Best Classic Monster designs/redesigns?

[Earth 2 Chris]

My son and I started our Halloween movie fest tonight with The Monster Squad (the 80s movie), and it got me to thinking how most of the designs in this movie are really nice updates of the Universal Monsters. I don't care for the Wolfman at all, but, Frankie, the Mummy and esp. the Creature are nice, and Dracula is a nice classic look.

So what are your favorite all time classic monster designs, and which redesigns do you feel worked best?

Chris

[Earth 2 Chris]

C'mon, you can't tell me a bunch of opinionated fanboys don't have anything to say on this topic!!!

Chris

[The Toyroom]

All-Time Favorite Designs: Any of Jack Pierce's make-up for Universal....It can't be topped IMO....Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolfman, The Bride of Frankenstein,The Mummy....they're all good.

As far as an "update", yeah it's old school also but I always like the look of Christopher Lee's Dracula over at Hammer.

As far as modern, I don't think anything comes close to being as iconic as the Universal stuff. I'm getting tired of the overused Rick Baker style of werewolf for example.

[palitoy]

Man, I'd have a lot to say about "worst updatings" but I'm kind of a purist when it comes to the monsters I guess.

I do love Hammer's take on Frankenstein, Dracula and the Mummy.

The Monster Squad designs are nice as well, I thought as updatings go, they were well done.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Oh, feel free to throw worst updatings in here as well. I bet Van Helsing will top that list!

Chris

[palitoy]

Yeah, all of the designs in Van Helsing range from lame to childish but the one that bugged me more was this:

[Earth 2 Chris]

Oh yeah, "Thugenstein". Man, what a wasted opportunity. I think DeNiro showed the limits of his acting range in this one. But the make-up was just wrong. I know the flat-top look may not be as "realistic" as modern audiences want, but how realistic is it that the monster looks like some guy who just got cut up and sewn back together badly? Maybe if more of an attempt was made to differ the various skin tones of his parts it would have helped.

Chris

[palitoy]

I find the flat top ten times more logical than that look, that was just makeup artists getting self indulgent.

DeNiro's acting didn't suit the character and I found Branaugh waaaay too hammy.

[thunderbolt]

Really like the monster redesigns from Godzilla/Mothra/King Gidorah (I forget the real title, but its the reboot from a few years ago and also had a reworked Baragon.

[palitoy]

Yeah, Toho is pretty good at retaining the classic but modernizing design. I don't always find their newer movies as fun as the old ones but I loved seeing "Godzilla 2000" in the theatre.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Godzilla's another example of Hollywood going out of their way to screw something up. I guess they think the old designs are too familiar, to commercialized, so they have to reinvent the wheel every time. When the do that, what's the point of reviving the character/franchise? Iguana-zilla has to be one of the worst redesigns. Effective monster, but not Godzilla.

The same mindset gave us the horrid renditions of the Univesal monsters in Van Helsing. Dracula looked like that Pete Burns guy who sang "You spin me". Horrible.

Chris

[ctc]

>DeNiro's acting didn't suit the character

Y'know.... I liked the look. If you did build a guy from assorted parts using 1800's technology that's pretty much what you'd get. But yeah; DeNiro's acting was really.... odd. He seemed more like a drunk uncle than a monster.

Some good takes on Frankenstein's Monster:

-"Frankenstein: The True Story." Snagged a copy a while back and really enjoyed it. The monster is very pitiable; the bride.... not so much.
-"Frankenstein:" Toho animated version. It details a lot of stuff from the book that was left out of the Karlof film. Found it in the kid ssection, which is weird once you've seen it. (In the first ten minutes the monster does.... not nice things to the Doctor's guard dogs....)

>The same mindset gave us the horrid renditions of the Univesal monsters in Van Helsing.

I didn't mind those, either. Not great, really off-key, but unique. "Van Helsing" was super-hero'd up right from the get go, so I could cut them some slack. There was no pretense of presenting the classic monsters AS classic monsters.

>Iguana-zilla has to be one of the worst redesigns.

Fraudzilla was a casualty of CGI. They found it didn't look convincing when he tore through buildings and took the hit like the old 'Zilla so they made him agile and avoided the problem. I think it'd be an okay film if they'd called it something else since it REALLY didn't capture the "Godzilla" idea. AND if they left out the raptors. Sheesh! Enough with the raptors Hollywood!

"Monster Squad" was an all around good film; and I usually HATE things with kids in the lead. I think this one worked 'cos the kids didn't do anything kids wouldn't; and they didn't get away with anything kids couldn't. (Except for the very end, but because it didn't influence the plot it was just funny.) The monsters were great too! THAT Dracula is how I always pictured him; kind of an angrier Bela one. Too bad the mummy and fish-man didn't get more play. (and to this day I get choked up over the "scary German guy.")

Toho does an excellent job updating their monsters, mostly 'cos they don't monkey with them so much! New Godzilla is angrier, pointier, but still Godzilla.

Don C.

[palitoy]

I didn't mind those, either. Not great, really off-key, but unique. "Van Helsing" was super-hero'd up right from the get go, so I could cut them some slack. There was no pretense of presenting the classic monsters AS classic monsters.

Dude, I love bubble gum monsters but the over use of CGI just turned me off. It was too over the top, I hated that mouth thing the vampires did, the gumby werewolves, too much. I didn't mind the Frankenstein design that much.

"Monster Squad" was an all around good film; and I usually HATE things with kids in the lead. I think this one worked 'cos the kids didn't do anything kids wouldn't; and they didn't get away with anything kids couldn't. (Except for the very end, but because it didn't influence the plot it was just funny.) The monsters were great too! THAT Dracula is how I always pictured him; kind of an angrier Bela one. Too bad the mummy and fish-man didn't get more play. (and to this day I get choked up over the "scary German guy.")

I can see why it bombed, it's too kiddy for adults and a little too adult for kids. There's smoking and swearing and adult conversations. I taped it in hopes of showing my son but decided to watch it first, I have to wait a couple of years.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I can see why it bombed, it's too kiddy for adults and a little too adult for kids. There's smoking and swearing and adult conversations. I taped it in hopes of showing my son but decided to watch it first, I have to wait a couple of years.

It seems really odd now, considering there are several cable channels that cater to making movies directed at older kids, and they are all very clean. I've watched it twice with my son and told him not to repeat any of the language, and of course not to smoke. I don't think the movie would be released as is today. They would either age the kids up to teen years and amp up the sex and swearing, or totally kidify it, eliminating all violence and language.

Van Helsing was a cool idea, but it was made too "cool", way too commercial. I like the idea of the Q-type tech guys, and Jackman and Beckinsale were fine in it, but I hated all the monsters.


Chris

[ctc]

>the over use of CGI just turned me off.

Yeah; that kinda bugged me too, 'cos they had things happen just to show off the effects.

>I didn't mind the Frankenstein design that much.

THAT I really liked. Kind of a steampunk zombie cyborg.

>way too commercial.

I think that's why I didn't like it as much as I properly SHOULD have: everything happened exactly how it always happens. Except the end; which I thought was neat. But up 'til that point there were no surprises at all.

I've seen a few films like that lately. Films that SHOULD be the coolest thing ever, but when I actually see them they're kind of blah. ("Sky Captian" and "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" come to mind.)

>it's too kiddy for adults and a little too adult for kids.

Y'know.... I KIND OF agree. It seemed aimed at older kids/young teens.... but I think the problem was that at the time it came out most films of this sort were getting amped up. It wasn't the age category that people didn't go for; it was how subdued it seemed compared to other monster movies. So it wasn't the content that was problematic so much as the way it was presented. No big special effect scenes, no fast action, no explosions....

Don C.