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Illustration of Crimson Head
Original AI-made illustration based on the descriptions in the sources. Not an official design.
File No. 163 of 446

Crimson Head

Also called: V-ACT zombie
GamesUndeadRunsA virus2000 to 2009

A zombie that has died once and come back faster, stronger and red-skinned. The 2002 remake of Resident Evil added it to punish players who left intact corpses lying in the mansion's corridors. It turned corpse disposal into a resource problem and is one of the best-remembered additions to the remake.1234

Battle it
First appeared
2002
Resident Evil (remake) (2002)
Source work
Resident Evil (remake) (2002)
Capcom Production Studio 4
Age rating
ESRB M
Made in
Japan
What causes it
A virus
A t-Virus strain (the epsilon strain, per the wiki) triggers a second mutation, called V-ACT, in a zombie that has been put down but not destroyed.
How you become one
A downed zombie whose head is intact and whose body is not burned revives after a delay as a Crimson Head.
How it moves
Runs
Chases the player from across the room as soon as they enter, where ordinary zombies wait until approached.
Intelligence
Mindless
Weak spots
  • burning the downed zombie with kerosene
  • decapitation before it turns
  • incendiary grenade rounds

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today2002

Resident Evil (remake) (2002)

field notes

What the sources say

1

Named for the red skin the V-ACT process produces1234

2

Introduced in the 2002 GameCube remake; returns in The Umbrella Chronicles1234

3

How fast a corpse turns depends on the difficulty level1234

4

The designers first planned invisible enemies, then settled on zombies that come back worse1234

5

Forces the player to choose which corpses are worth the limited fuel1234

Could you outrun it?

Speed class from how the sources describe it (runs), not a measurement.

You, walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
You, jogging about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A fit adult sprinting about 24 km/h (15 mph)
Crimson Head about 24 km/h (15 mph)
A fast cyclist about 37 km/h (23 mph)

Sources

  1. Crimson Head - Resident Evil Wiki (Fandom)
  2. Crimson Head/gameplay - Resident Evil Wiki (Fandom)
  3. Resident Evil (2002 video game) - Wikipedia
  4. Resident Evil HD Remaster - RAWG

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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