Last month, Capcom unveiled Resident Evil Village’s massive vampire wife, Lady Dimitrescu. She is 9’6 ”tall (in a hat and heel) and has captured the imagination of many internet users – who usually ask her to step on it. But she’s not the first tall gothic hottie to steal people’s hearts. According to RE8’s art director Tomonori Takano, she was inspired in part by perhaps one of the most famous ominous ladies, Morticia Addams.
‘In the early stages of planning, we decided to go together [a] castle and vampire motifs, “Takano tells IGN. However, we did not want to be limited by how vampires are portrayed in different forms of popular entertainment. ”
He says they were inspired by the concept of an ‘enchanting vampire’ by Anjelica Huston’s Morticia Addams, 16th century serial killer Elizabeth Báthory and Japanese urban legend Hasshaku-sama.
It was an excellent reminder that I was very in arrears with Addams Family Values. Lady Dimitrescu is cool and all, but let’s remember who the real goddess is here.
As for the other inspirations of Dimitrescu, perhaps the most frightening of fate is Elizabeth Báthory. She was a Hungarian nobleman in the late 1500s who spent her time kidnapping and torturing peasant girls. Stories and speculations suggest that she was a bit vampire, presumably believing that bathing in human blood would keep her youthful. I will be honest, this one took away a bit of the glamor of Lady D for me.
Then there is Hasshaku-sama, an urban legend that originated from the depths of 2chan. She is allegedly a monster who stood about eight feet tall, wore a long white dress and a wide brimmed hat. It’s sure to be everyone’s new Resi villain. It is said that Hasshaku-sama also preys on young men, so just on Ethan.
‘I do not think anyone [on the team] could have predicted how wonderfully fans reacted to Lady Dimitrescu, “Takano adds. Personally, I was particularly struck by comments like, “I want to be chased by her.”
Unfortunately, IGN apparently did not ask if Takano was surprised by people comparing her height to that of an ostrich. Nate did exactly that in his definitive size chart for Lady Dimitrescu. Spoilage: emperor penguins are bigger than you would expect.