For whatever reason, people are particularly... let's call it "struck" by a main character in the upcoming Resident Evil Village's height, stature, and... let's call it "general vibe." Lady Dimitrescu, a main, vampiric antagonist of the latest installment in the long-running survival horror franchise, has captured pop culture's interest since first we caught glimpse of her. It prompted memes, questions, and one big, big, really big answer. The game's art director Tomonori Takano recently revealed Dimitrescu is 9'6" tall, which is... huge. Now, in an interview with IGN, Takano has revealed more about the design inspiration and goals in Lady Dimitrescu, everyone's favorite ginormous vampire den mother.
From the jump, Village was going to be different from every other Resident Evil game in its usage of vampires, werewolves, and medieval imagery, as opposed to the contemporarily-set zombies that occupied the previous games. As he explained, "We analyzed the characters and elements in the Resident Evil series so far to see if they were truly scary or if they had become so conventional that they lost their effectiveness in scaring players... I tried to forget the design logic of the past, and began to think about the best ways to create fear." But Takano wanted to make sure his team wasn't "constrained by how vampires have been portrayed in various forms of popular entertainment." Instead of traditional gothic imagery, he infused "elements of the Great Depression-era into the overall design." He also wanted to make Lady Dimitrescu and her vampire coven "bewitching," and drew from eclectic sources like blood-bathing serial killer Elizabeth Báthory, Japanese creepypasta ghost Hasshaku-sama, and of course, Angelica Houston in The Addams Family.
But also from the jump, Takano knew that his vampire lady was gonna be hella tall. "The very first piece of concept art I drew was the scene in the trailer where Lady Dimitrescu ducks down to walk through the doorway," he explained. "From that moment, I knew I had to do that scene." Takano is pleased that the fan response has been so vocal: "I don't think anyone [on the team] could have predicted how wonderfully fans have reacted to Lady Dimitrescu. Personally, I was particularly struck by comments like, 'I want to be chased by her." Hmm, yeah, Takano, unsure why anyone would say anything like that about her.
And if you are a fan of Lady Dimitrescu, and can't wait to see what else is going on the game, Takano has plenty of surprises for you: "What we’ve shown so far — Lady Dimitrescu, the village, and the castle — encompass just a section of Resident Evil Village. We have prepared many other elements that created a much bigger experience than Resident Evil 7 Biohazard."
Resident Evil Village comes to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC May 7, 2021.