Editorials
6 WTF Moments In ‘Resident Evil’!
With the ultimate edition of Resident Evil 4 slated to arrive later this week, I thought this would be a swell time to take a look back at some of the stranger moments the series has offered us so far.
Obviously, a list that’s only six-long puts nary a dent in the weirdness and hilarity — some intentional, most of it not — that Capcom’s flagship survival horror-turned-action horror-turned-full-on action franchise has gifted us with over the years. These are just a few of my favorites, I’ll leave it to you to fill in the gaps with your own picks.
After the break you’ll find my list of just a few of the most WTF moments from Resident Evil!
Yowza. I’m not sure who was put in charge of the casting for those deliciously cheesy live-action cut-scenes that graced the original Resident Evil, but my theory is they had close ties to community theater. They’re awkward, hilarious, ridiculous, and unforgettable, but I wouldn’t change them for the world. Thankfully, Capcom didn’t bring them back for the sequel.
A parody of “The 4th Survivor” mini-game, Tofu Survivor is a bonus mode in Resident Evil 2 that pits you in the coagulating soy milk boots of a block of tofu, because, well… Japan.
If you’re unfamiliar with it, that’s probably because of how difficult this mode is to unlock. It’s made available only after all six of the game’s scenarios have been completed with A rankings, and even if you possess the skills to make it that far, only the best of the best will be able to complete it. For some reason, the Tofu is armed with a single combat knife and a handful of herbs. Thankfully, tofu is well known for its natural resistance to damage, so it can take a few more hits before going down.
Oh, and it totally curses in Japanese when hit.
Oh Merchant, how I miss your gruff voice, bizarre cockney accent, and impressive ability to be one step ahead of Leon throughout the entirety of Resident Evil 4. You sold me a wealth of goods, and I really do feel bad about that time I shot you in the face with the gun I bought from your dirty trench coat a few seconds earlier just so I could feel something to see if you could die.
Anyone who played through Resident Evil 4 eventually gave in to their curiosity and implanted a bullet right between those big, beautiful blue eyes. The more decent amongst us were undoubtedly struck by a pang of regret, which was quickly followed up by a wave of panic when your mind formed this question: Will he come back? Who else is going to arm you with the Tommy Guns, Infinite Rocket Launchers, and all the other miscellaneous goods you’ll need to rid this world of its rampant Ganado infestation?
There are a lot of things to be scared of in that game, but I believe the Merchant, with his pseudo-immortality and gradual transformation into something… else was the real threat. He guided us, gave us the tools to vanquish everything that stood in our way, and then he vanished. I feel like there’s an etching on a cave wall that foretells his eventual return and the 1,000 years of darkness that will follow.
But that’s just a theory.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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