Movie monsters: Better before CGI?

A look through some iconic movie creature effects.

Less an investigation and more of a celebration as I explore how visual and practical effects artists have used lights, misdirection, make up, CGI and so much more to transform a human into Mr Hyde, a werewolf or a vampire. How they’ve used those same tricks to age and de-age characters and morph one performer into another. It was surprising for me to learn how the same artists would return to a transformation effect having perfected their techniques. Often decades later.

I also explain how the filmmakers achieved the effects famously seen in Sh! The Octopus (1937) and Ben-Hur (1925). And talk about the controversy over replacing Rick Baker’s work in the Wolfman (2010).

I’ve probably missed out dozens of other, better examples, please don’t get mad, but do let me know in the comments.

For a complete list of the films and TV shows featured, check out the list on my website.

All the animations were created using Adobe After Effects. And of course, I must give a shout out to ‪@RustyGellerSteadicam‬

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Bibliography

Turner, G.E. (2024) Two-faced treachery: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The American Society of Cinematographers. Available at: https://theasc.com/articles/two-faced… (Accessed: 14 October 2024)

Blood, sweat and latex: Howling American werewolves and a make up effects explosion (2020) Film School Rejects. Available at: https://filmschoolrejects.com/blood-s… (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Evangelista, C. (2022) What went wrong with the wolfman? how makeup VFX legend Rick Baker was pushed aside for CGI junk, SlashFilm. Available at: https://www.slashfilm.com/1050461/wha… (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Cronin, B. (2017) Did vampires not have fangs in movies until the 1950s?, HuffPost. Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/did-va… (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Kasden, L. Light & Magic (27th July 2022). Disney. Available at: https://www.disneyplus.com/home (Accessed: 06 January 2024).

Seastrom, L.O. (2024) Willow at 30 with visual effects wizards • lucasfilm, Lucasfilm. Available at: https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/willow… (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3 Feature ‘Special Effects’ (2003) YouTube. Available at:    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3 Fea…   (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Zicree, M.S. (2018) The Twilight Zone Companion. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. Hollywood make-up legends: Jack Pierce (2011) Cause and FX. Available at: https://causeandfx.wordpress.com/2011… (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Neibaur, James L., The Monster Movies of Universal Studios, Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, p. Fxguidetv #202: The art of lola vfx (2015) fxguide. Available at: https://www.fxguide.com/fxguidetv/fxg… (Accessed: 30 October 2024).

Failes, I. (2016a) An oral history of morphing in Michael Jackson’s ‘black or white’, Cartoon Brew. Available at: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/oral-… (Accessed: 27 October 2024).

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