Summary
- Hearing monsters speak adds eerie depth, implying a struggle to retain humanity during mutation.
- Mutated enemies from Resident Evil, like Moreau and Lisa, express emotions through speech.
- Wesker, Nemesis, and others maintain their ability to speak even after drastic mutations occur.
A monster's grotesque appearance can already be more than enough to give players the chills, but there's something so eerie about hearing a mutant or B.O.W from a Resident Evil game actually being able to speak a few words, despite taking on a drastically different form. The implication that these monstrosities are somehow trying to cling onto their humanity, despite their minds and bodies being completely warped, is a scary one to put it mildly, and it's resulted in plenty of freaky moments over the course of this legendary survival horror series.
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Monsters who were previously humans, but have succumbed to an infection or disease, can sometimes be able to squeeze a few words out if they manage to retain a part of their former self during the transformation process. On the other hand, there have even been some nightmarish enemies who, despite being manmade, are able to utter some eerie comments while hunting down the protagonist.
8 Salvatore Moreau
Moreau Can Usually Be Found Mumbling About His Obsession With Mother Miranda
Resident Evil Village
- Released
- May 7, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Each of Mother Miranda's four lords who show up in Resident Evil Village is weird in their unique ways. Dimitrescu is a large vampire woman, Heisenberg is a magnetic wizard, Beneviento is a creepy puppet master, and Moreau is a dangerous oddball fishman. The truth is, though he looks like some kind of eldritch monster, Moreau actually has a lot of emotion and is obsessed with trying to win the favor of his master, Mother Miranda.
When Ethan runs into him and steals his flask, Moreau can be spotted staring at a blank TV screen, mumbling about how much he wants to be seen and acknowledged by his mutant mother. His pathetic tirades get even worse when he goes into his full giant fish form, where he cries out to Miranda while trampling all over Ethan as he tries to fend off the dangerous B.O.W.
7 William Birkin
Birkin Holds Onto Just Enough of His Humanity To Express His Fears
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence
- Genre(s)
- Horror
Ironically, William Birkin would become a victim of his own creation, the G-Virus. After being confronted by a group of Umbrella soldiers, one of which being Hunk, Birkin is saved from death by the G-Virus, turning him into a grotesque mutant hell-bent on killing everything in sight, regardless of whether they're friend or foe. As highlighted in his design, Birkin is in the middle of mutating by the time players encounter him, which is why he's also able to speak a few words every so often whenever he tries to resist his primal urges.
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Most of the time, Birkin will be attempting to say the name of his daughter, Sherry, as a way to potentially warn her about his infection, which is drawing him to her as it recognizes her as a potential inheritor of the G-embryo. In his fight with Claire and Leon near the beginning of the Resident Evil 2 Remake, Birkin even seems to be showing sympathy for the protagonists, yelling at them to get out of the way while he goes on his mad rampage.
6 Lisa Trevor
Despite Being Grossly Mutated, Lisa Is Still Capable Of Very Basic Speech
Resident Evil
- Released
- April 30, 2002
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Lisa Trevor is arguably the most tragic character in the series, being someone who was separated from her family at a young age and used as a kind of freak experiment by Wesker and the other scientists. As a result, her physical appearance has entirely changed by the time she appears in the first game, where she can be found mindlessly lurking around the underground area with her shackles scraping across the floor.
However, Lisa is still able to cry out for her mother, though it's clear she's struggling to even speak, considering how distorted her body has become due to all the mutations. It's heartbreaking to hear Lisa scream out for her family, and it ends up making her a very sympathetic enemy when taking her backstory into account.
5 Steve Burnside (Mutant)
Steve Manages To Warn Claire Before Trying To Kill Her
Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X
- Released
- March 21, 2001
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, Sega Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
For most of Code Veronica, Steve acts as a relatively normal, albeit slightly whiny, companion to Claire, who helps her out on quite a few occasions when the two find themselves stranded on Rockfort Island. After the duo find themselves crashing into an Antarctic Umbrella Facility, Steve goes missing, only to end up re-appearing as a mutant who immediately starts swinging for the fences after he spots Claire; seemingly unable to recognize the person he's just spent the last few hours traveling with.
Just as he traps Claire in a corner, Steve fights back against the mutation before he goes for the final blow. Most characters in the series will lose the ability to speak as soon as they mutate, so for Steve to push through and say even a single word, despite the dire circumstances, is impressive and shows just how much he truly cared for Claire Redfield.
4 Alcina Dimitrescu
Dimitrescu Gave Ethan A Rare Glimpse At Her Mutant Bat Form Before He Escaped Her Castle
Resident Evil Village
- Released
- May 7, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when Dimitrescu was actually a normal human being, but all of this changed once she met Mother Miranda. After becoming infected with the Cadou parasite, Dimitrescu would grow in size and gain a tremendous boost to her power, while still retaining most of her humanity, which is good considering how much she enjoys belittling anyone unfortunate enough to wander into her castle.
What's most impressive, though, is that Dimitrescu can still speak after mutating into her giant bat form, which she claims nobody outside of Miranda has seen before. It's an extremely unique transformation which Ethan is forced to take on with his limited weapons and resources, all while Dimitreescu hurls insults his way throughout the intense battle.
3 Osmund Saddler (Mutant)
Saddler Preaches His Ideology To Leon One Final Time Before He Bites The Dust
Resident Evil 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
WHERE TO PLAY
Survival is just the beginning.
Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City.
Agent Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been sent to rescue the president's kidnapped daughter. He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.
And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and grueling horror where life and death, terror and catharsis intersect.
Featuring modernized gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics, Resident Evil 4 marks the rebirth of an industry juggernaut.
Relive the nightmare that revolutionized survival horror.
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Saddler is already a creepy enough villain in his normal form, but he becomes pure nightmare fuel when transforming into the multi-limbed spider that faces Leon at the end of Resident Evil 4. In the remake of the classic game, Saddler decides to get preachy when he faces Leon for the final time, spouting out his belief in the "divine body" in an attempt to win Leon over before he's inevitably taken out.
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Remaining fully focused on this boss fight is hard when Saddler is constantly trying to throw Leon, and by extension, the player, off their game in the epic final battle of the game. The fact that Saddler can speak in this form also demonstrates his mastery of the dominant plaga, presenting him as a god-like villain who towers over anyone brave enough to face him.
2 Albert Wesker (Uroboros)
Wesker Can Badmouth Chris Even When He's Being Overtaken By Uroboros
Resident Evil 5
- Released
- March 5, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Chris and Sheva witness many people being absorbed by the deadly Uroboros throughout their journey in Kijuju, but all of them are unable to fight back against the tremendous influence of this unnerving virus before it eventually consumes them. Excella, for example, completely loses control of her body when she is taken over by Uroboros, but Wesker, with his superhuman abilities, is able to fight back against the virus when he fuses with it at the end of the game.
However, it's clear his mind is becoming even more warped than it was before due to the tremendous power surging through his veins, but despite that, he still finds a few opportunities to badmouth Chris and talk about his grand plan for the future of humanity every now and again. Wesker becomes a literal monster by the end of Resident Evil 5, but Capcom was smart enough to ensure he could still talk his talk, considering this is a huge part of his appeal.
1 Nemesis
With A Single Line, Nemesis Can Send A Chill Down Anyone's Spine
Resident Evil 3
- Released
- April 3, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Horror
Admittedly, the behemoth known as Nemesis, who stalked the Raccoon City streets during the zombie outbreak, is only capable of saying one word, but it's one that's guaranteed to give the player the chills any time he says it. "STARS" is the name of the rescue service Jill is a part of, and also the only word Nemesis will say throughout Resident Evil 3, since the monster himself was designed solely for the purpose of sniffing out anyone who is affiliated with the group to ensure nobody can spill the beans on Umbrella.
The deep and gravely voice of the Nemesis, paired with his elephant stomps, makes him one of the most intimidating enemies in the entire series. This has become one of the most iconic quotes in all of Resident Evil, and in the remake of the third game, Jill would even use it as a way to mock the ferocious beast when she eventually got the upper hand, which certainly wasn't easy.
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