Dive into the Wendigo den in a newly tweeted featurette from Searchlight Pictures. To promote the recent Blu-ray release of the 2021 thriller film, Antlers, the cast and crew take viewers on a journey behind what went into creating the sharp-toothed beast.
Monster maven, Guillermo del Torro, talks about his idea of giving the Wendigo a crown of antlers much like that of a stag, which he considers to be “the king of the forest.” Through the symmetric antlers, del Torro and concept artist, Guy Davis, set out to decorate their take on a Wendigo with an ornamental flare. The duo also decided to not give the creature eyes in order to boost its inhuman edge and to pair that with long, sharp teeth to make the monster appear “hungry.”
Speaking to the legacy that follows del Torro, director Scott Cooper says that he was inclined to work on Antlers because he knew that del Torro was a “master at creating creatures''. Cooper, who also directed 2017’s Hostiles and 2013’s Out of the Furnace, goes on to describe del Torro’s zest and ability to bring the mythical beasts to life as “a child-like exuberance” in which he pours into all aspects of the design and follow-through.
Known for his work in monster flicks such as Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak, and most recently, Nightmare Alley, del Torro’s reputation as the king of monsters is no joke. His designs have garnered the director a slew of awards including two Academy Awards and two BAFTAs. He has a penchant for caring so deeply about forming the perfect look that he fully immerses himself into the lore surrounding each behemoth. As Cooper puts it, “[del Torro] has such an encyclopedic knowledge about almost every creature that’s ever been made that he wants to feel wholly unique and wholly unique to this project and what it represents on a metaphorical level. And no detail is too small.”
Adapted from Antosca’s short story, The Quiet Boy, Antlers takes place in a small town in Oregon and follows a teacher’s quest to aid a young student whom she thinks is struggling with family-related issues. When she invests in the help of her police officer brother, the two soon realize that the boy’s secrets run much deeper than the surface first reveals. The feature stars Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Sawyer Jones, Graham Greene, and Scott Haze.
Check out the featurette below to see del Torro’s Wendigo grow from a tiny figurine to a full-blown, bloodthirsty monster.