Horror Fans- Some Assistance Please

Off Topic
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This weekend I’m acting in a short horror film where I play a creature that terrorizes someone who accidentally finds his way to my lair. The director told me he’d send youtube links for other horror films to show how he wants the creature to move, but he hasn’t come through. He did say to watch The Descent, and I plan to do this in the next day or two.

What I need is a list of horror movies you guys have seen where there was a human/human-like creature that was frightening in how they moved, or at least made you think WTF.

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Watch some old Friday the 13th flicks. Like IV, VI, VII. You never really see his face so its all in his body movements. The heavy rage filled breathing with the chest. You see that and your like… he’s pissed! The looks he gives. He wears a hockey mask so its all in the speed of the way he turns his neck, facial angles, head tilt etc.

It depends on what kind of creature it is. Zombie flicks could help if its that kind of thing etc.

There is a cool scary creature in the first Jeapers Creapers. The first Nightmare on Elm Street. Freddy was more mysterious in that one and there was a lot done with shadows etc. In the later movies, he was much less scary.

Not a bad idea to watch old Dracula movies, Frankenstein. They can all help give you ideas on body language.

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Pumpkin Head.

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[quote]DJS wrote:

Not a bad idea to watch old Dracula movies, Frankenstein. They can all help give you ideas on body language. [/quote]

X2 on that, especially Nosferatu.

Also there was some pretty creepy use of movement in the Silent Hill movie - most of the creatures were portrayed by trained dancers.

I’d also recommend watching the actor Doug Jones in any creature role he’s done (Pan’s Labrinth, etc.).

The guy is a master at conveying character through movement alone.

Do you know any mimes or dancers? They are usually hired when unnatural movement is required, so you might know one that can give you some pointers.

5

watch The Descent

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[quote]schultzie wrote:
watch The Descent[/quote]

^this.

7

[quote]TKDCadet04 wrote:
schultzie wrote:
watch The Descent

^this.[/quote]

^that.

The new breed of horror film creature is fast and reflexive. Compare that to old ones who are always slow and cumbersome.

Today you can look to everything from the creepy Asian girl crawling down the stairs (The Grudge), to the superhuman mutants in “I Am Legend”, to the elusive and speedy creep in “Boogeyman” (the 2005 version).

Personally, I think The Descent beats them all. It just gets under your skin in such a primal way, it’s hard to shake off after you watch it.

8

I agree with all of the above with one addendum; for creepy looking movement, you can’t beat the Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth. Aside from that-

*Emily Rose from “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”
*The Tall Man from “Phantasm” (not that he moves around a lot)
*Lon Chaney because he’s Lon Fucking Chaney
*the “Come to Daddy” video by Aphex Twin
*the infamous “Goddess Bunny” video
*Willem Dafoe in “Shadow of the Vampire”

Basically, move wrong. Shamble, lurch, creep, crawl. Move in a way that stutters slightly counter to the normal rhythm of life. Few things are more unsettling than what should not be in the midst of what is normal.

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[quote]LUEshi wrote:
I agree with all of the above with one addendum; for creepy looking movement, you can’t beat the Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth.[/quote]

Ahem [quote] roybot wrote: I’d also recommend watching the actor Doug Jones in any creature role he’s done (Pan’s Labyrinth, etc.)[/quote] :wink:

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Whoops. Oh well.

Oh, and Sid Haigue or however the hell you spell his name from “Spider Baby” and “The Devil’s Rejects”.

“Don’t Go Into the Basement”
“The People Under the Stairs”
The Gimp from “Pulp Fiction”

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[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
TKDCadet04 wrote:
schultzie wrote:
watch The Descent

^this.

^that.

The new breed of horror film creature is fast and reflexive. Compare that to old ones who are always slow and cumbersome.

Today you can look to everything from the creepy Asian girl crawling down the stairs (The Grudge), to the superhuman mutants in “I Am Legend”, to the elusive and speedy creep in “Boogeyman” (the 2005 version).

Personally, I think The Descent beats them all. It just gets under your skin in such a primal way, it’s hard to shake off after you watch it.

[/quote]

Good post. Also, the actor who played Jason originally had the moves down to an art to the point that he even noted how his head would move first in whatever direction he planned to go before his body turned. If you look at the older movies, this does work.

However, like ID wrote, newer monsters move faster. The Jason remake showed this in great detail in that he now moves so fast and so hard that his speed is also frightening. No more sudden appearance after walking like a snail.

12

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
TKDCadet04 wrote:
schultzie wrote:
watch The Descent

^this.

^that.

The new breed of horror film creature is fast and reflexive. Compare that to old ones who are always slow and cumbersome.

Today you can look to everything from the creepy Asian girl crawling down the stairs (The Grudge), to the superhuman mutants in “I Am Legend”, to the elusive and speedy creep in “Boogeyman” (the 2005 version).

Personally, I think The Descent beats them all. It just gets under your skin in such a primal way, it’s hard to shake off after you watch it.

Good post. Also, the actor who played Jason originally had the moves down to an art to the point that he even noted how his head would move first in whatever direction he planned to go before his body turned. If you look at the older movies, this does work.

However, like ID wrote, newer monsters move faster. The Jason remake showed this in great detail in that he now moves so fast and so hard that his speed is also frightening. No more sudden appearance after walking like a snail.[/quote]

As I was looking at a clip of Pumpkinhead earlier I noticed this trend of higher speed monsters in today’s movies. One idea I had was to do similiar motions as the 80’s creatures, but just speed it up.

Of course, the makeup artist told me I may be blind with the mask on, so that’ll definitely up the degree of difficulty. I just hope I don’t end up being an “Epic Fail” on Attack of the Show.

13

[quote]Doug Adams wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
TKDCadet04 wrote:
schultzie wrote:
watch The Descent

^this.

^that.

The new breed of horror film creature is fast and reflexive. Compare that to old ones who are always slow and cumbersome.

Today you can look to everything from the creepy Asian girl crawling down the stairs (The Grudge), to the superhuman mutants in “I Am Legend”, to the elusive and speedy creep in “Boogeyman” (the 2005 version).

Personally, I think The Descent beats them all. It just gets under your skin in such a primal way, it’s hard to shake off after you watch it.

Good post. Also, the actor who played Jason originally had the moves down to an art to the point that he even noted how his head would move first in whatever direction he planned to go before his body turned. If you look at the older movies, this does work.

However, like ID wrote, newer monsters move faster. The Jason remake showed this in great detail in that he now moves so fast and so hard that his speed is also frightening. No more sudden appearance after walking like a snail.

As I was looking at a clip of Pumpkinhead earlier I noticed this trend of higher speed monsters in today’s movies. One idea I had was to do similiar motions as the 80’s creatures, but just speed it up.

Of course, the makeup artist told me I may be blind with the mask on, so that’ll definitely up the degree of difficulty. I just hope I don’t end up being an “Epic Fail” on Attack of the Show. [/quote]

Well, a lot of it has to do with how big you are being portrayed as. The Grudge movements worked because these were little people. The quirkier they move, the creepier it is. Bigger monsters don’t really have to do as much but stand there to look frightening assuming the costume does its job. Micheal Meyers made millions by just standing there with a mask on.

Maybe a combination of quirky movements, standing still in the dark yet suddenly and unexpectedly moving quickly like an athlete would work.

Take the best from all. The shotgun approach does work sometimes.

14

[quote]LUEshi wrote:
Whoops. Oh well.

Oh, and Sid Haigue or however the hell you spell his name from “Spider Baby” and “The Devil’s Rejects”.

“Don’t Go Into the Basement”
“The People Under the Stairs”
The Gimp from “Pulp Fiction”[/quote]

Just kidding, just kidding…Good call on Lon Chaney. He is the man.

15

I want to help, but I can’t think of anything.

Whether your character is a normal human gone crazy or a mutated human/monster makes a difference in how you would move.

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There’s an acting technique which involves basing movements on real animals. I’m thinking you could watch footage of how predators stalk and take down their prey, and incorporate that somehow.

You have a large pool of choices to draw from, including the more conventional ones like lions, reptiles, spiders, etc.

But you also have the more obscure ones. Personally, any kind of parasite gives me the fucking creeps. Obviously, you can mix and match characteristics from different creatures.

I wasn’t going to mention this because you are shooting relatively soon, but I didn’t think there was much harm in throwing it out there for consideration…

17

^This. Anthony Hopkins studied the movements of birds and snakes before “Silence of the Lambs”, and the result was chilling.

18

Thanks again to everyone with their suggestions. I watched The Descent (hated it!), but it gave me a good idea about the kind of movement the director wanted. Funny thing is, if you take out the creatures’ screaming and biting, they move around a lot like Spiderman.

My movements in the movie consisted of crouching while making a creepy turn around a corner, grabbing the victim, then taking him down and mounting him. I was blind for all that stuff. Then they cut a slit in my little face plate so I could see while hopping off him, doing a 180 in midair, grabbing him by the shoulders, and dragging him off. The director said they didn’t plan having someone as big as me do this stuff, but I don’t know how they expected someone smaller to drag this guy off. It wouldn’t have worked at all.