The horror genre has been heating up lately on the big and small screens. One of Netflix’s recent contributions in this regard is the series The Boroughs, a retirement community set upon by alien creatures, all at the direction of the development’s founders, who seek eternal youth provided by the actions of the creatures. ILM crafted and animated the creature model, taking a less-is-more approach with the shots.
(Source: Netflix)
When folks moved to the seemingly idyllic fictional retirement community called The Boroughs, they bought into the premise that they would be living out their end years surrounded by fellow retirees looking for fun, happiness, and friendship. Little did they realize the horror that awaited them in the peaceful enclave and just how soon their time was about to end.
That horror was generated on screen by huge spindly creatures that feed on the residents’ cerebrospinal fluid, which the creatures then fed to their mother, keeping the ancient alien alive. This process is the the machinations of the villainous owners of the retiree development, after discovering that Mother’s blood has healing and rejuvenating powers. After all, elderly people eventually die without questions being asked, providing a plentiful supply of victims.
And, it was visual effects house ILM that built the creatures and unleashed them on the unsuspecting community—that is, until the corrupt and evil owners of the development were found out by some of the resident sleuths.
The creatures—there are five children, all originating from the same model—are enormous and spider-like, with three bulging eyes, sharp teeth, gray skin, six mantis-like legs, and a shorter set of forearms. Production VFX supervisor for the series, Tara DeMarco, called it one of the most complex characters she has seen.
JPR Chief Editor Karen Moltenbrey digs deep into the VFX processes used to create the creatures for the Netflix series. You can find her behind-the-scenes story published on PostPerspective here.