A Special Effects Video Bonanza - Galactic Raiders - Dinocroc vs Supergator

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Larry Arpin / Jim Wynorski / Avery Guerra

Everyone knows that the backbone of any fantasy or science fiction film is it's special effects. Now, George Lucas can go on and on about how any movie effect is boring without a good story to set it up, but as we know from his "Star Wars" prequel series, good effects can make up for a week story, or even fill in where there is no story at all.

When it comes to movie effects, and in particular monster movie effects, there are three ways to go. The very time consuming art of of stop-motion animation, the sometimes effective and some times not, art of putting a man in a monster suite, like the Japanese "Godzilla" and "Gamera" films use, or the quicker and cheaper computer generated type of effects that are permeating the movie industry.

Well I have good examples of two of those types of effects for you here today.

First, I want to show you a great video by film maker Larry Arpin on how he is doing the effects for his independent film "Galactic Raiders". For the film, Arpin is doing it the old-fashioned way, using stop-motion monsters.

As I said before, this process is very time-consuming. That is probably why "Galactic Raiders" has been in production for over a year and a half.

I do give Larry a lot of props for following in the footsteps of Ray Harryhausen in producing these effects. I honestly wish more people would go back to this.

Now we move to the complete opposite end of the effects spectrum with a clip from Jim Wynorski's "Dinocroc vs. Supergator". As you can probably guess, this film features modern computer generated effects.

Many people are fans of what technology has done to improve the quality of movie effects, and no one can argue that the medium has put the tools for creating impressive effects into the hands of film makers who can now make the kinds of films that were impossible to produce just a decade ago.

Which is better? Well that depends on who you talk to. I personally believe that each has their place in modern film making. Sometimes combinations of all the above methods work out best. The Japanese, for example, have used stop-motion, suite actors and CGI effects in their recent monster movies, with mixed results. Hollywood, on the other hand, likes to throw as much computer generated effects at you as they can.

In the end, I think that film makers will always be discovering new and inventive ways to produce film effects using whatever is available to them, and who can say what the future will hold. Whether you do it 'old-school' like Arpin, or with the power of the computer, like Wynorski, movie effects continue to spark the imagination and inspire future film makers to produce their own fascinating films.

See Also: The Monster Mash - 08/17/09 - A Look At Smaller Monster Movie Productions / Behind The Scenes Photos From Galactic Raiders / Galactic Raiders - Making Larry Arpin's Dream Come True

Jim Wynorski Releases Images Of The Late David Carradine From 'Dinocroc vs. Supergator' / Dinocroc vs. Supergator - Let's Get Ready To Rumble! / Has Jim Wynorski Created The Fattest Movie Monster Of All Time? / Cleavagefield Special Effects Photos / B Movie Celebration Scores World Premiere Of Cleavagefield / The First Trailer For Cleavagefield / The First Image From Cleavagefield / A Brand New Promo Photo From Cleavagefield / Cleavagefield - Giant Monsters And Giant Breasts All In One Movie! / Another Bizarre Hollywood Death: David Carradine

The Monster Mash - 08/17/09 - A Look At Smaller Monster Movie Productions

Two New Posters From Ted V. Mikels "Astro-Zombies M3: Cloned."

Yes, film maker Ted V. Mikels is still making "Astro-Zombie" movies after 40+ years. His latest creation, entitled, "Astro-Zombies M3: Cloned", is now in the early stages of development.

For those of you who don't know, Mikels made the first film in this series way back in 1968. That film, which was simply titled "Astro-Zombies", starred John Carradine, Wendell Corey and Tura Satana. The film became an instant 'cult-classic'. In 2002 the film maker revisited the story in a direct-to-video sequel called, "Mark of the Astro-Zombies", that film once again starred cult movie icon Tura Satana.

Mikels was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to send us two brand new promo images, one from the upcoming Kevin Sean Michaels documentary "The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels", and another from the upcoming "Astro-Zombies" sequel. (above and below)

The First Look At Vorax From "Galactic Raiders"

Here is another indie monster flick that I hadn't heard anything about since about February or so.

Film maker Larry Arpin has gained my ultimate respect because he has chosen to make the special effects in his film, "Galactic Raiders", the 'old-school' way using stop-motion animated monsters.

Arpin was kind enough to send over a pic that features the main monster from the film called, "Vorax". The director notes that the background in this shot isn't what will appear in the final film and that there is still some touch-up work to be done on the monster, but this should give everyone a good idea what the final product should look like.

Here is the synopsis from the Galactic Raiders website:

GALACTIC RAIDERS is an independently produced motion picture on 35mm film with Ray Harryhausen style of special effects.The story centers around Rymir (Danny Fehsenfeld), who's girlfriend, Laura (Erica Howard), is kidnapped by Acastus (Elliot Eddie) and transported to another planet. On this 'other planet' is a powerful crystal, sought after by all peoples of the universe, including the Pharilleans, Acastus' people. Also, on this planet is Rosanna (Moksha McPherrin), wife of...well, I won't spoil it for you. Following Rymir to the 'other planet' are Cyrus (Joseph Arpin) and Bellus (Lloyd Lee Barnett), Acastus' accomplices.

The Conquered: Curse of the Shaman

Here's one that I learned about through my buddy Avery Guerra a couple of weeks back that I just didn't have time to write about until now.

It's an indie horror film being directed by Benjamin Cooper called, "The Conquered: Curse of the Shaman". As we all now from watching reruns of the "X-Files", the Native Americans of this great country are a very spiritual people who know more about the 'other-side' then anyone else. We also know, that on occasion, they can summon their ancestors, or evil spirits, to do their dirty work. Such is the case here.

Here's the plot from director Benjamin Cooper:

In this horror story, a Shaman’s daughter reanimates the mummified corpse of an ancient Indian brave to punish those that accidentally killed her father while trespassing in a sacred burial ground"

As I always say, "We need to respect the Native American people for they have been treated unfairly by we settlers from far away lands. We took away their land and their sources for food and clothing to expand this country. Ours is a history of shame."

....and if we don't respect them, they will unleash the undead on us.

Here are some photos from "The Conquered: Curse of the Shaman":




See Also: Ted V. Mikels Is Still Making More Astro-Zombies / Sara Dunn Photo Shoot And Casting News / Behind The Scenes Photos From Galactic Raiders / Galactic Raiders - Making Larry Arpin's Dream Come True