The Monstrous Hundred continues with the 90s, a turning point in effects-making with the advent of CGI. Tremors (1990) Kicking off the 90s roster of creature features on a fabulous note, Tremors is one of the most brilliant, all-around engaging monster movies of all time. From the witty dialogue penned by S.S. Wilson and Brent… Read More Special: Monster Legacy’s Monstrous Hundred – Part 3
We continue with the second part of the Monstrous Hundred. Now we dive in he 70s and the glorious 80s, which saw a renaissance of practical effects. King Kong (1976) Probably the weakest of all Kong films (not including the abhorrent Skull Island), and one with a remarkably extended and multi-limbed controversy behind it. Regardless,… Read More Special: Monster Legacy’s Monstrous Hundred – Part 2
Back in 2002, I was a small kid watching Free Willie on a local channel. During an ad intermission, a trailer was broadcast for what was coming afterwards. It didn’t have a hard time selling it to my young eyes — “monsters from beneath the Earth! Now they’re back, badder and hungrier!” were all the… Read More Special: Monster Legacy’s Monstrous Hundred — Part 1
“Three years ago, when I was here for King Kong,” humbly said Carlo Rambaldi at the 1980 Academy Awards, “I don’t know English, and I said ‘Thank you’. Now I learn very well English, and I say, ‘Thank you very much!’”. Carlo Rambaldi (September 15, 1925 – August 10, 2012) was an Italian special effects… Read More Exclusive: “The Mechanics of Monsters: From Carlo Rambaldi to Makinarium”
Main articles: Abe Sapien returns Mister Wink Wonders of the Troll Market and Beyond: Part 1 | Part 2 The Last Elemental The Angel of Death
It is all the same to me, my heart is filled with dust and sand. As with many other key characters of Hellboy II, the Angel of Death was first envisioned by Guillermo Del Toro as a notebook sketch. From there, the character went through different iterations at the hands of concept artists like Wayne… Read More The Angel of Death
It is an elemental. A giver of life and a destroyer. A forest god. Mister Wink’s demise enrages Prince Nuada, to the point where the elf royalty, in retaliation, unleashes a Forest Elemental to kill Hellboy. The creature first appears in a small, bean-like shape; upon contact with water, it grows into an immense, 100-foot… Read More The Last Elemental
A Hungarian mine cave housed the gigantic Troll Market set, one of the biggest built for Hellboy II — a vibrant, busy environment filled with practical and digital creatures — which Del Toro wanted to deviate from usual design standards. “Each artist was free to bring forth as many sketches of creatures as they wanted,”… Read More Wonders of the Troll Market and Beyond – Part 2
Mister Wink — Prince Nuada’s musclebound henchman troll — was born as a drawing in one of director Guillermo Del Toro’s notebooks: an ape-like humanoid with a large prosthetic mechanical hand that could be deployed from the arm through a chain and then retracted. As defined by concept artist Wayne Barlowe, “his huge artificial arm… Read More Mister Wink
Although the first Hellboy film was rich in creature effects — both practical and digital — its sequel increased the workload with an ambitious roster of monstrous characters. To design the creatures and bring them to the screen, work was split between Spectral Motion, Solution Studios, Creature FX and DDT Efectos Speciales. Creature designs… Read More Wonders of the Troll Market and Beyond – Part 1
Monster Legacy 