Wednesday, September 26, 2007

not disturbing?

First Born (1988)

This is a mini series aired on BBC.
A genetic researcher managed to breed a human-gorilla hybrid then adopts the child and helps the child to blend into society.

I could not find the actual dvd anywhere but on Amazon.com.uk. This is the only example I found so far in which the result from a science experiment does not look disturbing. However, people have commented that this production has evoked so much emotion and brought to surface the possible consequences of genetic engineering in a most disturbing way.

Thus, my challenge will be developing characters that look scientifically realistic but do not look frightening.

movie time~

I was looking for a copy of The Island of Dr. Moreau online and somehow ended up signing up for blockbuster. -__-
I realized that the concept of parahuman and science experiments go awry is really not new. But Matt had said in Character Studio that there really isn't any new story, it is how a story is presented that attracts people.
Working on my bibliography, this is what my queue looks like for now:

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977/1996)
human-animal hybrid/sci lab


Fly (1986)
human-bug/sci exp


Frankenstein (1931)


The Henderson Monster (1980)
genetic scientist/ethnic


Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor
(1990)
genetic exp go wrong/alien


The Alligator People (1958)
scientists/turning people into monsters


The Man-Thing (2005)
scientist injecting himself/swamp beast


Earth vs Spider (2001)
injected with serum


Mosquito Man (2003)
accident in lab/escaped lab subject/human DNA mixed with mosquito DNA


Subhuman/Self Life (2004)
monster hunting human

Carnivore(2000)
government exp/creature escapes


Curse of the Komodo(2004)
genetically-engineered Komodo dragons/hunting people on tropical island/scientist must stop


Syngenor(1990)
cyborgs malfunction


Swamp Thing (1982)
special chemical/scientists turn into plant monster


SSSSSS(1973)
lab-aid/serum turns man into king cobra

The Ape Man (1943)
sci experiments/ scientist turn into ape

Alien 51 (2004)
genetic-engineering experiment/alien DNA

13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil (2002)


The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
supernatural

Then I realized that most of these movies are listed under horror/sci-fi. I know that if my goal is to be realistic, then the creatures I am creating have to be somewhat frightening because mixing animal genes and human genes in a scientific matter will not produce something cute. But I am not sure if horror is the direction I want to pursue. Especially when my working time is usually at night, and I really do not want to scare myself.
Is it possible to make a creature look scientifically realistic but not that scary?
Therefore, I still have a decision to make: brutally realistic or merely entertaining?

stepping back

To have a fresh look on the project, I've decided to step back and start looking at human-animal hybrids through today's culture, mythology, and science fictions. Here is the 2nd week presentation.

re-intro

I have decided to stick with my previous idea of creating hyper-realistic characters through a scientific point of view.
My re-introduction presentation is here.

pre-thesis

For the documentation of my thesis process before this final year, check out my pre-thesis blog.