a part of Capcom’s iconic Survival Horror franchise from the very beginning.
Terrifying and tragic in equal measure, Lisa is certainly one of the most memorable monsters on this list, even if her design isn’t quite as extreme as some of the other horrors we’ve mentioned so far.
2. Donna Beneviento – Resident Evil: Village
Resident Evil: Village may have been developed as a more action-packed follow-up to the nightmarish thrills of its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean the game is completely devoid of memorable scares. In fact, I’d argue that the title actually boasts one of the most horrifying enemy encounters in the whole franchise, with the entire House Beneviento sequence serving as an extended boss battle where Ethan’s very mind is turned against him.
Combining effective genre tropes from doll-horror movies such as Annabelle and even boasting a freaky baby monster that would make Eraserhead blush, the Beneviento encounter is proof that Capcom remains fully capable of crafting innovative scares even after all these years.
1. Nemesis – Resident Evil 3
Also known as “The Pursuer”, Nemesis is probably the most obvious entry on this list, but can anyone really argue against the idea of a final boss that stalks and attacks you from the very beginning of the game?
Sure, the creature’s design and aggressive behavior are intimidating enough, but it’s the build-up to that final confrontation that earns him the number-one spot on this list. Repeatedly trying and failing to get this bio-engineered Terminator off your tail just to have him show up again is the reason why Nemesis will forever be remembered as one of the scariest bosses in all of gaming – not just the Resident Evil franchise.
The problem with filming sequels back-to-back is that, unless you can afford expensive reshoots, there’s no easy way to adjust course in between movies if fans react badly to where the story is headed. That’s why it’s important to have a complete narrative thought out well in advance lest you accidentally kill a budding franchise.
However, this isn’t always the case. Every once in a while, it seems like the cinema gods smile upon certain chaotic productions and gift moviegoers with complete franchises that feel like more than the sum of their hastily produced parts. Ted Nicolaou’s Bloodlust: Subspecies III is precisely one of these miraculous pictures, with the raw talents of the artists involved (as well as the continued support from Romania) turning the feature into an effective conclusion for a series that kind of made things up as the filmmakers went along.
That’s why I’d like to invite my fellow readers to join me on this third part of our journey through the Subspecies franchise as we look into Bloodlust and talk about how it remains a surprisingly satisfying finale to the original trilogy.
A Trilogy Planned on the Fly
Released only a year after Bloodstone found plenty of success in rental stores and mail-in VHS catalogues worldwide, 1994’s Bloodlust was produced at the same time as its predecessor in (mostly) the same locations and with the same team. This means that the movie benefited from all the same upgrades as Bloodstone, with the crew now being more experienced with the ins and outs of surviving a low-budget Romanian production and the cast really settling into their characters.
At this point, everything from location scouting to the makeup process had been streamlined, with Wayne Toth and Norman Cabrera, the main duo behind special effects, even switching out time-consuming prosthetics for latex gloves in order to speed up Anders Hove’s monstrous transformation. The titular “subspecies” demons were also once again relegated to a mere cameo appearance due to the laborious puppetry required to bring them to life.
The only real hiccup came from the fact that actress Denice Duff had replaced the first film’s Michelle (Laura Mae Tate) and was immediately expected to portray the character as both an innocent victim in part II and as a secondary villain in part III. According to behind-the-scenes interviews, the hectic production schedule that blended two different movies meant that Duff would often find herself having to alternate between two incredibly different versions of Michelle during the same shooting day – though it’s obvious that she’s having more fun with Bloodlust’s more traditionally vampiric version of her character.
In the finished film, we pick things up immediately where the previous entry left off as Rebecca (Melanie Shatner) is forced to leave her vampire sister Michelle (Duff) behind in the dungeons of Castle Vladislav due to the rising sun. This allows Mummy (Pamela Gordon) to use Michelle’s blood to revive the vicious Radu (Hove) so that he may continue his quest for the coveted Bloodstone – a magical artifact that perpetually drips the Blood of Saints.
Meanwhile, the dreamy US embassy agent Mel (Kevin Blair) agrees to help Rebecca plan a rescue mission, though they’re unaware that Radu has become infatuated with Michelle during his attempts to guide her growing bloodlust. This all culminates in a climactic confrontation meant to tie up all of the series’ loose ends in one of Full Moon Pictures’ most ambitious productions.
The Evolution of Radu
Like its predecessor, Bloodlust: Subspecies III was also warmly received by fans who argued that the series was an even bigger success than Full Moon’s other major horror franchise, Puppet Master. This praise wasn’t unanimous, however, as 1994 had seen the rise of a more modern breed of sexy vampire popularized by Anne Rice, with old-school Nosferatu like Radu being viewed as obsolete when compared to the likes of Lestat and Gary Oldman’s take on Dracula.
In a way, one might argue that Nicolaou’s film is something of a swan song for the classic vampire story, as Bloodlust combines all of the traditional elements we tend to associate with these tales into a single tragic yarn that ties a neat little bow on Radu’s story as well as the old-fashioned monster movies that he represents. The finale remains shocking despite the fact that this is the third time we see Radu get brutally killed onscreen, with the brief tease that he may one day return feeling more like a nod towards the nature of evil rather than sequel bait.
The film dabbles a bit in gothic romance and even explores the inherent power fantasy behind transforming into an immortal creature of the night, but the filmmakers never lose sight of Radu as a demonic force even when he’s willing to betray his beloved Mummy for Michelle’s sake. In fact, his twisted “love” for his fledgling makes him even creepier as we get the feeling that his passion comes from a dark and disturbing place.
Anders Hove is at his absolute best in this film, with the effects department boosting his moments of what the younger generation would call “aura farming” whenever Radu emerges from shadows like a 90s version of Count Orlok. There are even a couple of surprisingly effective jump-scares here, which is why I’d argue that Bloodlust cements Radu as one of the most memorable cinematic vampires of all time despite his humble origins.
Subspecies Saves Its Best For Last
Nicolaou and Vlad Panescu also saved the best for “last” (more on that in a bit) regarding the film’s visuals, with the cinematography and overall atmosphere of Bloodlust absolutely surpassing what we saw in the previous films. Everything feels appropriately climactic this time around (including the wonderful soundtrack that was co-composed alongside an authentic Romanian orchestra), and I appreciate how this is the fastest-paced entry in the trilogy since the film doesn’t need to waste time setting anything up.
Bloodlust still suffers from some of the same low-budget blemishes as its predecessors, but there’s so much creative passion here that no amount of wonky effects work or stilted dialogue can get in the way of appreciating the flick’s gothic grandeur. That’s why it’s not surprising that the movie’s definitive(-ish) ending would later be retconned as fans begged for more Radu.
Of course, the next entry in this series would be a different kind of vampiric endeavor altogether, with the filmmakers attempting to engage with the same trends that ultimately killed Radu and his antiquated kin. That, however, is a story for another time. For now, I’ll merely insist that Bloodlust: Subspecies III remains a highlight of Full Moon’s expansive catalogue and is definitely worth seeking out today.
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