I recently watched Pan’s labyrinth a film I have always liked for its stunning blend of special and visual effects, coupled with a gripping storyline. It is a tale of a girl who uses her obsession with fairy tales as a means of escaping from the harsh reality of her life. Having never seen the special features I decided now was the time to do it. In particular there was a featurette about the character costume and make up of Doug Jones a well known ‘monster actor’ who plays both ‘Fauno’ and ‘Pale Man’. This was very interesting as it showed how the characters were created using both real costume and effects and some CGI. Doug Jones was filmed getting into the costumes and you could see just how much work there was behind the scenes to create these effects as well as the pressures as an actor having to stay in character whilst speaking a foreign language and having poor visibility. I found myself shocked to see Doug Jones in full costume, as the realism value was amazing even without CGI. I actually believed that I was looking at a fantasy creature and the fact that it was in a dressing room and out of context blew my mind further. As an observer I could not differentiate between the real and the fake. I saw him as a separate entity in the real world not just a man in a costume. Even scarier was seeing him dressed up as ‘Pale Man’ a hideous creature that I find truly terrifying. His skin falls saggy off his bones as if he was once fat. His long pointy fingernails are blackened. Worst of all he has no eyes in his head, instead just two nostrils and a dark mouth with jagged teeth. He has sockets in the palms of his hands, in which he can place removable eyes when he wishes to see. This is the most disturbing element of this character as well as the jerky unnatural way in which he walks as he stumbles around seeking out his victims. For a character to project so much fear into me whilst being completely out of context to the film, I think is a job well done and realism has definitely been achieved. It is only when Doug is in costume but starts talking in his American accent that the illusion is dropped and you realise it’s just someone in costume. I think this film is a brilliant example of realism and one of the best examples of how real effects and CGI can work together to create magic.
