STACK's Ultimate Monster Guide

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Classic Monsters

They’re Alive... Alive! STACK looks at eight famous fiends from the Universal vaults.

1931

1931

Director James Whale and star Boris Karloff give us one of the greatest movie monsters of all time, and a definitive treatment of Mary

Originally a vehicle for Lon Chaney (who up and died), Universal turned to the relatively unknown Bela Lugosi, who was very familiar

Shelley’s sympathetic tale. Whale’s film amplifies the torment of a man struggling with his feverish dreams of creating life and the agonising existence of his creation – a monster. Brought to life by the obsessed Henry Frankenstein, the gentle giant is tormented and

with the role following a two-year stint in the stage production. This opportunity for the Hungarian actor would not only change his life, but would forever associate Lugosi with Dracula (and later Ed Wood). Although nowhere near as chilling as 1921’s Nosferatu (an unparalleled masterpiece), the 1931 version introduced the voice and the look that has since become iconic. A frenzied Renfield (old sharp tooth’s slave) and some wonderful camerawork from Carl Freund also deserve kudos. Fangs for the memories.

ill treated, not only by the scientist’s offsider, Fritz, but by his all too immediate role in society. Portrayed as the villain, Karloff brings humanity and empathy to the monster. In one of the most controversial scenes, we see the giant play like a bewildered child, throwing flowers into a lake with a young girl, only to misunderstand and inevitably cause the child’s death. Misunderstood and all too often misjudged by the society that created him, he is hunted as the savage killer he has become.

1933

1932

It may not be as entertaining and as lavish as Stephen Sommers’ 1999 remake, but the 1932 effort with monster maestro Boris Karloff certainly deserves a place alongside Dracula and Frankenstein in the Universal pantheon of timeless horror

Hats off to a film that boasts a leading role that you can’t see! James Whale’s 1933 version of the H.G. Wells classic remains the most iconic, blending sci-fi, the supernatural, and rudimentary (but effective) special effects with sly black comedy and suspense. It

should not be forgotten, however, that Claude Rains’s, er, transparent protagonist is pure evil – a man consumed by the desire to have the world grovelling at his feet; a contemptuous being who wreaks havoc and thrives on mass destruction. The only glimmer of humanity emerges in his love for Flora, but this isn’t enough to prevent his inevitable self destruction. He’s mad, he’s bad and he’s invisible!

icons. Karloff again brings an air of mesmerising eeriness to the role of the unwrapped mummy Imhotep, who is searching for his reincarnated princess. Universal’s The Mummy was the trailblazer and inspiration for the numerous mummy movies

that followed, and Jack Pierce’s incredible makeup and Karloff’s indomitable presence justifies its position as a horror classic.

Classic Monsters

1935

1941

More than just a sequel, Bride of Frankenstein is a reflection of director James Whale, as his own personality shines through in this wonderful blend of humour and horror. A more superior film than Frankenstein , the sequel truly brings the monster to life. Karloff the actor stands tall, allowing us to warm to a creature who just wants to love – and to be

“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.” George Waggner’s TheWolf Man introduced the mythology of the werewolf in a film that was the signature role

for Lon Chaney Jr. This classic tale has transformed countless times onscreen in the decades since its release, but few werewolf flicks compare to the Chaney groundbreaker, with its simplistic man-to-wolf transformation, dense atmosphere and literate script. The all too brief inclusion of Bela ‘Dracula’ Lugosi only adds to the reputation of this granddaddy of all werewolf films. Something to howl about!

loved. It’s even more apparent in Bride as to how misunderstood the monster really is, and the real villain emerges in the form of the evil Dr Pretorius. Bride of Frankenstein gave us the first (and perhaps only) iconic female monster, and injected the genre with camp black comedy. And let’s not forget it’s also one of the greatest horror films of all time. Never the bridesmaid.

1943

1953

Taking full advantage of the spectacular arrival of Technicolor, Universal’s Phantom immediately distinguishes itself as a more lavish version of Gaston Leroux’s classic tale than its silent 1925 predecessor (which starred the ‘Man of a Thousand Faces’, Lon Chaney). Moreover, the 1943 Phantom of the Opera brings more humanity to the romantic tale of a beauty and her beast; complemented by extravagant sets and costume design. Claude Rains revels in the role of a man in pursuit of his passions, who, after a misunderstanding, is disfigured and forced

Jack Arnold’s subtext-rich creature feature originally made a big splash with audiences – after all, who could say no to an amorous gillman or the lure of the first underwater 3D movie? The film opens boldly with no less than the creation of the world, and a highly suspect scientific explanation concerning our lineage to

the undersea realm (Mr Fishy, we’re not so different you and I). Then it’s off on a jungle river cruise with Julie Adams, who (understandably) becomes the object of desire for the eponymous creature. Not only is the gillman an “amphibious missing link”, he’s also the progenitor of a horde of aquatic creatures that followed in his wake.

to take refuge in the subterranean underworld of the Paris sewers. His Phantom remains one of the best screen incarnations of this tortured character, and this version is the perfect alternative for those who can’t stomach Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection is available as a Limited Edition Blu-ray Set at JB Hi-Fi – only while stocks last.

Size Does Matter

THEY’RE THE PRODUCT OF ATOMIC TESTING, RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MAD SCIENTISTS. STACK CONFRONTS A MENAGERIE OF ANATOMICALLY ENLARGED CRITTERS AND CONFIRMS THAT...

EMPIRE OF THE ANTS (1977) SPECIES: Ants (obviously). MUTATED BY: A leaky barrel of radioactive waste that finds its way into the Florida everglades. IN DANGER: Unscrupulous land developer Joan Collins, clients Robert Lansing and John David Carson, and a hillbilly town. SOLUTION: A handy petrol tanker and a match.

Size Does Matter

WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS (1978) SPECIES: Assorted oversized marine life including a giant mutant octopus. MUTATED BY: Well, Atlantis is actually a breakaway hunk of Martian rock that fell to Earth, complete with the original inhabitants. IN DANGER: Doug McClure and fellow scientists investigating the sunken city. SOLUTION: Get the hell out of there!

STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997) SPECIES: Swarms of grasshopper-like alien arachnids, giant tanker beetles that fart starship-destroying plasma, and a big brain-sucking dust mite. MUTATED BY: No mutation - they’re alien bugs. IN DANGER: Earth, as the bugs obliterate major cities with carefully aimed meteors. SOLUTION: Send in the troops to “nuke ‘em” and “kill ‘em all!” Or if that fails, capture and torture the commanding Brain Bug.

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961) SPECIES: Monstrous bees, a crab and a chicken. MUTATED BY: Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), experimenting with a possible cure for world famine. IN DANGER: Castaways Michael Craig and Percy Herbert. SOLUTION: The inevitable volcanic explosion.

Size Does Matter

THEM! (1954) SPECIES: Ants (again). MUTATED BY: Atomic testing in the New Mexico desert. IN DANGER: James Whitmore, Gunsmoke ’s James Arness, a young Leonard Nimoy, and eventually, Los Angeles. SOLUTION: Bomb the nest with cyanide gas. MUTATED BY: Apparently they were all this big once, but atomic testing is still to blame when a nuclear explosion releases it from its icy arctic prison. IN DANGER: A bunch of Greenland Eskimos, the Washington monument and ultimately, New York. SOLUTION: Gas the beast in the Lincoln tunnel. THE DEADLY MANTIS (1957) SPECIES: A prehistoric Praying Mantis.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINK (1957) SPECIES: A sinister spider and a terrifying tabby cat. MUTATED BY: Everyday guy is shrunk by radioactive mist. IN DANGER: Our pint-sized hero. SOLUTION: “That Existence begins and ends is Man’s concept, not Nature’s... To God there is no zero, I still exist!” Ergo, he is tiny, he is mad, and he will survive.

Size Does Matter

FOOD OF THE GODS (1976) SPECIES: Wasps, rats, worms, and a dinosaur-sized rooster. MUTATED BY: A milky substance bubbling up from the depths of the Earth. Nature’s ultimate revenge on mankind? IN DANGER: A dumb gridiron player, an expectant mum, and the legendary Ida Lupino. SOLUTION: Electrocution? Homemade bombs? Ratsak? A shotgun? Something’s gotta work...

THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION (1975) SPECIES: Inter-dimensional arachnids. MUTATED BY: Emerging from a mini-black hole, maybe gravitic stress had something to do with it? Who the hell knows. IN DANGER: Wisconsin and Gilligan’s Island ’s Alan Hale Jr. SOLUTION: Blow up that black hole.

MOTHRA (1961) SPECIES: Initially a giant egg and caterpillar, until metamorphosis. MUTATED BY: An atomic test site had something to do with it. IN DANGER: Largely benevolent, Mothra isn’t beyond trashing Tokyo in her attempt to rescue a pair of twin fairy sisters. SOLUTION: In the absence of jumbo-sized mothballs, try an atomic heat ray, call in Godzilla, or simply surrender the fairies.

KING KONG (1931) How could any self- respecting ‘big’ movie feature not mention the mammoth monkey who went on to terrorise the Big Apple and scale the Empire State – all in the name of love.

ATTACK OF THE 50FTWOMAN (1958) A wealthy heiress is abducted by aliens and inflated to the titular dimensions. An audacious premise, rubbery FX and lots of good intentions can’t hide the fact this works better as a poster than a film.

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS (1972) Gigantic bunnies go on the rampage in this rarely seen but legendary schlocker. The FX veer between regular rabbits mangling miniatures and a

DOCTOR DOLITTLE (1967) If we could talk to the animals... But really, what the hell would you say to a giant pink snail anyway? Rex Harrison requested the mollusc take his friends back to Puddleby on the Marsh.

guy in a suit for those convincing close-ups.

Werewolves

“Even a man who’s pure in heart and says his prayers at night, can become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright.” - TheWolf Man

TheWolf Man (1941) The beast is unleashed. In the Universal classic, Lon Chaney Jr. gets bitten by old gypsy Bela Lugosi and a new horror film icon is born. One of the all time greats.

IWas aTeenage Werewolf (1957)

The Howling (1981)

Long before Little House on the Prairie , Michael Landon was a rebel without claws... until a bit of regressive hypnosis transforms him into the ultimate juvenile delinquent.

Joe Dante’s love letter to the werewolf cycle is a quirky, in-joke laden romp with eye-popping FX from Rob Bottin. Inspired no end of abysmal sequels. The original and the best.

An AmericanWerewolf in London (1981) Stick to the roads. Stay off the moors. And beware the moon! John Landis’s classic horror comedy subverted audience expectations and rewrote established werewolf lore. It also revolutionised special makeup FX, elevating the art from novelty to Oscar-worthy.

The Company ofWolves (1984) Director Neil J/ordan reimagines ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ as a lurid, bizarre fairytale awash in nightmarish imagery and eroticism – and a refusal to make a great deal of sense.

Silver Bullet (1985)

TeenWolf (1985) Growing pains for teenager Michael J. Fox – who sprouts hair in places his mother never told him – in this moronic but harmless high school comedy. Followed by a sequel and animated series.

Wolf (1994) Mike Nichols’ supposedly

Ginger Snaps (2000)

Over earnest but bloody adaptation of Stephen King’s novella Cycle of the Werewolf is a guilty pleasure. Notable for a bloated Gary Busey and the screen debut of the late, great Corey Haim.

Ingeniously linking adolescent angst with animal agro, this dark, estrogen-fuelled independent gem spilled fresh blood into a genre facing extinction from too many lousy Howling sequels.

sophisticated and intelligent take on lycanthropy was an

interminable snoozefest not even Jack Nicholson could salvage. Woof.

Forgotten Monsters

Sure the Alien and Predator are cool, but what about these guys?

Toothy, dragon-like flying critters that overrun a desolate planet during total eclipse. A damn good reason to be afraid of the dark, as Vin Diesel and Radha Mitchell discover.

“Choose the form of the Destructor”. The well meaning Ray picks the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, perhaps the most unthreatening monster of all time.

Jeffrey Jones transforms into the spectacular Dark Overlord. Sure the film sucked big time, but this climactic creature almost redeemed it...

In this terrifying ‘50s classic, giant ants are mutated by atomic testing in the New Mexico desert, possessing “a savagery that makes man look feeble by comparison”

The Demon of Vengeance, called up by a backwoods witch at the request of grieving father Lance Henriksen to avenge the death of his young son. A stunning Stan Winston creation.

They’re big, they’re mean, and they’re under the ground. The ‘graboids’ shake up the desert town of Perfection in one of the best monster romps of the late eighties.

A race of horny salmon men have their way with terrified bikini babes in this Roger Corman drive- in classic. Impressive creature designs courtesy of a young Rob Bottin.

From the toilet it came. The Golgothan is an ‘Excremental’ (or shit demon) and Hell’s chief assassin. Summoned to eliminate Linda Fiorentino and thwarted by Silent Bob.

Real Monsters

Oversized creatures on the rampage – nature can be a real mother sometimes...

JAWS The film’s trailer says it all: “There is a creature alive today who has survived millions of years of evolution without change, without passion, and without logic. It lives to kill. A mindless eating machine, it will attack and devour anything. It is as though God created the devil and gave him Jaws.”

GRIZZLY 18-feet of gut-crunching, man-eating terror! If you went down in the woods in 1976, you were sure of a big surprise. However, William Girdler’s naff but entertaining Jaws rip-off was definitely no picnic. Campers, a horse, and even a helicopter were torn apart in this ursine rampage.

ANACONDA The monster snake of the Amazon can grow to more than six metres in length and tip the scales at 150kg.This mega-serpent proved a formidable foe for J.Lo, Jon Voight and a documentary crew in the 1997 film of the same name, and had the ghastly habit of vomiting up its half-digested prey – as a hapless Voight discovered.

ALLIGATOR These primeval reptiles are certainly big, but nothing compares to the gigantic gator on the rampage in LewisTeague’s tongue-in- cheek, 1980 monster movie.The film’s message is simple – don’t flush pet baby alligators down the toilet, especially when the sewers contain the carcasses of lab animals injected with a growth hormone.

TARANTULA Spiders are scary at the best of times, but imagine being confronted by “Crawling terror 100 feet high!” An experimental growth serum results in the eponymous arachnid reaching gigantic proportions, which spells bad news for a small desert town in Arizona. Why the hell would you inject a spider with this stuff, anyway?

RAZORBACK “It only has two states of being – dangerous or dead.” Well, according to Bill Kerr, who’s referring to the monster swine that terrorises the Australian outback in Russell Mulcahy’s 1984 creature feature. It’s man versus boar, as Gregory Harrison faces off against the hungry hog who has eaten his wife.

Japanese Monsters

Kaiju : strange creature or giant monster – usually found attacking cities and/or each other.

GODZILLA King of the Monsters. Both destroyer and saviour. A prehistoric beast mutated by atomic radiation. Extremely resilient and can fire atomic breath. When kaiju are trashing your city, he’s who you’re gonna call.

RODAN Giant mutant pterodactyl with a 200-metre wingspan. Can create destructive sonic booms in flight and handy in a scrap against King Ghidorah, especially when teamed up with Mothra. Sometime ally of Godzilla.

KING GHIDORAH It came from outer space. Dragon-like kaiju with three heads and two tails. One of the most powerful of all Japanese monsters. Can fly at speeds of Mach 3 and fire gravity beams from its mouths. Arch enemy of Godzilla.

GAMERA Invincible Guardian of the Universe. Forget the Ninja Turtles, they’ve got nothing on this giant, flying, bipedal chelonian. A kaiju icon to rival Godzilla (but they’ve never met). Armour-plated shell for defence, but susceptible to cold.

GIGAN Cyborg space monster with a buzzsaw chest, hooked metal limbs and a laser eye. Capable of supersonic and interstellar flight. A nasty piece of work and super powerful – even the combined might of Godzilla and Anguirus couldn’t stop it.

HEDORAH The Smog Monster. Tadpole- like space creature with a taste for pollution. Comprised of sludge and capable of squirting caustic slime at its enemies. Incredibly powerful and resilient to attack – even Godzilla struggled to defeat it.

MANDA Worm-like aquatic dragon with vestigial limbs and horns. Guardian of the underwater kingdom of Mu. Crushes its enemies like a boa constrictor. Extremely agile in water but

KING CAESAR Categorised as an ‘Ancient Shisa’ (a lion/dog hybrid) and resembling a giant terrier. Surprisingly agile for a beast that weighs 30,000 tons, rock solid, and skilled in martial arts combat – especially against MechaGodzilla.

pretty useless on land. Another ally of Godzilla.

Monster Makers

Stan Winston

THE LATE STAN WINSTON WAS HOLLYWOOD’S PREMIER SPECIAL EFFECTS ENGINEER AND MONSTER MAKER, WHOSE ICONIC CREATIONS – THE PREDATOR, THE ALIEN QUEEN, THE CYBORGS OF THE TERMINATOR FILMS AND THE DINOSAURS OF JURASSIC PARK – CONTINUE TO INSPIRE AWE AND TERROR IN VIEWERS. A frequent collaborator with director James Cameron, Winston’s expertise in the areas of makeup, puppets, animatronics and practical effects were second to none (see below). He received Academy Awards for his work on Aliens , Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Jurassic Park . Winston also directed one of his most fearsome creations in Pumpkinhead , and served as producer on genre films like Wrong Turn and The Deaths of Ian Stone .

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS Winston completed what Vincent Price couldn’t, namely goth punk, S&M chic and a killer handshake.

ALIENS Her majesty, the Queen – easily one of the greatest movie monsters ever conceived.

THE TERMINATOR Winston got under Ah-nold’s skin to reveal what all of us already knew; what a robot!

PREDATOR Dreadlocked alien hunter, master of

JURASSIC PARK Velociraptors, triceratops, dilophosaurus and a rampagingT-Rex – spot which ones are CGI.

disguise and "one ugly motherf-er" that kicked big Arnie’s butt.

GALAXY QUEST By Grabthar’s Hammer, General Sarris proved a fearsome adversary for Tim Allen and crew.

THE RELIC The museum monster Kothoga was a toothy, brain-eating hybrid of the Predator, an insect and a hyena.

AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

PUMPKINHEAD Winston created and directed the eponymous Demon of Vengeance in this terrific backwoods horror tale.

BATMAN RETURNS Danny Devito’s grotesque Penguin has been aptly described as “a walking testicle”.

More than a toy, Teddy kept Master David from becoming so much scrap metal.

Rick Baker CREATING MONSTERS IS A LABOUR OF LOVE FOR THIS OSCAR-WINNING MAKEUP EFFECTS ARTIST. Baker assisted the legendary Dick Smith on The Exorcist , before graduating to Star Wars , Michael Jackson’s Thriller , and winning his first Academy Award for An American Werewolf in London .

IT’S ALIVE “There’s only one thing wrong with the Davis baby – It’s Alive!” Baker unleashed every parent’s worst nightmare with his mutant baby creation for Larry Cohen’s creepy cult classic.

THE FUNHOUSE The snot-drooling mutant of Tobe Hooper’s carnival slasher flick remains one of Baker’s most terrifying creations – another great, unsung monster.

THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN A young Baker honed his craft on this low budget 1977 creature feature, achieving incredible results with little money and even less time.

THE WOLFMAN Benicio del Toro became Benicio del Lobo after a long haul in Baker’s makeup chair. His Oscar-winning FX are the best thing about this toothless remake.

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON Baker’s groundbreaking transformation sequence made Oscar voters finally acknowledge the genius of special effects makeup, with an inaugural win in the category.

MEN IN BLACK Baker’s alien creations – especially Edgar the Bug (above) – managed to upstage the human cast, and that includes the irrepressible Will Smith.

Monster Makers

Patrick Tatopoulos HE MAY NOT HAVE THE HIGH PROFILE OF STAN WINSTON, BUT THIS FRENCH-BORN ILLUSTRATOR, PRODUCTION DESIGNER AND CREATURE CREATOR HAS CONTRIBUTED UNFORGETTABLE DESIGNS AND NIGHTMARISH CREATURES FOR FILMS LIKE SILENT HILL , PITCH BLACK , GODZILLA AND INDEPENDENCE DAY . TATOPOULOS’S OUTSTANDING WORK CAN ALSO BE SEEN IN VAN HELSING , THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK , AND THE UNDERWORLD FRANCHISE. Interview by Scott Hocking

Monster Makers

of design that went beyond the regular stuff. I don’t think I’m following his steps but for me it’s important that at the base of everything is the design. The quality of rendering is obviously extremely important, but a cool

properly. And at the end of the day, how do you shoot it? Most people that do creature stuff have to also consider, how do you film it to make it look convincing?

How did you end up in the FX business? PATRICKTATOPOULOS: I was in Greece playing on a beach somewhere and I saw this American magazine called Cinefex and I thought, these people are making creatures and stuff... I

Some of the best monsters aren’t CGI creations – look at The Thing , The Howling , Aliens ... I agree with you, but you know the hardest thing to do is to convince the director to spend

design will remain a cool design, you know what I’m saying? I was influenced by Frank Frazetta, the painter. I was influenced by people like that just because of the aesthetic and proportion of the characters, the dynamic of the characters. And I’m very much into classic painting – Bosch, Brueghel – and comic books.

have to go to America and do that. In a nutshell that’s how it started; funny but true. How has the CGI revolution impacted on the old-school creature creators? Has it taken much work away? It did. It still does. It’s very interesting to notice that in this large industry of creatures and people, it’s basically streamlined

What do you consider

the people doing this because it’s been harder and harder to work. That said though, looking at New Zealand and Lord of the Rings , they see the huge aspect of makeup and miniatures and things. CGI is there for places where mechanical creatures will not go – obviously a gigantic elephant creature running through the desert. CGI is there for big running action. When you’re extremely close to a creature, it’s very hard to sell something CG. In the Underworld films, for example, sometimes you have a suit, sometimes a CG creature. Maybe you always have a bit of both on the creature to make the thing a bit more interesting. It feels to me like this is the future; it’s definitely an appropriate combination of both mediums.

a day shooting one ugly monster coming out of the closet when he could do it in ten minutes or have it taken care of with CGI at the end. It’s not exactly cheaper but I think it makes the life of the director sometimes simpler. It depends with which director you work. I worked with Stephen Sommers on Van Helsing , and Stephen just doesn’t want to be bothered by creature FX on set. He did do a couple of things that were practical, but most of his approach was CGI. He’s a great guy and an extremely hard worker but he doesn’t believe in suits, when some other director might say there’s nothing as good as a real suit on set, shot

Your work has a very distinctive look.Who would you say has influenced you the most in terms of design? It’s funny you mentioned The Howling because when I was in Greece looking at Cinefex magazine, I was a huge fan of amazing and I’ll tell you why. People like Rick Baker and Stan Winston are certainly the more well known makeup and creature effects people in town, but what Rob adds is a creative science to creatures that’s way out there. On The Thing, there was a sense Rob Bottin who did that creature. That wolf was

your favourite creation? My favourite creature to date is still the Pitch Black creature.