Stranger Things season 4 production designer Barrie Gower talks about the inspiration behind and the physical creation of the new monster Vecna.
More details about the big bad in Stranger Things season four have been revealed by one of the crew members who used practical special effects to make the new monster a reality. Originally hitting Netflix in 2016, the science-fiction horror show set in the 1980s follows a rag-tag group of kids in Hawkins, Indiana, who are drawn into the center of a fight between their world and the supernatural world of the Upside Down. The group is helmed by Mike (Finn Wolfhard) who kicked off the show by encouraging his small group of friends who liked riding bikes and playing D&D to take in Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a strange girl with supernatural powers. As the seasons have progressed, the friend group has grown bigger and their abilities to fight monsters like Demogorgons and the evil Mind Flayer have gotten stronger. However, the end of the newest trailer for Stranger Things season four reveals a new threat looming on the horizon in the form of the sinister humanoid Vecna.
As with the naming of the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, the name Vecna (aka the Undying King) comes from D&D lore about a wizard who eventually becomes corrupted as he uses dark magic to become an immortal creature known as a lich. With the second episode being titled "Vecna's Curse," the monster is set up to be an integral part of the fourth season and a bigger threat to the Hawkins crew than any government conspiracy or Russian base. If the creature is anything like its D&D counterpart it will be increasingly hard to defeat as it doesn't need a host, and it won't be as easily manipulated as the other monsters that rely on instinct alone.
In a group interview during a virtual set visit attended by Screen Rant and other outlets, Stranger Things production designer Barrie Gower describes what went into the creation of the Vecna. The thought process behind the monster was that he was a human who's been subjected to the volatile nature of the Upside Down for some 20 odd years, and as such the design team integrated "lots of shapes and textures and form from the Upside Down." The actual prosthetics of Vecna were cast from a life-size mold which the production team used to create warped shapes from fiberglass and epoxy resin that revealed the anemic human skin underneath. Read Gower's full comment below:
What's happened is he's been subjected to all the environments and all the surroundings of the Upside Down basically for 20 odd years. So, the look for Vecna is, he's humanoid but we are basically integrating lots of shapes and textures and form from the Upside Down. There's a lot of roots and vines and very organic shapes and fibrous muscle tissue and what have you.
With lots of mainstream franchises relying heavily on CGI to flesh out their worlds, it's refreshing to see that the new Stranger Things monster Vecna will rely on prosthetics and practical special effects to instill fear in audiences. The sinewy root-like structures that stretch out from its body clearly resemble similar forms of the Mind Flayer, and continue to establish the ever-expanding aesthetics of the world of the Upside Down. The hand-crafted designs will certainly add a physical dimension to the character, and their organic nature will serve as a reminder that a human was forced to mutate into the creature known as Vecna.
It's clear from previous seasons of Stranger Things that the Upside Down has powerful lasting impacts on any human that comes into contact with its realm. Knowing that, it's hard to imagine what 20 years of being in the Upside Down would do to a person's psyche, and how much of the 'human' part remains by the time the Hawkins crew comes into contact with Vecna. The connection to D&D lore implies that the only human aspects left are the creature's humanoid form, and that the rest has become corrupted by the effects of such long-term exposure to the Upside Down. Fans will have to wait until Stranger Things season 4, part 1, drops on Netflix on May 27th, and part 2 on July 1st to see just how formidable Vecna is and if the Hawkins crew stands a chance of defeating the creature.
