DEMONIC – You should watch Demonic for a lot of reasons. One, It’s a 2021 science fiction horror film shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, written, co-produced and directed by Neill Blomkamp. Two, the film stars Carly Pope, Chris William Martin, Michael J. Rogers, Nathalie Boltt, Terry Chen and Kandyse McClure.
And three, it introduces breakthrough visual effects that blur the lines between cinema and the video game experience. This is what we are focusing on in this article.
Neill Blomkamp was the director and co-writer of District 9, the acclaimed sci-fi action movie released in 2009. The screenplay earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Blomkamp and co-writer Terri Tatchell. Blomkamp followed this up by directing the dystopian sci-fi action movie Elysium, which was also praised by critics and did well at the box office. Blomkamp also directed and co-wrote 2015’s Chappie.
Blomkamp and the Demonic filmmakers use photogrammetry and a new patent-pending method of volumetric capture, a technique that digitizes three-dimensional space in real-time using an array of cameras set around a target. The captured object can be digitized and transferred to the web, mobile, or virtual worlds and viewed in 3D. Demonic uses point-based volumetric capture. The resulting data is represented as points or particles in 3D space carrying attributes such as color and point size with them. This allows for more information density and higher resolution content.
Demonic has to be seen to be appreciated. The technology allows travel into the mind of a character in the film who is in a coma. This freedom let’s them escape their body over which they have no control and shows the audience exactly what they are thinking as they interact with other key characters in the story. Quite the storytelling tool.
At one time, Neill Blomkamp planned to develop an Alien sequel with Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley. The project was shelved in favor of Ridley Scott’s prequel Alien: Covenant. Many fans have petitioned for 20th Century to resume the project, but no progress has been made. In addition Blomkamp planned to direct RoboCop Returns for MGM, but announced in 2019 that he was leaving the project to focus on a horror movie, which turned out to be Demonic. He admits to being a huge fan of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.
Please watch the excellent video by Wired below which delves into Volumetric Capture and what Blomkamp was hoping to achieve with Demonic., and let us know what you think about the movie and whether it works for you.
Neil Healy
