Resident Evil Village has garnered a lot of attention across the internet especially over the past year. Fans of the franchise are excited to have another new entry in the storied horror series alongside the slew of remakes of classic titles, but Capcom seems to be leaning into one of the more unconventional things that's drawn a lot of online attention to Resident Evil Village. Since she first appeared, tons of internet communities have been obsessed with one of the new villains, Lady Dimitrescu.

While still not much is known about the full plot of Resident Evil Village even after the recent showcase, it seems clear that Capcom is embracing the internet's obsession with Lady Dimitrescu. The trailer features a lot of new gameplay, environments, and story elements, but many viewers fixated on one moment in the trailer. Dimitrescu is seemingly drinking blood from protagonist Ethan Winters in a scene. Capcom clearly knew what it was doing, as it seems indicative of the suggestive nature of many classic vampire films like Interview With A Vampire. The latest trailer only reinvigorated a fixation on Lady Dimitrescu that had only barely cooled online.

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Indulging Fan Fantasies in Resident Evil Village

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When Lady Dimitrescu was first unveiled for Resident Evil Village, the internet exploded with posts about the mysterious giant vampire. Now confirmed to be over nine feet tall, online communities across the spectrum were flooded with memes and images of fantasies about the vampiric noblewoman. Her image inspired Dimitrescu cosplays and fan art and even mods to bring her into other games like Fallout 4. And it seems like Capcom's marketing division took note when crafting its newest showcase for Resident Evil Village.

While the blood-drinking scene was likely planned and animated long before the internet at large became obsessed with Lady Dimitrescu, the decision to so deliberately feature the scene in the newest trailer is unlikely to be a coincidence. While not revealing too much more information about who Dimitrescu is as a character, the trailer definitely takes pains to indulge many fans' fantasies about what the giant might be capable of doing. Again, this is a common trope of vampire fiction, especially the classic European tales like Dracula and steampunk-styled Van Helsing. The vampire myth is often completely saturated with sexual overtones, so it's not really surprising to see the same in a game that seems to be styling itself after those kinds of stories.

Capcom is clearly leaning into the fan obsession with giant RE Village popups featuring Dimitrescu appearing in some cities and so much marketing revolving around her in general. Capcom's indulgence of its fans will likely pay off, at least until the inevitable turn of every good Resident Evil villain where Lady Dimitrescu will likely transform into some grotesque, Cronenburg-style monster at some point.

Featuring Lady Dimitrescu so prominently in advertisements and marketing is likely a safe strategy. Longtime Resident Evil fans are tripping over threads dropped in the new trailer about Chris Redfield and his continuing involvement in the story, but Capcom is definitely indulging the fans both old and new that are apparently drooling over the enormous, enigmatic, and evidently enchanting Lady Dimitrescu.

Resident Evil Village will release on May 7, 2021 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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