In the era of digital effects, the bulk of the work on movies usually happens long after
the live-action portions of a movie have already been shot.
So you might be surprised to find out just how different your favorite movie monsters
looked during filming.
Here's what some of the best Netflix monsters looked like before all of those stunning visual
effects came into play.
Zack Snyder's "Army of the Dead" is full of scary shamblers and terrifying alpha zombies,
but as intimidating as zombie king Zeus and his army of walkers are, the most heart-stopping
character in the movie has to be Valentine, the zombie tiger.
Of course, bringing Valentine to life on screen was no easy feat for the "Army of the Dead"
crew.
First, Snyder and his team had to do quite a bit of heavy lifting on the production side.
With the help of some wire work, a stunt actor in a green suit, and a green prop head that
was terrifying in its own right, the director placed the creature in the live-action shots
so that the special effects team knew where the creature should be.
Actor Garret Dillahunt also deserves some praise: He had to pull off an epic fight with
a scene partner who was far less menacing in real life.
From there, visual effects supervisor Marcus Taormina used Snyder's concept art and a real-life
tiger to determine Valentine's size and overall look.
Next, the VFX team meticulously crafted Valentine's zombified features.
From the cat's mangy, blood-soaked fur to its desiccated sides, each and every inch
of the tiger's body is reflective of its gory history.
It was hard work, but it ultimately paid off, bringing a memorable movie monster to life.
The sci-fi adventure film "Love and Monsters" is full of memorable critters.
The movie takes audiences into a future in which all of the world's cold-blooded creatures
have become super-sized and super deadly, thanks to some radioactive fallout.
One of the most impressive beasts in "Love and Monsters" is the hell crab, which a group
of pirates have shocked into submission in order to power their yacht.
Near the end of "Love and Monsters," the heroes have to confront this clawed creature on a
beach, and the fight is so stunning and realistic that it's hard to believe that there isn't
an actual mega crab skulking around the oceans.
In reality, however, the only crab that the actors had to work with was an oversized,
inflatable one.
Otherwise, lead actor Dylan O'Brien had to rely on his imagination, a series of practical
effects, daring cable stunts, a big blue crane claw, and some well-timed choreography to
pull off his amazing showdown with the oversized sea creature.
Once the physical shoot was complete, visual effects supervisor Matt Sloan brought his
vision for the killer crustacean to life, equipping the crab with tons of tiny, grimy
details and, of course, those tellingly tender eyes.
"You can always tell in the eyes."
Director Bong Joon Ho has been creating highly original films for years, and his 2017 action-adventure
film "Okja" is one of his best.
The film centers on a "super pig" who is best friends with a little farm girl, and their
bond ends up being the core of the film.
The actors had to dig deep to create an emotional connection with the creature, given that they
were actually working on set with a puppeteer equipped with large pieces of foam.
After the cast filmed all of their scenes with these oversized inanimate objects, it
was up to visual effects guru Erik-Jan de Boer and his team to give Okja its unique
visual characteristics, including its scaly grey skin and its signature floppy ears.
The result is an adorable movie monster with a heart that's even bigger than its body,
and which more than carries its half of this heartwarming little love story.
"Seeing her here today and studying her with my own eyes and hands, she amazes me even
more."
Following a group of friends' deadly and delirious trip to a remote forest, "The Ritual" is full
of striking visual moments that make it a truly memorable horror film.
After his friends are picked off by a mysterious creature, Rafe Spall's Luke discovers exactly
what he's up against: the fabled Jötunn, which offers villagers immortality in exchange
for human sacrifices.
Bringing this creature to the screen in "The Ritual" required serious imagination.
Director David Bruckner drew on Adam Nevill's novel, upon which the film is based.
He also considered hundreds of years worth of folk stories, and the work of concept artist
Keith Thompson to conceptualize the creature as a shape-shifter with human-like qualities,
including a pair of terrifying hands as tusks, and an elk-like body.
The result is one-of-a-kind and truly terrifying.
From start to finish, the visual effects in "Project Power" are nothing short of spectacular.
Since the story follows the investigation of a new pill that gives its users temporary
superpowers, the movie is full of jaw-dropping transformations, giving the visual effects
team a lot of room to run wild while crafting the film's characters.
But while many of the power pill users still resemble their normal selves when their powers
take effect, one character turns him into a full-on movie monster.
Colson Baker, aka Machine Gun Kelly, appears in "Project Power" as Newt, a dealer who has
a fiery reaction whenever he gains his powers.
To achieve this grisly effect, Baker was outfitted with special-effects makeup, while visual
effects supervisor Ivan Moran hid small panels of LED lights in Baker’s prosthetics to
help create the illusion of embers embedded in his skin.
Then, a few layers of computer-generated flames --and a few layers of real flames -- were
added to heat up Newt's scenes even more, creating a look that is truly smoldering.
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