This article examines the role of corruption, and its use as a rhetorical technique, within survival horror video games. As one of the founding examples of the survival horror genre, Resident Evil will be used as a case study example. Specifically, the game will be critically analyzed for its use of corruption in four forms: corruption of media, corruption of nature, corruption of architecture, and corruption of authority. These instances of corruption will be analyzed through two rhetorical theories, schema theory and expectation violations theory, in order to understand why Resident Evil’s design was so effective at evoking fear in the hearts of millions of gamers. The analysis is followed by a reflection on Resident Evil’s legacy and other future areas of research involving rhetoric and video games.