Summary

• James Wan's remake of Creature From The Black Lagoon should utilize a mix of practical effects and CGI.
• The Shape of Water successfully combined practical effects and CGI for its creature design.
• Using black-and-white visuals in the remake would enhance the eerie and scary ambiance of Creature From The Black Lagoon.

James Wan is in talks to remake the horror classic Guillermo del Toro’s best movies. In 1954, the monster horror movie Creature From The Black Lagoon was released. Directed by Jack Arnold, Creature From The Black Lagoon was filmed and shown in 3D, making it a more immersive experience and standing out from other monster movies at the time. Creature From The Black Lagoon is now a horror classic and has been the inspiration for many horror movies.

Creature From The Black Lagoon follows a group of scientists who find a piscine amphibious humanoid in the Amazon. Given its place in horror history, Creature From The Black Lagoon has almost been remade a couple of times and was planned as part of Universal’s Dark Universe reboot in 2014, but that quickly changed after the failure of The Mummy. Now, Creature From The Black Lagoon seems to finally be on its way to being remade as James Wan is in talks to helm the project, but for it to succeed, it needs to borrow one trick from The Shape of Water.

James Wan’s Creature From The Black Lagoon Faces A Major Visual Obstacle

Remaking Creature From The Black Lagoon Comes With A Major Challenge

Creature From The Black Lagoon is notable for the practical effects used to bring the Gill-man to life.

Creature From The Black Lagoon is part of Universal’s group of classic monsters, and its 3D format made it stand out back then, as it was still a new format. Creature From The Black Lagoon is also notable for the practical effects used to bring the Gill-man to life, as well as the work of the actors who portrayed the character on land (Ben Chapman) and underwater (Ricou Browning). The Gill-man was the result of the outstanding work of make-up artists, prosthetic designers, and animators, who were key in making it a fascinating yet terrifying creature.

Although there are still many filmmakers who prefer the use of practical effects over CGI (such as Christopher Nolan), many opt for the latter as it offers a wider variety of creative opportunities. The horror genre, in particular, has some legendary and fascinating examples of practical effects, but it’s also a genre that has used CGI way too much.

The problem with a remake of Creature From The Black Lagoon happening now is that it could rely too much on CGI, ruining the vibe of the movie and the creature, but practical effects should go above and beyond to make the Gill-man fully believable and visually better than the original one (which is still cool, but now looks obsolete).

Wan’s Creature From The Black Lagoon Can Copy The Shape Of Water’s Design Tricks

The Shape Of Water Used A Clever Trick For Its Amphibian Man

The Shape of Water used a combination of practical effects and CGI to create the Amphibian Man.

Among the many movies Creature From The Black Lagoon has influenced is Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. Released in 2017, The Shape of Water is set in 1962 and tells the story of Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute cleaner at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature (played by Doug Jones). The Shape of Water was a huge critical and commercial success and won Best Picture at the 2018 Academy Awards. The Shape of Water’s Amphibian Man was heavily inspired by Creature From The Black Lagoon, and it combined some tricks to bring him to life.

In the early 2000s, Guillermo del Toro was attached to direct a remake of Creature From The Black Lagoon, but after Universal rejected his idea of focusing on the Gill-man’s point of view and letting him have a successful romance, he turned it into The Shape of Water.

The Shape of Water used a combination of practical effects and CGI to create the Amphibian Man. Jones wore a full-body prosthetic suit and makeup designed by Legacy Effects (via CNET), but the work of the designers was augmented with CGI. This was mostly used in the Amphibian Man’s face, especially his eyes, to better show his emotions, and some shots had more digital work as there was a range of motion that couldn’t be achieved on camera (via The Verge).

Wan’s Creature From The Black Lagoon remake can greatly benefit from borrowing this trick from The Shape of Water, more so as they have similar creatures. Practical effects and CGI can better bring the Gill-man to life in believable ways that can also showcase the incredible work of make-up and prosthetic artists, while also honoring the work done to create the original Gill-man.

One Visual Element From The Original Movie Can Greatly Help Wan’s Creature From The Black Lagoon Remake

Creature From The Black Lagoon’s Remake Should Keep One Specific Element

Making the Gill-man entirely with practical effects wouldn’t quite work for Wan’s remake, but there’s another element from the original movie that could greatly benefit it. Along with many other classics from Universal’s Monsters, Creature From The Black Lagoon is a black-and-white movie, which inevitably gives it an extra eerie vibe. Wan’s Gill-man can be further enhanced if he decides to make his version of Creature From The Black Lagoon in black and white, which can make it extra strange and scary. Whatever the plan for James Wan’s Creature From The Black Lagoon remake is, let’s hope it won’t the cemetery of failed remakes.

Sources: CNET, The Verge.