In the lead-up to Resident Evil Village's release, it seemed like the imposing figure of Lady Dimitrescu was all Capcom wanted to show players. While clearly a character who became popular on social media, in actuality Resident Evil Village's Tall Lady has a much shorter screen time than many players may have expected. This is ultimately a good thing, however, as it leaves the game's most interesting (and scariest) moments as a complete surprise.
[WARNING: Mild spoilers for Resident Evil Village below]
While definitely the star of the introductory hours of Resident Evil Village, Lady Dimitrescu is ultimately the first true boss players will defeat. Resident Evil Village's story moves along at a surprisingly fast pace, and the much-shown (in both preview footage and Resident Evil Village's demos) Castle Dimitrescu is soon abandoned for another, stranger location.
After defeating Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu and returning to the village proper, Ethan is then forced to head towards House Beneviento to collect the next flask containing part of his daughter Rose. It is in the basement of House Beneviento where Resident Evil Village's best horror-filled moments play out, and they work so much better because players weren't expecting them.
Capcom's RE Village Marketing Was Misleading But Genius
While no one knows exactly who or what will become popular on the internet, the dramatic reveal of Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu was a pretty safe bet for Capcom. While they likely didn't expect the online fervor surrounding the character to grow as big as it did so quickly, the company definitely leaned into it and used the publicity to its advantage, going as far as to reveal her height (in heels) online in order to please fans. This was a perfect strategy because not only did it build hype for Resident Evil Village's release, it also prepared fans to have the rug pulled out from under them.
Horror is a hard thing to pull off in any medium, and many video games tend to focus on things like jump scares or grotesque depictions in order to frighten players. Resident Evil Village has both of these elements, but it doesn't overuse them. The game's introduction of the titular village and subsequent Castle Dimitrescu level act as a perfect action title with some horror elements sprinkled in, but the focus is clearly on the former. Some areas - like the blood-filled dungeons below the castle - are slightly creepy, but it's nothing like what awaits players once they venture into the bowels of House Beneviento.
It isn't just what lurks in the doll-maker's basement that makes Resident Evil Village's Tall Lady feel like a distraction. The following two areas, Mordeau's Clinic and Heisenberg's Workshop, are also uniquely different from both each other and everything else in the game. This variety in level design, combined with both the fast pace of the story progression and the lack of detail about any other characters besides Mother Miranda and Lady Dimitrescu prior to launch, makes everything that happens after the Castle area in Resident Evil Village surprising, exciting, and far scarier than a game featuring a chainsaw tank has any right to be.