The term “CGI” has become fairly standard among moviegoers today. With film-savvy audiences and an abundance of effects-heavy movies dominating the Hollywood landscape, the slipstream of CGI as a filmmaking staple is now more prevalent than ever. Superhero movies, which have been dominating the market for almost two decades now, are possibly one of the biggest contributors to this new cinematic age. In fact, in recent years, the lack of a film’s quality is attributed to whether or not the CGI was up to audience expectations.
CGI, or Computer-Generated Imagery, is a relatively new approach to filmmaking that cropped up in the late-90s as a way to enhance practical and in-camera effects. Films shot on blue and green screens have dominated the film industry where CGI has now become a requirement more than an enhancement. Recently, with developmentslike The Volume, filmmakers are able to cast aside blue/green screen filmmaking and focus on creating an immersive experience for cast and crew alike. But despite these efforts, audiences are still able to distinguish a sense of unreality in some films over others.
In the journey to achieving absolute photorealism in mainstream cinema, some films have pushed the limits and their carefully crafted special effects have stood — and continue to stand — the test of time. Here are 15 early CGI effects in older movies that still hold up today.
15Beowulf — Grendel’s Appearance
Starting off with an underrated cult classic,Beowulfwas one of the earliest entries into an entirely performance-captured feature film. Telling the mythical tale of the titular Beowulf, the film adapts the ancient poem into a computer-generated epic never seen before.
As an exercise in photorealistic animation, the film does a surprisingly good job of holding up in terms of concept to execution — using actors' performances as the base template for the action, and building entirely around it. The best example of this would have to be the demonGrendel, whose appearanceinvokes a sense of shock, awe and disgust all at once. With his mangled face, gangly limbs, and lumbering tower-like stature, the monster is placed in moody and dimly-lit scenes where the darkness only enhances the fear of his abstract and asymmetrical body. Pairing that with the realistic depictions of the Viking people, theRobert Zemeckis moviemanages to chart through the uncanny valley relatively unscathed.
14The Water Horse — Crusoe
Not many people will remember the relatively small children’s adventure film from 2007,The Water Horse, which riffs on the “boy and his dog” concept, but instead of a dog, it’s the Loch Ness Monster. Seeing as no real Loch Ness monsters were used in the production, Crusoe (affectionately called in the film) is entirely computer generated, and does much of the heavy lifting in generating the audience’s sympathy.
Considering the majority of the film hinges on the audience’s belief in Crusoe’s realism, the film does a masterful job at crafting a three-dimensional creature with empathy and a fierce loyalty that feels both genuine and realistic. Since so much of Crusoe’s time on screen deals with interacting with real world objects and people, it is a marvel that this film pulled off such a complicated process with a mere $40 million budget.
13Predator — Invisibility Cloak
Throwing it all the way back to the year 1987, most adults will remember where they were when they watchedPredatorfor the first time. This film has been talked to death by this point, and studios themselves have been trying to recapture the feeling of foreboding that this action-horror classic spawned when it first graced movie screens.
Although the majority of the VFX in the film is created practically,the Predator’s invisibilityis not. John McTiernan’s classic monster utilizes a smart and efficient way to cloak itself from its prey by bending light around itself to hide in plain sight. Pairing the Predator’s invisibility with the camo outfits of the protagonists, the film creates an interesting visual parallel between the hunter and the hunted, especially considering the canopy-covered battleground they find themselves in. Though much of the CGI in this film can seem dated by today’s standards, the invisibility effect is both simple and effective enough to have stood the test of time.
12The Mummy — Face in the Sand
Any child of the 90s will be well aware of this film’s place in pop culture history;The Mummyis a blockbuster that needs no introduction. A reimagining of the classic Universal monster movie,The Mummy’s visual effects were lauded for their unique approach to the storytelling. Even during its production, the team working on the film were heavily focused on the look of the film, and by using a blend of practical effects and CGI, they brought the immortal Imhotep to life.
While some shots have aged better than others, perhaps one of the true marvels of this movie is the iconic Sand Face that appears when Imhotep is chasing our heroes in a prop plane. Comprising hundreds of thousands of digital grains of sand, this effect is among the earliest and biggest instances of particle simulation that appeared in ’90s cinema, with the sheer amount of computing power that would be required to render something of this size at the time.
Pairing this with the fact that the entire chase sequence takes place in the daytime, it is a real wonder that this effect not only holds up effectively today, but does a great job of fitting in narratively within the logic of the story itself.
11The Matrix — I Have No Mouth
As an original science fiction film,The Matrixis truly a marvel of filmmaking that marries both heady philosophical concepts with stylish and cutting-edge visuals. The most famous (and often most parodied) visual effect of the movie has to be the iconic bullet time sequences, but for our pick, we’d have to go with the interrogation scene.
The scene starts of masterfully tense, cutting between the cold and calculating Agent Smith as he prods “Mr. Anderson” for information he does not yet have. The cherry on top, of course, is the psychological torture that he inflicts by erasing his subject’s mouth, leaving a nightmarish, stretchy patch of skin. The scene is incredibly effective on its own, but with this addedlayer of body horror, the power and cold indifference of the machines comes into full light.
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10War of the Worlds — The Tripods
Steven Spielberg’s attempt at this sci-fi epic may have opened to mixed reviews, but there’s one thing that audiences could all agree on: the Tripods were among the scariest alien vehicles ever put to screen.
Tasked with the job of adapting the H.G. Wells classic,War of the Worlds, to the modern age, the most interesting aspect of the film is how they chose to adapt this iconic craft to fit a modern audience. Luckily, Wells' original description didn’t need too much tweaking, as the imagery of the bulbous head atop the three towering legs, surrounded by prehensile tentacles is enough nightmare fuel already. Working with ILM, Spielberg and his team managed to create a truly terrifying and otherworldly monstrosity that will continue to haunt our dreams with its iconic foghorn-like bellow.
9The Spiderwick Chronicles — Hogsqueal
The thing that setsThe Spiderwick Chroniclesapart is its willingness to lean into the weird — and often gross — nature of so many of the little monsters we come across inits 90-minute runtime. Working with WETA digital, the film does an exceptional job of bringing these creatures to life, pulling directly from the illustrations of the children’s books. Best of all of these, we felt, was the kids' hilarious and hungry companion: Hogsqueal.
This pig-like character is a colorful supporting member of the group who swings from branch to branch, looking for birds to eat. Hogsqueal’sappearance is so photoreal— with his flesh-colored skin, tattered clothes and weighty, but limber movement — that he is easily the most believable part of the imaginative bestiary seen in the film. The rest of these creatures are no less impressive, with so many different moving parts, realistic textures and often speaking roles,The Spiderwick Chroniclesis a must-watch for kids who love monsters.
8Reign of Fire — Wyrms in the Sky
An early-2000s cult classic,Reign of Fireis one of the more interesting spins on the Dragon myth. Instead of keeping the story in a more traditional medieval fantasy space, the movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by malevolent sky beasts who have turned the earth into a land of ash and smoke.
Having released in 2002, the quality of the CGI dragons is truly astounding for how realistic and animalistic they’re made to seem. Shrouded in shadow and smoke, it is often difficult to see these monsters clearly, but their presence dominates every frame of the film. The dragons in this movie are presented as more sinister, predatory creatures, with black skin and tattered wings; and their predator-like nature, paired with their brief and shadowy appearances only add to the grim realism that dominates the film’s tone.
7King Kong — Kong Himself
Peter Jackson’s incredible 2005 remake ofKing Kongwas a worthy follow-up to his widely praisedLord of the Ringstrilogy, where Jackson and his talented team of VFX artists at WETA Digital created the litany of monsters that populated all of Skull Island by creating a believable and realistic environment while paying homage to their original 1933 designs.
Of all the creatures we see in the film, there is no greater monster than with the Ape King himself. Working with Andy Serkis in anothermotion capture performancerole, Jackson’s Kong is a moody, but sympathetic beast. With almost no dialogue, Serkis' body language, paired with the immaculate VFX model tells us so much about Kong’s history through visual cues alone. Underneath all the rage and unhappiness; the crowning jewel of Kong’s appearance, are his soft, human eyes.King Kongis a tragic love story, and so much of the audience’s sympathy hinges on Kong’s ability to pull people in — which the film manages to pull off flawlessly.
6Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — The Balrog
We would be remiss if we picked Peter Jackson’sKing Kongand missed out on discussing the most culturally significant fantasy series of the 2000s. The incredible VFX work in theLord of the Ringsfilms is next to none, as the films have stood the test of time.The Fellowship of the Ring, in particular, is a riveting introduction to the world of Middle-earth, with Galadriel’s water-horse spell and the introduction of the nine cursed Kings, but for our pick we had to go with the Balrog scene in the mines of Moria.
WETA Digital came out the gate swinging with this monster, with its terrifying introduction in darkened halls; the only source of hellish light in the deep dark of the world. Despite being covered in smoke and flames, the Balrog’s design stands distinct with its horns, wings, flaming whip and teeth — a truly unworldly creature that resided in the belly of Middle Earth.
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