Creature Designers: the Frankenstein Complex

The artistry and craftsmanship of the wizards of creature special effects are given an adoring documentary tribute by French directors Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet (Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan). A pantheon of movie magicians, past greats and contemporary visionaries are hailed and interviewed, and provide a fabulous history and enthusiastic insight into the creation of the characters and monsters that bring sci-fi, fantasy and horror to convincingly vivid life. Creature feature fans will not be disappointed as pioneers like George Melies, Lon Chaney, Jack Pierce (the Karloff Frankenstein), Willis O'Brien (King Kong), stop-motion genius Ray Harryhausen (to whom the film is dedicated), Dick Smith (The Exorcist) Rick Baker, Rob Bottin (an enigma now lost to the industry) and many more are given their well-deserved due. Stop-motion, animatronics and make-up effects are all put in historical context, with the digital ascendancy of CGI and motion capture (following the impact of Terminator 2, Jurassic Park and Avatar) regarded as both a blessing and a curse by these modern Frankensteins. Packed with fascinating detail and anecdotes - Star Wars as the saviour of masks and puppetry in sci-fi; Rhesus monkeys were originally going to play the title terrors in Gremlins - it's an enthralling journey. Directors John Landis and Joe Dante are terrific value, too, as they reflect on their own 80s game-changers An American Werewolf in London (winner of the first best make-up Oscar) and The Howling, and both are in awe of Bottin's unforgettable work on John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing. All in all, the film is a wonderful box of delights... and monsters.