In the latest season of FX’s “What We Do In The Shadows,” the creative minds behind the series are bringing a unique and hilarious touch to the concept of creating life. Paul Jones, the designer responsible for prosthetics makeup and creature effects, emphasizes the show’s mockumentary style, which drives him to craft big, bold, and humorous designs. With the rapid pace of filming and the frenetic nature of the scripting, Jones explains that anything less than exaggerated won’t translate well on screen.
In Season 6, one of Lazlo Cravensworth’s main goals is to animate life from dead parts—a premise that, while humorous, draws inspiration from classic literature like “Frankenstein.” Jones aimed to create an unsettling yet captivating monster, steering clear of the more intricate designs typical of Guillermo Del Toro. His focus was on ensuring that viewers could immediately recognize the stitched and stapled body parts, achieving a grotesque yet comedic appearance.
The challenges of designing Cravensworth’s Monster required Jones and his team to produce numerous versions of the creature, including a headless model and various prosthetics for actor Andy Assaf. With every application of prosthetic pieces, new ones had to be created, leading to a significant amount of work despite the show’s modest size compared to larger productions. To streamline the process, choices were made to reduce the time Assaf spent in the makeup chair, including using lead tape for the monster’s staples.
As the team adapted their designs to fit the comedic tone of “What We Do In The Shadows,” Jones highlighted the absurdity of the creature’s features, such as mismatched ears. His intention was to create a “patchwork quilt” of body parts, a style befitting Lazlo’s artistic sensibility. Ultimately, the blend of grotesque and humor defines the unique look of the monster, making it simultaneously bizarre and endearing.
Fans can catch the latest season of “What We Do In The Shadows” streaming on Hulu and Disney+.