In honor of Village coming out on the 7th of May, we wanted to make a list of the most disturbing Resident Evil BOWs that we encountered during this long-lived franchise.
While there’s a lot of competitors on the list, to make it fair we won’t be listing any boss fights. Otherwise, this list would just be filled with them with Nemesis sitting at the top. Instead, this list will be comprised of disturbing irregular fodder of BOWs encountered from several installments of Resident Evil. Since BOWs such as the Scagdead and Rasklapanje could be considered mini boss fights, they won’t be featured on this list as creepy and unnerving as they are.
While there are definitely a lot of contenders for this list, we’ve chosen, in particular, BOWs that chills us to the core. Whether it’s due to their disgusting appearance, difficulty in dispatching, or how they came to be, here’s our list of the 8 disturbing BOWs in Resident Evil you never want to encounter:
Revenant
Far into the field on uncanny, this abomination of man has more limbs than any undead should have. Whoever said two heads are better than one clearly has never encountered a Revenant.
Besides being two-faced and having an extra set of limbs, Revenants are twisted figures infamous for their unhealthy skincare, with torn flesh and its muscles impaled with various metal to keep its body together. They’re the result of the stitching of various body parts before being infected with the virus.
You could say that Revenants from Revelations 2 are Frankenstein’s monsters. The way they move as if they’re a puppet but without strings, wandering the forest and decrepit halls of Sejm Island for their next prey. What’s puzzling is how exactly they track prey, since their eyes, nose, and ears looked mutilated beyond functionality. This BOW has multiple variants which each have their own methods to take out anyone unlucky enough to get in their way.
Revenants take a lot of damage to kill and can only be put down for good by striking its core. Though it won’t make itself visible until it’s taken a significant amount of damage.
Brain Sucker/Drain Demos
The Brain Sucker is the answer to the question of what would happen to insects who suck the blood of an infected. This large creepy-crawly is not once human, but a flea who sucked the blood of a zombie. You’d never imagine something so damn small could grow a few heads taller than a human being.
Their primary method of hunting prey is by grabbing them with sheer strength to spit acid upon them. As per their name, they gain nourishment from feeding on the brain of their victims.
Its other variant, the Drain Demos, may be much smaller in size but its method of hunting prey is far more insidious. Unlike their big brothers, Drain Demos don’t rely on sheer strength. But sneak up on their prey using ambush tactics, before parasitic offspring on their victim’s throat that would eventually tear through the host’s abdomen. Unless you had the sense to consume green herbs, this is your fate.
The Drain Demons from the original Resident Evil 3 offer little comfort, as, unlike their Remake variant, they prefer to just hack their victims to pieces before feeding on their cerebral fluid. Which is far more merciful than having something pop out of your abdomen.
Chimera
What’s more disgusting than Umbrella putting together dead parts before making them the hostile undead? How’s about having that same undead be born from a mother’s womb?
The Chimera BOW is developed by inseminating fly DNA with inhuman woman’s ovaries before impregnating them with mutant embryos. It’s hard to imagine any who are willing to be test subjects. And they weren’t. All of the women Umbrella used were abducted and were mostly comprised of the homeless and vulnerable. The sick result was these women giving birth to an abomination with combined the features of many different animals into one disgusting creature.
Like the Drain Demos, the Chimera can use their limbs to crawl up walls and creep through air ducts. They prefer to use their hook-like claws to slice up prey. The wings on their thoraxes too small to allow them to fly. The underdeveloped nature of Umbrella’s experiments renders them weaker than intended to be. What’s disturbing about them is the sheer implication of how they were made and why there are so many of them. Thankfully, they’re only ever encountered in the first Resident Evil and its Remake.
Cerberus
Speaking as someone who has cynophobia, the Cerberus enemy types is particularly touchy for me. This undead dog is not man’s best friend. It is a fast hunter that prefers to hunt in packs and is difficult to put down due to its sheer speed.
First introduced in Resident Evil 1, it makes a hell of an impression as it devours members of the STARS unit alive. They’re so deadly that they’re the reason why the protagonists can’t go outside the mansion and just leave. If you forgot why Chris and Jill just couldn’t high-tail it through the woods, it’s because they’re afraid of encountering Cerberus.
They’re known to a particularly deadly enemy in the earlier installments of the Resident Evil franchise. They’re fast, difficult to hit and deal a lot of damage. This was especially notable when the game still had tank controls as a Cerberus enemy type would almost always bounce around where the camera couldn’t see.
Regenerators
Other than the already creepy design of these freaks of nature, Regenerators stand out in Resident Evil 4 for simply being out-of-place. As much as we loved the 4th installment, it was as far from survival horror as a survival horror could be. With the whole game feeling more akin to an action-shooter than a scary experience.
Regenerators are slow but more intimidating for it. That creepy twitching doesn’t help make them any easier on the eyes. Unless you have the proper equipment, they just aren’t going to stay down. Apt to their name, they’ll regenerate limbs and heal from any wounds inflicted through their increased metabolism. The first time we encountered this in the lab was enough to bring us out of our comfort zones.
That’s not even getting into its more dangerous variant, the Iron Maiden, which will pull you from across the room before impaling you with hundreds of spikes stemming from its body. These grey, hairless abominations can only be put down by hitting the parasites inside their body.
Rasklapanje
Serbian for “dismantle” the Rasklapanje certainly earns its moniker due to its capability of dividing itself into individual parts to attack its prey. Despite its appearance, the humanoid skin that it takes the form of isn’t actually its real body. It’s an exoskeleton designed to protect the slug-like creature underneath.
Introduced in Resident Evil 6, the Rasklapanje are even worse versions of the Regenerators as they cannot truly be killed through traditional means. It can survive from any wound and even regenerate lost limbs. Firearms only slow them down and your best hope is to get rid of its body through incineration.
The Rasklapanje are particularly disturbing BOWs as they seek to inject their prey with a parasite that grows almost instantaneously ripping its host apart in Resident Evil. This abomination’s virtually invulnerable nature makes it a nightmare for normal people to take on.
Crimson Heads
What’s dead should stay dead.
Crimson Heads should be the reason why this rule exists. Not only are regular zombies from Resident Evil 1 Remake already dead, but even after you already kill them they still come back as the undead. Tougher and faster than ever. If you aren’t aware of their existence, this can catch you off guard as the zombies you’ve already put down are now back up again.
They’re the tragic result of a mutation in the T-Virus which turns the zombie’s skin red. Hence, the name Crimson Heads.
The Crimson Heads are notable for changing the way one plays the game. It really makes an experienced player think twice about using up resources to put down a zombie. After all, they’ll be coming back soon so the temporary reprieve may not be worth it. It adds a layer of depth to resource management and decision-making as you have to burn already put down zombies to ensure they don’t come back as Crimson Heads.
It’s a bit of a shame that we never actually get to enemies of these types come back. They definitely would change the way we think about handling threats in the future.
Lickers
In relation to the above, Lickers are the result of an even more mutated Crimson Head. Thankfully, we never see this happen in-game since Crimson Heads are exclusive to the first game. It’s hard to imagine putting down a Crimson Head only to have them come back as the even deadlier Licker.
Named for their long sharp tongue, the Lickers are grotesque blind hunters that wander the hallways of the Raccoon City Police Station. Out of all the monsters in this list, the Lickers are the most visually horrifying, with their brains sticking out, sharp long claws, and skinless bodies. They look like some freak of a man turned inside out.
Lickers are introduced as the player enters a blood-soaked hallway in Resident Evil 2 which leaves one hell of an impression. Don’t even think about out-running them. Your best bet is to move slowly and generate as little noise as possible.
If you think are bad enough, wait till you encounter their enhanced variants. The Evolved Lickers with large tendons and scythe-like claws are more resistant to firearms. And the Licker β with hardened tissues but an exposed heart.
More BOWs Coming Up?
As you know, Resident Evil Village is coming up soon. With Village being the 8th numbered installment of the Resident Evil franchise, will it contain even more disturbing BOWs than its predecessors? The Lycans from the demo we took on were certainly formidable foes as they’re intelligent enough to hunt using tactics and ambushes by hiding in tall grass and can take a lot of damage before going down.
Perhaps there are BOWs that you feel should be on this list instead? Let us know in the comments below if there’s a particular enemy that you find disturbing.
