![]() ![]() In a movie filled with amazing special effects, it was Jeff Goldblum’s final transformation into the “Brundlefly” that stands as the most amazing (and sickest) effects sequence in the entire film. The Fly (1986): Brundle’s final transformation (“Brundlefly”) In a movie overloaded with ingenious special effects, this one is quite possibly the most memorable (followed closely by the scene where a man has his ribcage pulled from his chest as he watches). ![]() After culling through the gore sequences in the film once again, my vote goes to the shot where Rita (the chick with the groovy `50s-style glasses) has her face split in two by baby zombie Selwyn as he emerges from inside her head cavity. It’s tough to peg just a single gore effects shot in a film overloaded with them, but on the other hand it would be wrong not to include Peter Jackson’s “splatterstick” Braindead somewhere on this list. Nearly 30 years later, this remains the greatest werewolf transformation in cinema history. The stunningly realistic effects work – created through a combination of prosthetics and fake animatronic body parts – comes across so flawlessly on screen that watching it causes you to viscerally experience the character’s agony. Lest you underestimate the impact of Rick Baker’s work on An American Werewolf in London, the “Outstanding Achievement in Makeup” category at the Academy Awards was created specifically as a result of the amazing transformation sequence undergone by David Naughton’s character. The amount of blood, sweat and tears that went into her construction shows in every frame, and puts every modern CG monster to shame.Īn American Werewolf in London (1981): Werewolf Transformation Using a combination that included hydraulics, puppeteers, and control rods, the Queen was filmed completely in-camera, and it’s this tangible quality that makes her feel so terrifyingly realistic on screen. Winston won an Academy Award for his work on the film, for his life-size creation of the Alien Queen, standing at fourteen feet tall and requiring 14 to 16 simultaneous operators to bring it to life. The effect was so incredibly realistic that star Veronica Cartwright had a well-documented freakout/slip-and-fall when an unexpected amount of blood sprayed directly into her face during filming. Shot in one take using four cameras, the “chest-bursting” effect was created using an artificial torso filled with real cow’s blood and intestines, through which the alien puppet was shoved by a guy below the table (a total of three separate puppets were used in different portions of the scene). Winning the Oscar for Best Visual Effects that year, Alien‘s most memorable effects shot remains the justifiably famous “chestburster” scene, during with John Hurt’s character “gives birth” to a xenomorph through his chest cavity. ![]() Note: While each effect has only one or two key special effects artists listed, I am in no way denigrating the contributions of any others involved in their construction and/or implementation. Following are MY PICKS for the ten best (in alphabetical order by movie title). Nothing can ever replace the joy of watching a hand-made effect, lovingly created, projected on the movie screen in front of you. It is this sort of invention we are celebrating here – the practical effects work in horror films that wowed us without being enhanced through digital wizardry. Sadly, something is lost with these programmed creations there is a resourcefulness, an ingenuity involved in practical effects work that simply doesn’t translate to pounding keys in front of a computer. With the invention of CG and its quick takeover of most modern effects work, practical effects have become something of a forgotten art in 21st century cinema. It is this sort of practical effects work that has largely (and regrettably) been discarded in modern filmmaking, but any true horror fan knows there’s nothing more satisfying than some good, in-camera gruesomeness. Miller, who created the celebrated dream-stalker’s gruesome visage. Key to the film’s success was the special makeup effects work by David B. In 1984, a horror icon was born by the name of Freddy Krueger, in Wes Craven’s landmark horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. ![]()
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