Zach Cregger’s Sci-Fi Masterpiece Made One Brilliant Change to Its Monster: ‘It Just Looks Creepier’

Wētā Workshop’s visual effects team says the “Pedestrian” in Zach Cregger’s *Resident Evil* was created digitally, despite a viral clip of performers tied together that some viewers took to be a practical-effects test. The clip showed an early exploration of the creature’s movement; the team found that approach too limited and too orderly for the unnatural monster they wanted.

The artists arranged digital bodies at different angles so the fused creature would look messier and creepier, and follow director Zach Cregger’s specific idea that it should roll. They also added a third body to its first appearance, after tests suggested that more bodies made it harder to track the limbs. The article also describes another sewer creature, the “Fat Man”, whose stomach bursts to release mutant rats.