As one of Netflix’s biggest releases of the summer, not to mention one of the most meme-worthy films in recent memory, Bird Box has been tearing up our news feeds for weeks.
Now, thanks to some sneaky posts by monster designer Andy Bergholtz, we finally get a look at what the thriller’s nightmarish creature may have looked like had it been given form in the film.
As The Wrap reports, Bergholtz has taken to Instagram to post his behind-the-scenes shots of the work in process creature, being made for a scene that would eventually be cut from the movie entirely.
The planned nightmare sequence would have shown this “twisted, demonic baby creature attacking” Sandra Bullock’s character in a “dream/nightmare sequence”, and would have been far more explicitly scary than the creeping sense of dread the final cut delivered.
As Bergholtz explains, the creation was intended to play into Sandra Bullock’s character’s greatest fears, centred of course around the baby she was carrying when the disaster struck.
“Considering her pregnant state and emotional arc thru the movie, the producers felt Sandra’s nightmare would have something to do with a twisted, demonic baby creature attacking her (that’s as much as I could gather about the context of the scene anyway),” he explains.
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“I sculpted at least three or four variations on the design before it was approved, which began as a more aggressive, monstery look and was revised to be a bit more subtle in the end.”
While his work didn’t end up making it into the final release at all, he seems to feel that the decision to leave the monsters’ appearance – tailored to each character’s unique fears – a secret was the right one.
“In the end, I actually really liked the movie and think it was better off NOT showing the makeup,” he said. “Kudos to the director for sticking to her guns on that one.”
Bird Box is out now on Netflix, and stars Sandra Bullock and Moonlight‘s Trevante Rhodes alongside an ensemble cast including John Malkovich, rapper Machine Gun Kelly, and Aussies Jackie Weaver and Danielle Macdonald.
Watch: Bird Box trailer:
