History NightmareFuel / ResidentEvil4

* Saddler's plan, while not as devastating as Wesker's would have been, still would have caused hell on Earth if it had actually succeeded. Through Ashley the President and his executive cabinet would have been infected, and through them thousands of federal agents would be infected. This is to say nothing of the opportunity for it to spread to foreign leaders, who the President shakes hands with on a regular basis. Even if the Federal government became aware of the Las Plagas infestation in their system, by then it would already be too late. The amount of investigation, not to mention the heavy duty violence, that it would require to root out the corruption inside the US federal government would be so damaging so as to tear down the American system entirely. A civil war would be a very real possibility, due to the fact that the US public would lose faith in their ability to trust any politician or federal agent, because they might be infected too. Saddler would effectively have the US government by the balls, where he would be in a very strong position to make demands to lend him executive power over the financial systems and he gets to enjoy a luxurious new career as a shadow dictator so that the Las Plagas crisis will finally end. If the US government resisted Saddler's terms at that point, it would mean the end of the US federal system anyway. Optimistically, even if Saddler was killed, there could be sleeper agent parasites that would linger in the US government system for decades to come. Leon may have called Saddler small time just to mock him, but if his plans had gone through the consequences would be anything but small time.

''Resident Evil 4'' may be the start of the series [[GenreShift shift to action]], but don't be fooled: '''''this is still a horror game, through and through.'''''

** The worst part is after you get past the Zealots. You descend into a dark room, a [[DroneofDread creepy drone]] constantly playing in the background, the only source of light coming from Ashley's flashlight, and in there, you see various armor statues scattered around the place. Eventually, after solving a relatively easy puzzle, you enter a room where you obtain the serpent ornament. And then, after hearing some mechanical noises, all you hear is the noisy clanging of the now conscious Plaga-infested armor statues, coming to get you.

* The Boss fight encounter with one of the two Verdugos (the two hooded B.O.W's that act as bodyguards for Salazar) in the castle's sewers. Everything about it is nerve-wrackingly intense considering the circumstances. 1: You're in an enclosed space so avoiding it is almost impossible. 2: You have to wait for the elevator to come down, which feels almost like an eternity since you're having to dodge and flee this [[SuperPersistentPredator persistent]] [[TheDeterminator abomination]] at every given turn. Finally, 3: Using whatever firepower you have against it... Which doesn't do any good except [[NoSell piss it off even more]]. And God help you if you use up the few scattered nitrogen canisters or even miss that one single shot [[HopeSpot with your Rocket Launcher]].

'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

[[caption-width-right:350: Try shooting off its legs. See what happens.]]

* The Regenerators. Seeing one lurch into view and stagger towards you, [[HellIsThatNoise with an unholy, guttural sound]] like someone with razors stuck in their throat burbling from their maw...

** Iron Maidens, as seen in the page image. They're Regenerators that can ''stretch their arms and grab Leon, impaling him with their spikes.'' Hence the name.

[[caption-width-right:350: Heavy breathing noises]]

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/re4s2_regenerator.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:"Does somebody [[HumanPincushion need a hug?"]]]]

* Toward the end of the game, a filthy red dumpster can be seen near some jail cells. When opened, it contains a dirty, blood-stained [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdYuh3RpSd8 bodybag]], [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere which suddenly begins writhing about violently.]] Taken UpToEleven in the bonus game Separate Ways in post-[=GameCube=] versions, where the dumpster is already opened and the bodybag is thrashing about with significantly more vigor even before the camera pans down to the bottom. Ada simply looks disgusted and shuts the lid.

* There's a room in Salazar's castle where you have to sort paintings. The paintings are grisly portrayals of hangings and lynchings, someone getting guillotined, and a rather horrible depiction of the crucifixion of Christ. Showing all too well how ''sick'' that midget is (probably more so than other ''Resident Evil'' bad guys).

** Speaking of Del Lago, getting knocked off the boat and swimming to safety as the creature encroaches from behind is always terrifying. The further away from the boat you are, the scarier it is. And even after defeating the thing, you're still not in the clear. Your foot gets caught in a rope that is attached to Del Lago's sinking carcass - and unless you cut it quickly, it'll drag you down with it.

* There's a room in Salazar's castle where you have to sort paintings. The paintings are grisly portrayals of hangings and lynchings, showing that he is ''sick'' (probably more so than other ''Resident Evil'' bad guys).

''Resident Evil 4'' may be the start of the series [[GenreShift shift to action]], but don't fooled: '''''this is still a horror game, through and through.'''''