Monster Magic: The Host (2006)

When you see a CGI creation it is unlikely you comprehend the amount of work that went into bringing it to life. At most perhaps you will acknowledge ‘those whizz kids behind computers’, but that still falls short in understanding how much works goes into that which dazzles popcorn munchers.

What you see on-screen is often heavily referenced from the real world, attributing organic properties onto polygons. Models themselves have both skeletal and muscular systems to replicate movement, consider how gravity would affect larger beings.

In the case of the monster in The Host (2006) they incorporated a complex skeletal system to aid its great range of movement. Not only this but in terms of references they looked back to Jurassic Park (1993) to see how larger things would move, Predator (1987) to see how a multi-sectioned mouth could work and even went as far to buy dead trout and burn it to try and get the right effect for the finale.

And so what you end up see swimming, running on land and gobbling people up is essentially an accurate representation of what you would see if such a thing existed. What is generated on a computer has to play by our rules.

There are of course certain boundaries with CGI – namely the fact it’s rendered surface can look fake – and so where The Host gets bonus points is in its clever use of practical effects for when the monster interacts with victims on a more subtle, sinister level, caressing their lifeless bodies with a tail-like tongue.

A sequel looked be on the way but no more news has surfaced. Either way, apart from being a great flick, the attention to detail on the monster both raised the standard of CGI models and has given a little re-birth to practical effects in major films.