It’s safe to say the physicality of movie monsters has significantly upgraded from the shark in Jaws to Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Just compare Scar from the 1994 and 2019 versions of The Lion King and it’s clear how far technology has come.
In this era of insane post production, in which the capabilities of special effects and CGI are top notch, it’s both surprising and impressive that all the creatures in the ‘Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark’ film were played by real actors in formidable prosthetics.
The Spectral Motion practical effects company, known for their work on X-Men, Fantastic Four and season one of Stranger Things, have shared a behind the scenes look into their intricate creations for the upcoming film.
To ensure the costumes closely mirrored Stephen Gammell’s beloved illustrations from the novel, Spectral Motion used Photoshop and Brush software to create 3D digital designs from the original images. These were then translated into physical moulds made from foam latex, which were secured to the body with acrylic paints.
The production team specifically chose Troy James to play the iconic jangly man after seeing his crazy contortionist skills on America’s Got Talent. From this they used the measurements and characteristics of his body to inform the costume design.
The pale ladies’ wig took Lynne Watson, who has previously worked on Planet of the Apes and The Lone Ranger films, three weeks to sew from real human hair.
To give the toe-less corpse character a skeletal look, they attached a set of pronounced teeth outside the actors mouth, which is a technique used for zombies on The Walking Dead.
The film is set to be released on September 26, 2019.
Let us know if you’re as excited as we are to see the film in the comments down below!