Resident evil & the tragic story of lisa trevor

Resident Evil, both the original and the remake, is one of the most influential titles in the gaming industry—a franchise that has been going strong for almost 30 years now. That sort of longevity is uncommon in the industry, and even rarer for a franchise with roots so firmly planted in Survival Horror. There have been countless essays, videos, articles, and books about the impact the original title and its remake have had. Often, you will hear about the atmosphere, loneliness, and at times, the claustrophobic Spencer Mansion. In many ways, the Mansion on the outskirts of Raccoon City is a character unto itself. And within this mansion, we find the story of Lisa Trevor, who is arguably the most tragic figure in any Resident Evil game ever.

A successful "remake" of a title needs to embrace the original source material and expand on it where there are potential gaps. In 2002, Resident Evil (the remake) was released on Nintendo's GameCube. The original was released only six years prior, but the technological advancements in graphics gave the classic a second life. However, Shinji Mikami and his team did much more than just improve the visuals. The flow of the game received an overall overhaul for both Jill and Chris's campaigns. In some cases, additions were made, such as new areas, weapons, items, and even bosses. And that’s where Lisa Trevor enters the picture, a character that had no prior role in the original title.

Lisa Trevor is a surprise addition—one that comes out of nowhere. Shortly after gaining access to the courtyard area of the game, you will find a cabin of sorts, long abandoned. After exploring the perimeter and saving your game, Chris is struck on the head out of nowhere by an unknown entity. Soon, the game reveals a truly "pathetic" and disturbing-looking creature. "It" does not look drastically different from some of the other bio-organic weapons (BOWs) in the franchise. On the surface, we have a hideously disfigured monster, but on closer inspection, you see clothing and other elements that indicate this "thing" was once a person. And that person is, or was once, Lisa—a victim of the horrors within the Spencer Mansion.

Although hostile, Lisa cannot be killed by the player. You will encounter her roughly 3-4 times (when playing as Chris), and each time, you can at best disable her or avoid her altogether. She fills that "stalker" role that creatures like Nemesis fulfilled in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. But unlike the STARS hunter, Lisa is a much more pathetic creature. She can be deadly, but she feels more desperate, and maybe even scared. Her hands are bound together, and her ankles shackled by primitive devices that you could only imagine during the Spanish Inquisition. There is just something about Lisa that does not feel right.

The story of Lisa, like many other things in the game, is really only told through the documents and rooms the players discover during their journey. Lisa was once the daughter of the architect behind the Spencer Mansion, who was unaware of any alternative intentions from Umbrella's founder. Not long after the construction of the Mansion, Lisa and her parents were captured by the soon-to-be Umbrella Corporation for the purpose of experimentation. Their goal? The same as any other mad scientist's—to create the impossible through scientific achievement. And in the face of failure, to give birth to monsters and hide away their secrets. Lisa and her mother became the first candidates in this scientific pursuit, with the former showing positive enhancements from the initial experimentation. She was the first "superhuman" Umbrella ever created.

For years, the two women were experimented on and kept separated. Yet, Lisa's mother had been planning for some time to escape the grasp of Umbrella and save her daughter along with her. And Lisa, being just a child when this whole nightmare started, often longed to find her mother. As many know, a mother is a sacred figure to a child, especially one that is suffering. Lisa’s suffering resulted in her becoming a valuable specimen for the experiment. However, her mother was not so fortunate. The experiments were taking an adverse effect on her, and before she could find a way to escape with her daughter, she was executed by those who deemed her unviable. Soon after, Lisa Trevor would escape to the mountains near the Mansion...

The Spencer Mansion hides so much—both within its corridors and puzzling rooms. Beneath it, there’s a whole lab with unspeakable experiments. But surrounding it are all sorts of caverns and passages. It is in the latter where the player (after encountering Lisa the first time) begins to unravel her story. At one point, the player will enter what is presumably her room—a decrepit thing within a cavern where what remains of Lisa has attempted to create a "home" for herself. You will find walls with old and broken dolls, letters, and drawings of a girl trapped within the monstrous façade. A girl who still dreams of reuniting with the mother she lost so long ago.

The final "showdown" with Lisa occurs after the player unlocks a crypt under the mansion where the body of her mother is kept. Down there, you meet Albert Wesker (the real monster of this story), and together, you engage with a rabid Lisa Trevor. But the goal is not to kill her; I like to believe our main characters, at this point, have developed some sort of sympathy for the creature. Instead, you cleverly move around her mother’s tomb, pushing off the lock mechanisms that will open it. Once it's finally open, Lisa immediately runs up to it, pulls the skull of her mother from it, embraces it in her arms, and jumps down into the abyss of the caverns below.

Lisa Trevor unites with her mother, and together, they can now be free. A child whose family, innocence, and ability to be part of our world were taken from her. She would soon meet her end at the hands of Albert Wesker, who again, is the real monster of the story. Lisa would not be the last "failed experiment," but she is certainly the most tragic one. At least, every time I think of the Resident Evil remake, I quickly think of Lisa as well. She is arguably the most lasting element of what is already a deeply memorable experience.