Monster Gallery: Independence Day (1996)
Main Article: Invaders on the Fourth of July
Main Article: Invaders on the Fourth of July
The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe has been answered. The Alien invaders of Independence Day are not seen up close in the film until Hiller knocks one down after its craft crashed. The creature is subsequently seen within a laboratory where the film recreates a key sequence concept common… Read More Invaders on the Fourth of July
Whilst Alien Vs. Predator marked the first film appearance of an Alien birthed from a Predator host — abbreviated in ‘Predalien’ — the concept had already been explored in the eponymous comics and video games, starting from the 1995 run Aliens Vs. Predator: Duel. Shortly after the publication of that series, freelance concept artist and… Read More StarBeast — Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem, the Predalien
Amalgamated Dynamics returned bring the creatures of Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem to life. Accompanying them in the task was Hydraulx — directors Greg and Colin Strause’s own visual effects company, which provided digital counterparts for all the Alien creatures. Requiem would introduce the so-called ‘Predalien’, an Alien born from a Predator host, which only had… Read More StarBeast — Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem
Alien Vs. Predator was born as a successful comic book series by Dark Horse, which pitted the two iconic film Monsters against each other within an organic backstory. When the film version was being written, Dan O’Bannon, the original writer of Alien, suggested to the filmmakers a new twist on the relationship between the two titular creatures. The… Read More StarBeast — Alien Vs. Predator
When Alien: Resurrection was theatrically released, there was no actual credit given to H.R. Giger — neither in the opening credits nor in the end credits. The omission, allegedly “a genuine oversight,” was corrected in home video releases — especially after the following letters, sent by Giger to Twentieth Century Fox.
Main Articles: StarBeast — Alien: Resurrection StarBeast — Alien: Resurrection, the Newborn
Amalgamated Dynamics returned to provide the creature effects for the fourth chapter in the Alien series, complete with the usual tight production schedule. Tom Woodruff Jr. explained to Cinefex: “production told us that, due to Sigourney’s schedule, we would have to be ready to start shooting with a very short prep. We did a breakdown… Read More StarBeast — Alien: Resurrection
Main articles: StarBeast — Alien³, the Beginning StarBeast — Alien³, the Dragon
Alien³ was a troubled production from beginning to end, and the creature effects department was no exception: the artists were plagued by constant changes in direction and contradicting studio decisions. Gillis recalled in an interview with Fangoria: “Fox never had a problem with coming back and saying ‘sorry guys. We know you built these things, but there’s… Read More StarBeast — Alien³, the Dragon