1. Film Appreciation MONSTER MADNESS! We will try to define what is a ‘monster’? What are some famous movie monsters? What special effects are used to create the monster effects in film?? King Kong – Gremlins – Jurassic Park

2. What is a ‘monster’? Dictionary definitions include words like: Abnormal, threatening, terrifying, large, frightening, grotesque, horrifying, huge ‘Deviates from normal or acceptable behavior’ ‘Extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, cruelty’ ‘Combining features of animal and human form’ Movie monsters can take many forms…

3. Animal Monsters

4. Mythical Creatures

5. Humanoid Monsters

6. And more…

7. Universal Studios Monsters In the 1930s-1950s, Universal Studios produced a series of successful monster movies that launched several film franchises These were early ‘horror’ films featuring now iconic characters such as Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Invisible Man, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, etc. Make-up and simple special effects created the look for humanoid characters Actors became synonymous with the characters they portrayed Rubber suits and props created the non-human monsters Audiences went to see the monsters and get a thrill from the dangers they presented to the characters in the story

8. Famous Movie Monsters • Count Dracula • Best associated with actors Bela Lugosi (pictured) & Christopher Lee • A vampire that drinks the blood of the living, can turn into a bat and hypnotize victims • Dracula (1931) - Clip

9. Famous Movie Monsters • Frankenstein’s Monster (Dr. Frankenstein is actually the mad scientist who created the monster) • Best associated with actor Boris Karloff • Made from the reanimated body parts of the dead, he cannot be accepted into society • Frankenstein (1931) - Clip

10. Famous Movie Monsters • The Wolf Man • Best associated with Lon Chaney, Jr. • Man who turns into a wolf during a full moon. Can only be stopped by a silver bullet. • The Wolf Man (1941) - Clip

11. King Kong • King Kong (1933) • Giant ape taken from his natural habitat – an island filled with many larger than life monsters • Created using stop-motion animation and other groundbreaking special effects • King Kong Trailer

12. Godzilla (Gojira) • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1954) • Spawned a long running franchise including dozens of films (Godzilla vs. ___ ) • Monster is actually an actor in a rubber suit – in some films you can see the zipper/seams!

13. Famous Movie Monsters • Jaws • Story of a hunt for a giant, man-eating shark in a tourist beach town during the 4th of July • Stephen Spielberg’s special effects team created a large mechanical shark puppet • Jaws (1975) - Clip

14. Famous Movie Monsters • E.T. • Friendly alien looking for a way home. Not malicious or dangerous, he forms a bond with a boy named Elliot. • An advanced mechanical puppet controlled by remote. • E.T. (1982) - Clip

15. Famous Movie Monsters • Gollum • Obsessed with gaining possession of ‘the ring’ - transformed by its power from a normal Hobbit into a terrible creature • Computer Generated effects, motion-captured actor (Andy Serkis) • The Lord of the Rings (2002) - Clip

16. Our Observations for Monster Movies The Monster(s) - Who are they? What are our feelings toward them? Scared? Sympathetic? Story, character, etc. What makes them a ‘monster’? Special Effects - How were these monsters created? What techniques were used to bring them to life? What are the iconic scenes?

17. Monster Movies vs. Horror Horror movies usually have the intended effect of frightening an audience with depictions of the macabre and supernatural, ‘gotcha!’ moments and fear of the unknown Many ‘monster movies’ are also horror films, but not all of them. Additionally, not all horror films have a monster. Have you seen a monster movie that wasn’t scary? Have you seen a horror movie that didn’t have a traditional ‘monster’?