Fun documentary about movie monsters and their makers.
This film was reviewed at Fantasia Fest and doesn't currently have a release date.
Monsters have always been with us. From ancient man drawing creatures on cave walls to storytellers sharing chilling accounts around camp-fires, monstrous tales have been passed down from generation to generation.
And in the last 100 years, creature features have been one of film’s most popular sub-genres, with Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Wolf-Man starring in some of cinema's earliest hits, Godzilla and King Kong having their tales told over-and-over again, and more recent efforts like Alien, The Thing, Gremlins, Hellboy and Cloverfield proving that monsters will always be making audiences scream.
A rough-looking Crite.
Creature Designers tells the story of the men who birthed these nightmares, allowing the likes of Guillermo del Toro, Rick Baker, Phil Tippett, John Landis and Joe Dante to recount the history of movie monsters and their own place in it.
The narrative unfurls in vaguely chronological order, with the modern masters kicking off by paying tribute to the movie greats in whose footsteps they followed. Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera is clearly a big influence on everyone involved, as is the make-up work of Jack Pierce on the likes of the Wolf-Man and Frankenstein’s monster – creatures that the interviewees agree inspire less an intellectual reaction and more an emotional one from audiences.
Ray Harryhausen is also a source of inspiration, with many of the artists interviewed entering the industry because of his stop-motion wonders in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans.
The subjects then tell their own stories, though the documentary is less concerned with how and why they entered the industry, and more focussed on the mechanics of actually making a monster.
And so the film hops from movie-to-movie; Landis and Dante discuss An American Werewolf in London and The Howling at length, both agreeing they showed too much of their respective werewolves, Steve Johnson recounts his hellish time on The Abyss, and Phil Tippett and Rick Baker wax lyrical about creating the aliens for Star Wars’ iconic Cantina scene.
Dante and Landis with a Gremlin.
It’s a celebration of the men and their monsters, but as the story progresses into the 1990s, the digital revolution throws a spanner in the works. It starts with the aforementioned Abyss, Johnson still smarting that the underwater creatures he crafted were overshadowed by one that was computer-generated. Terminator 2’s ‘liquid metal’ villain then took visual effects to the next level, though it’s amazing to see just how much of the T-1000 was done via practical effects.
But Jurassic Park was the game-changer, with dinosaurs that were initially supposed to be brought to life via stop-motion animation instead becoming fully CG, and blowing audience’s minds in the process.
The technology meant that movies like Toy Story and Avatar and performance-captured characters like Gollum and the Hulk suddenly became possible, but it also spelt the end for many creature and FX houses, with studios choosing the CG route because it was frequently cheaper and less time-consuming.
The move seems to split the talking heads, some arguing that crafting creatures in a computer means they lack spontaneity and that all-important human touch, and others embracing the change. Stan Winston – who is sadly no longer with us but whose son speaks eloquently for him – was initially wary of the change, but quickly realised it was the future and wisely invested in the technology.
And everyone seems to agree that as long as it’s used wisely and judiciously and remains in service to the story, CG is a force for good.
Jurassic Park in action.
There’s even a brief look to the future, where advanced robotics and facial recognition technology are providing the potential for even more amazing monsters. But as with many of the subjects tackled in Creature Designers, it’s only briefly touched upon.
And that’s the film’s biggest problem – in taking on a subject as big as movies monsters in just 107 minutes, directors Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet only have time to say so much, with many subjects introduced and then quickly cast aside. It would be great to know what makes these artists tick; what inspires them to strike fear in the hearts of others. But while the film gets under the skin of the monsters – some are literally crafted before our eyes – we never really get beneath the surface of those who make them. Many definitely have the ‘Frankenstein Complex’ of the title, but we get little insight into why.
A film like this is also limited by participants, with some big names missing, the likes of James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Tom Savini talked about when you really want to see them telling their own stories.
And in terms of footage, the legendary American Werewolf transformation is discussed but never shown, as are many other monstrous movie moments. That’s doubtless down to rights and budgetary reasons, but does mean that it feels like much is missing from the film.
That said, the documentary is still a delight, as it’s inspiring watching brilliant artists, sitting in their workshops, surrounded by their creations, talking passionately about what they love.
The Verdict
The anecdotes come thick and fast in this likeable documentary about the artists who craft nightmare fuel for a living. And while it’s far from the definitive story of monsters on film, it’s a hugely entertaining one.
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