Category: Special Effects & Props

The stuff that makes the claws, fur and fangs grow

First photo of the eponymous werewolf from “Big Bad”

1313FX’s Tom Devlin recently had a brief chat with Dread Central (you guys! always getting the exclusives!) about his creature work on the upcoming upcoming horror/dark comedy film “Big Bad”. There’s also a longer, rather interesting discussion with producer Rick Moore about the film’s story (three kids locked in an abandoned prison overnight are stalked by something sinister), its production ethos (Monster Squad, The Goonies and Gremlins are mentioned) and the production’s approach to the creature effects:

“You read a lot about some filmmakers who don’t like CGI and want to do everything old school and also those who swear by the freedom that computer-assisted effects give you. We are actually firmly in the middle. We knew from the beginning we wanted a detailed, scary monster on set – one that could emote and perform everything written in the script. 1313FX and Brad Bishop completely delivered on this front. For some more complex scenes we may duplicate parts of the monster or enhance a set in order to achieve a certain shot that would have been too difficult or expensive under our time and budget restraints.”

The Dread Central article is accompanied by a number of in-progress makeup photos and an image of the film’s poster, but the one photo I think you’ll be most interested in doesn’t seem to be there anymore, despite Horror-Movies.ca posting it and crediting Dread Central as the source. Weird. Anyway, the photo I’m referring to is of the werewolf creature effects. Check it out below.

I’m not going to lie to you, Marge. I like it. There are definitely some things I would do differently with the creature design (somebody get this werewolf some Dream Cream), but damn if he isn’t rather scary. And check those abs!

Read the Dread Central article or visit the official “Big Bad” Facebook page for more info.

Hat tip: ArcLight

Jan. 20th 2011

Lucía, Luis & The Wolf – Nightmarish stop-motion shorts from Chile’s Diluvio

Viergacht sent me links to these videos earlier in the month, and I only got around to watching them this morning. They’ve been with me all day. I can’t explain them, other than to say they freak out the part of my brain that makes it so I can’t play Silent Hill games.

Lucía (2007) by Cristóbal León, Joaquin Cociña, Niles Atallah
Lucía is the 1st short video of the series “Lucía, Luis y el lobo” (“Lucía, Luis and the Wolf”). The video was shot frame by frame with a digital photo camera. Materials: charcoal, dirt, flowers, found objects and cardboard.

Luis (2008) by Cristóbal León, Joaquin Cociña, Niles Atallah
Luis is the 2nd short video of the series “Lucía, Luis y el lobo” (”Lucía, Luis and the Wolf”), it is a follow-up to the short video Lucía. The video was shot frame by frame with a digital photo camera. Materials: charcoal, dirt, flowers, found objects and cardboard.

These are the work of Diluvio, a film production company in Santiago, Chile.

Nov. 18th 2010

The Most Bad-Ass Werewolf Suit of Halloween 2010

Christopher Reeves sent me this photo of the werewolf suit he put together for Halloween 2010. Let’s all just stare at it in silent jealousy for a moment, shall we?

My inspiration was “American Werewolf of London” meets “Underwold”. The head and legs were sculpted and cast in latex using a kit from Monster Makers. The stilts were based off of the Gryphern design and slightly modified. The teeth and gums were sculpted and cast using dental acrylic. The body is a spandex body suit that I sewed the muscles into and painted latex on top of it. The forearms and eyes are the only items I actually purchased. Then everything was airbrushed and fur was added. I also installed some led booklights from the dollar store behind the eyes to make them light up.

There’s nothing about this suit that I don’t love. The fur, the colouring, the face, the claws. Nice flippin’ work, Christopher. You set the bar pretty high for next year!

Nov. 15th 2010

Werewolf Costume Photo sets: Wolf Woman Macabri / Bailey and Paige as David Kessler & Jack Goodman

Readers sometimes share their makeup photos with me, and at this time of year the levels of effort and quality go through the roof. Here are two separate shoots that I really enjoyed.

Macabri – Wolf Man

You might recognize Macabri from a wolfed-out photo set back in July. In this more recent shoot she swaps the glam for the horror, and the results are fantastic.

Photographer: Rick Basaldua
MUA/Hair: Chrissy Lynn
Werewolf Face Piece: Michael Spatola
Editing: Macabri

Bailey & Paige as David & Jack

Bailey Quillin sent me this photo of she and her friend Paige. I’m going to let her describe what’s going on.

…my best friend Paige and I dressed as David Kessler and Jack Goodman from An American Werewolf in London to watch the annual Little Five Points Halloween Parade in Atlanta, Georgia. Our makeup was a strange mixture of gore and drag, since we are actually both girls with shoulder length hair. Our friends at the Junkman’s Daughter had a hard time recognizing us in costume. This was also my first attempt at FX makeup.

I declare these two the winners of the Werewolf News costume contest that I should have started a month ago but instead just made up right now. Flippin’ fantastic. To see more photos of this startlingly faithful makeup / costume situation, check this post on Bailey’s blog. There’s also a more recent post showing she and her boyfriend as a mid-transformation punk rock werewolf and Teen Wolf, respectively. Great work!

Oct. 31st 2010

Are you a werewolf? Let the Supernatural Registration Authority know

The government needs to know about you. Vampires and zombies, too.

In all seriousness, this is a side-project I’ve been working on for a while now, and it’s finally ready. You can register yourself as one of three supernatural creatures. You get a printable electronic registration certificate for free, or for $5 (including postage) you get the electronic certificate and a much nicer and more detailed print version in the mail. I’d be obliged if you’d check it out, and even if you don’t want the print version, take a second to register yourself as a monster. Thanks, and we now return you to a more consistent update schedule (it’s flippin’ Halloween!)

Oct. 20th 2010

Arrow In The Head gives us a first look at a “Howling Reborn” werewolf

Arrow In The Head is responsible for me fruitlessly using the “Sharpen” filter in Photoshop a whole lot this afternoon. They’ve got an exclusive first look at one of the werewolf designs being used in “The Howling Reborn” via a blurry photo from the set. I’m not sure who sent them the photo, but it came with this description:

The werewolf you see below is one of the henchmen werewolves. Flat snout. The head werewolves have the classic HOWLING sticking out snouts. I know you’re all better people for knowing this.

Conspicuously missing from that description is an explanation of the giant ears, the smaller-than-a-human’s nose and the Henry Rollins neck. Partial credit for originality and using practical effects instead of CG, but c’mon. Whoever approved the maquette for this design obviously look at it from the side.

Update: okay, it’s not as bad as that. I got carried away. There are definitely things I’d change about the design, but overall it’s pretty cool.

Hat-tip: @Karwood_Pub via @_Mjollnir_

Sep. 2nd 2010

Yes, there’s a werewolf in “13 Hrs”, and here it is!

Fresh from Shock Till You Drop, here’s a first look at the werewolf from the upcoming horror movie “13 Hrs”. Yikes!




There are two more, both showing some of the body, so go check them out if you’re curious.

13 Hrs premieres Saturday, August 28th at the London FrightFest in Leicester Square, London. I can’t go, being on a totally different continent, but if you’re lucky enough to see it… I hate you. Tell me what it was like.

Aug. 9th 2010

MTV’s “Teen Wolf” Will Have Three Types of Werewolves, May Not Be Terrible After All

Finally, someone at San Diego Comic-Con with an interest in horror has some info about MTV’s Teen Wolf show. Nomad at Dread Central got some interesting and somewhat encouraging news from producer Jeff Davis. Of particular interest are these two tidbits:

– KNB FX [sic] is handling the PRACTICAL effects!! The look of the werewolves (yes, I said “werewolves” plural) was very important so they brought in the best.

– There will be three types of werewolves in this show, all with a different look.

KNB EFX has got some pretty serious chops in the realm of practical effects, and they’ve done werewolves before too: for Wes Craven’s “Cursed” (pictured on the right) and “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”. I am now cautiously optimistic about this!

Jul. 24th 2010

Life-Sized “Werewolf of London” Mask (or Bust) by Steve Neill

You might not know who Steve Neill is. I didn’t when I first saw this link in my inbox, but after digging around on his site and looking him up on IMDB, I came to realize that I had seen his special effects work in some of my favourite 80’s movies. He sculpted (and performed one of) the monster arms that burst out of Dana Barrett’s chair in Ghostbusters, for pete’s sake!

Steve is still doing masks and props, and one of his latest creations is this mask of the Werewolf of London as played by Henry Hull. He details its creation on his blog, from the initial sculpture to the finished mask. Yes, “mask”. Despite the fact that the eyes are filled in the photos, Steve is selling mask versions for $225 US (scroll down). You can also get it foam-filled with glass eyes, which I suppose makes it a bust. This isn’t exactly the kind of werewolf I dig, but it’s a classic, well-crafted by a guy who’s been doing it longer than most of us have been alive. Love your work, Steve!

Jul. 22nd 2010

eBay auction for life-size werewolf bust. I dare you to outbid me.

Edit: bumping this up to the top because the auction ends in two hours. Current bid is $204.50 US. Want it? Get it!

Werewolf News reader Bill has notified me of an eBay auction he’s just started on a life-size werewolf bust. I really like the design– it’s evocative of the “horror” style of werewolf I like, so I’m the high bidder as of 1:56PM Pacific today. I’m shooting myself in the foot by posting this, but I’m duty-bound, so here are the details!

Due to a need for cash, I am selling a very rare (possibly one of only two in existence) lifesize werewolf bust. It is cast in resin with foam backing and is unpainted. I purchased this from the UK about 6 years ago. It is an awesome piece! Approximate dimensions are; 19″ from nose to back of head, 20″ tall, and 19″ across the back. Obviously the sculptor was inspired by the American Werewolf in London movie bust because it is similar but not the same and personally I like this one better. I think it is a little meaner looking

There’s no reserve and the auction runs until July 21st, so if you want to help Bill out with some cash in exchange for a wicked-looking werewolf bust, get over there and bid!



Jul. 21st 2010