What is Resident Evil?

Resident Evil, called Biohazard in Japan, is Capcom's survival horror video game series created by Shinji Mikami, and the fan community around it that produces fan art, edits, and character memes.

Where did Resident Evil come from?

The first game grew out of a Capcom project to 3D-remake the 1989 Famicom horror title Sweet Home, and shipped for the PlayStation in 1996.

What does Resident Evil mean?

Resident Evil is the Western title Capcom used for its Biohazard series, and among fans it also refers to the broader online fandom that memes characters like Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village.

How do you use Resident Evil?

Fans typically use it as shorthand for the games and their characters, and build memes around specific figures like Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, or the "Tall Vampire Lady" Lady Dimitrescu from Village.

Is Resident Evil still popular?

Yes, the series stayed a top Capcom franchise through the 2021 release of Resident Evil Village, which shipped to positive reviews and reignited fan art activity around Lady Dimitrescu.

Resident Evil

1996video game franchiseclassic

Published September 24, 2026

Resident Evil, known in Japan as Biohazard, is Capcom's survival horror franchise that debuted on the PlayStation in 1996 and coined the term "survival horror." Beyond the games themselves, the series has fed a huge fan art and meme community across DeviantArt, Reddit, and Twitter, most recently exploding around Lady Dimitrescu of Resident Evil Village in 2021.

resident evil memes gaming horror memes fan art memes thirst memes

Overview

Resident Evil / Biohazard is Capcom's long-running survival horror series, credited with coining the "survival horror" label and inspiring games like Silent Hill3. The franchise sold 50 million units by 2012 and pulled in a fandom big enough to support over 180,000 DeviantArt results, more than 16,000 Reddit threads, and over a million YouTube hits for the search term alone3.

The meme side of Resident Evil / Biohazard mostly lives in fan art, character edits, and character crushes rather than a single image macro. Recurring targets include Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield's absurd boulder punch from RE5, and the game's signature door-loading screens. The most recent burst hit in early 2021 when Resident Evil Village revealed its towering castle villain, whom fans nicknamed "Tall Vampire Lady" before Capcom confirmed her name as Lady Dimitrescu2.

Her nine-foot silhouette, wide-brimmed hat, and predatory demeanor drove waves of thirst posts, fan art, and short edits across Twitter and Reddit within days of the teaser dropping2. The pattern is familiar to the franchise: a new character or set piece drops, and the fandom does the rest.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

PlayStation (game) / DeviantArt, Reddit, Twitter (fandom spread)

Date

1996

Resident Evil began as a Capcom project led by producer Tokuro Fujiwara and director Shinji Mikami, originally conceived as a 3D remake of the 1989 Famicom horror game Sweet Home before it grew into its own thing, borrowing Sweet Home's mansion setting and limited inventory3. The first Resident Evil shipped for the PlayStation in 1996 and was later ported to the Sega Saturn, becoming a critical and commercial hit3.

As a meme subject rather than a single format, the fandom's biggest recent catalyst was Capcom's January 21, 2021 announcement of Resident Evil Village, which included a story trailer and the Maiden demo3. Lady Dimitrescu's brief teaser appearance kicked off the "Tall Vampire Lady" fan wave the same week, with fan art hitting Twitter almost immediately2. Village itself released on May 7, 2021 as a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7 Biohazard1.

How It Spread

The series' online footprint built up steadily from the PlayStation era onward. Resident Evil 2's 1998 launch weekend outsold every Hollywood movie except Titanic, moving 380,000 copies for $19 million in North America and setting a new fastest-selling record3. Resident Evil 4, announced in December 1999, went through four scrapped versions before shipping and is still cited as a landmark for the third-person shooter genre3.

By the 2020s the fandom lived across DeviantArt (180,000+ results), Reddit (16,000+ threads), Fanfiction.net (10,000+ fics), and YouTube (over a million video results)3. The Lady Dimitrescu wave in January 2021 pushed the character into mainstream games coverage within days, with Den of Geek writing up the "Tall Lady" fan art surge before Village even had a release date locked in for most markets2.

Village's May 7, 2021 launch and its follow-up marketing kept the character front and center, with Capcom's own site playing up her castle, her daughters, and the four lords serving Mother Miranda1. Fan edits and cosplay of Dimitrescu kept trending through the summer of 2021.

Timeline

1996

The original Resident Evil released for the PlayStation, directed by Shinji Mikami at Capcom.

1998

Resident Evil 2 launched and became the fastest-selling video game in North America at the time, grossing $19 million on debut weekend.

1999-12

Resident Evil 4 announced for the PlayStation 2, beginning a long development that saw four proposed versions scrapped.

2005

Resident Evil 4 released on GameCube and became a top Game of the Year contender.

2021-01-21

Capcom announced Resident Evil Village with a story trailer and the Maiden demo, introducing Lady Dimitrescu.

2021-05-07

Resident Evil Village released to positive reviews, cementing Lady Dimitrescu as a fan favorite.

How to Use This Meme

There is no single Resident Evil / Biohazard meme template. Fans typically pick a character (Leon, Chris, Ada, Lady Dimitrescu, Mr. X) and run them through fan art, thirst edits, height-comparison jokes, or short gameplay clips. Village-era jokes often lean on Lady Dimitrescu's height, her daughters, or Ethan Winters losing body parts.