Raiders of the Lost Cliches: Monsters and Creatures

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I think that one of the things that is suprising about the Indy series seeing its source material is the lack of Monsters and man eating animals, there were snakes true but they were more phobia inducing than dangerous and there were Vampire Bats and Crocs in ToD but Indy never had much to do with them. I think that something that could really give Indy IV great action sequences would be for there to be something extraordinary and withdrawn from reality like a great movie monster.

Imagine how much something like a giant eel or octopus would add to action sequences if done right, i really feel that the addition of some sort of creatures or monsters (not nessecerily really OTT monsters like Dragons etc) would add to Indy IV, it would stop the action sequences getting stale as was the case in LC and create something truly memorable.

As for what the Monsters/creatures could be that is where you people come in....

Good point bob. Wasn't the fifties, in fact, a refuge for all of those monster movies? Well I don't think we need Godzella or King Kong, but what about a mythical beast? Maybe big foot, or a lockness monster? Im also reminded of a comic(the name for which escapes me), where Indy battled a octopus.

But then again, aren't we crossing into fantasy if we involve such creatures? Im also reminded of LotR, (fellowship), where the heroes encountered a squid of some kind. As a matter of fact, the second installment of LotR (will be included in the third adaption of the movie, when it hits theaters next Christmas), also involves a great beast.

I think if Indy 4 included such rubbish, then we might as well forget the historical context of Indiana Jones. Might as well call it the Mummy or Tomb Raider, because those films did the same things with creatures.

swords said:

But then again, aren't we crossing into fantasy if we involve such creatures? Im also reminded of LotR, (fellowship), where the heroes encountered a squid of some kind. As a matter of fact, the second installment of LotR (will be included in the third adaption of the movie, when it hits theaters next Christmas), also involves a great beast.

I think if Indy 4 included such rubbish, then we might as well forget the historical context of Indiana Jones. Might as well call it the Mummy or Tomb Raider, because those films did the same things with creatures.

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I dont think so if it were done right, i am not really talking about King Kong style monsters/creatures but maybe a scene like in the comic Sea Devil where a Kraken destroys his ship. As we now have the technology not to have a real spectacle piece i think would be a missed opportunity.

I think I understand what you mean. But I don't think creatures really have a place, because, first of all, most fans are against the Saucermen script which delt with Extra terrestrials. And if fans hated that kind of sci-fi twist to the Indy story, then surely it would be the same case for monsters or sea creatures. Extraordinary ones.

Im reminded of 22 000 leagues under the sea, where a sea creature encountered the crew. Do we really want Indy on mythical quests and journeys, battling greek monsters and sea serpents, because I always preferred human villians. And if such creatures were used, then it would most likely will be done with CGI, which could devalue the Indy film even more. And if I recall, fans don't care for CGI.

Also, films like Jarassic Park, Harry Potter and a bunch more have already exausted CGI in similiar circumstances dealing with monsters. I think SS and GL(o.k, maybe not GL), want to redirect Indy on a different course, away from those types of movies, and keep Indy in more serial nature with human villians.

How does everybody else feel about this BTW? Im curious what others think as well...

Who knows, I could be wrong about the popular opinion of such a script(the Saucermen one...).

Well, it certainly is an idea. I'm getting pictures of giant Venus fly-traps, but something real would work. Perhaps a giant squid, I don't know. But maybe not, because if it's unrealistic, I think not. True to the serials, sure, but Indy has always been more realistic.

I personally think that monsters should be left out of it. the critter scenes were great parts of the original 3 movies though. i wouldnt mind seeing another one. the bugs from temple of doom in particular made me wince. if there WERE going to be some sort of large lethal "monster", i think it should be tigers, or an angry family of baboons. something along those lines. something not too far fetched and that could be done without any CGI. im hopin to God that they dont use any of that computer animation crap in Indy 4. but thats just my humble opinion.

Oh, on viewing my third paragraph, in which I said "rubbish"(in refererence to bob's idea) seemed kind of harsh. What I meant to say is, if it involved creatures, that it could take away from the historical point of view. However, since there seems to be a opinion against this idea, I would like to throw some ideas for such monsters:

Octopus is a obvious one. Maybe Megaladon?

Maybe Indy could fight against a Minotaur, and a good location would be a libyryth in Greece(or is it Crete?).

Theres another comic I read, where WW1 german soldiers rise from the dead to serve Hitler. But in this year(fities), it would instead be WW2 undead Nazis.

Maybe a giant serpent, like those found in Doc Savage magazines(who's a serial super hero as well).

So there are a lot of ideas for it...

swords said:

Maybe a giant serpent,

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Quetzalcoatl could be cool

swords said:

Oh, on viewing my third paragraph, in which I said "rubbish"(in refererence to bob's idea) seemed kind of harsh. What I meant to say is, if it involved creatures, that it could take away from the historical point of view. However, since there seems to be a opinion against this idea, I would like to throw some ideas for such monsters:

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Historical?

The Indy films were never historical they were a homage to a genre, i am just saying that monsters etc were part of that genre. I am not saying that Indy should fight some enormous CGI Jurassic Park mythical creation but some creatures that exist and maybe are mildly threatening rather than just phobia inducing.

There are a lot of good monsters in the real world

Gregoire Defence said:

swords said:

Maybe a giant serpent,

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Quetzalcoatl could be cool

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good point

Quetzalcoatl could surely be fun cuz of Indys snake fear... But then - he's already in IM...

Some people also were having ideas of Noahs Ark being "the object" of I4. So now, Noahs Ark + Animal/Monster combined...

Indy slowly opened the door of the ark. Sun rays were falling through holes in it into the big, very big ship. Indy put his hand on his whip. He was feeling a little wierd. What should he actually do here? What did the Nazis find so interesting about the ark? Nowhere in the bible it says of Noah having supernatural powers or something like that. Indiana slowly walked into the ship. The door shut behind him by itself. Indy quickly turned around and pulled out his revolver. Then he heard a screak. "Ah it just will be the wind. The wind blowing a little wood..." Indy calmly looked around. His eyes focused on a dark corner. What was lying there? Bones? "Hmm. Looks like Noah's 'pets' weren't the only animals who lived here. Just some critters and stuff maybe..." No. It couldn't be. "But... that big... Well maybe also some wild dogs and such..." No. Indy's wierd feeling got stronger. "But... that much!! It's wierd. I am not a coward but I'm not stupid. I'll get out of here." Indy walked to the door quickly. While walking he saw something red lighting on one skull. Indy tried to open the door. It was stuck. Indiana looked up. Mabye he could brake out a little bit more wood at some holes. Just when he walked to one, he heard a growling. A skull was rolling towards him. Indy looked into the dark corner. A huge, mighty paw with sharp claws. "Indiana Jones. I see you found our new weapon before we did." Indy looked up. (Enter name by yourself, it doesn't matter just note it's a nazi) grinned at him. "Now we see if it really is worth analyzing this thing, studying it, cloning it. And using it for war. Harh Harh Har Hah!"

Wanna get the rest of the story? Watch: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Wierd Ideas...

I know! A giant serpent guarding the Garden of Eden!!!

AcesHigh77 said:

I personally think that monsters should be left out of it. the critter scenes were great parts of the original 3 movies though. i wouldnt mind seeing another one. the bugs from temple of doom in particular made me wince. if there WERE going to be some sort of large lethal "monster", i think it should be tigers, or an angry family of baboons. something along those lines. something not too far fetched and that could be done without any CGI. im hopin to God that they dont use any of that computer animation crap in Indy 4. but thats just my humble opinion.

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I agree completely. Indy 4 should, ideally, have little CGI if any. It could be used to make certain special effects sequences more realistic. Temple of Doom could have used a lot of CGI, for example (had it been available back then), just to make things like the plane exploding and Indy running from the flood of water look better. But when it comes to actual CGI characters, creatures and objects, I'd be pretty mortified if they used them in Indy 4. As good as CGI is these days, it's still usually painfully obvious whenever it's used. As far as creatures go in Indy 4, I think any mythical creatures would be a bad idea (considering how disappointing and just plain wrong they felt in the Indy games), but real creatures would be good... as long as they had an actual reason for being aggravated and dangerous. Raiders did this marvelously with the Well of Souls, and the beginning of Last Crusade with the circus train wasn't bad. Whatever happens, I do hope Indy runs into snakes again... it really wouldn't be a fitting last chapter in the Indy saga without at least a few of them.

AcesHigh77 said:

I personally think that monsters should be left out of it. the critter scenes were great parts of the original 3 movies though. i wouldnt mind seeing another one. the bugs from temple of doom in particular made me wince. if there WERE going to be some sort of large lethal "monster", i think it should be tigers, or an angry family of baboons. something along those lines. something not too far fetched and that could be done without any CGI. im hopin to God that they dont use any of that computer animation crap in Indy 4. but thats just my humble opinion.

Click to expand...

I agree completely. Indy 4 should, ideally, have little CGI if any. It could be used to make certain special effects sequences more realistic. Temple of Doom could have used a lot of CGI, for example (had it been available back then), just to make things like the plane exploding and Indy running from the flood of water look better. But when it comes to actual characters, creatures and objects, I'd be pretty mortified if they used them in Indy 4. As good as CGI is these days, it's still usually painfully obvious whenever it's used. As far as creatures go in Indy 4, I think any mythical creatures would be a bad idea (considering how disappointing and just plain wrong they felt in the Indy games), but real creatures would be good... as long as they had an actual reason for being aggravated and dangerous. Raiders did this marvelously with the Well of Souls, and the beginning of Last Crusade with the circus train wasn't bad. Whatever happens, I do hope Indy runs into snakes again... it really wouldn't be a fitting last chapter in the Indy saga without at least a few of them.

I think I see where Bob is coming from on this one. I don't think he means "Monsters" as in dragons, huge mythical beasts, or supernatural creatures.

Why not something like large scorpions or centipedes (OK, I know that TOD had some nasty bugs, but it was just a small sequence). What about that most feared of all creatures.....a shark?

And why not push the envelope a little? How about a Yedi? I don't know about Loch Ness......

Man VS Nature is always a good struggle for an adventure movie.

Well, If you mean like real existing creature, is not bad, we could have like monkey said, sharks and stuff. But if you mean fictional creatures, I wpuldn't mind either...maybe big foot on a temple or somehting....I like teh giant centepede idea. ANd, well, the large snake was already in Infernal Machine, but I wouldn't minf it neither.

thegreatimposter
Indyfan


I know! A giant serpent guarding the Garden of Eden!!!

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BWHAAHAHAHAHA!!

No seriously, when did genetic manipulation take place and could those ramifications play apart in monsters?

monkey said:

I think I see where Bob is coming from on this one. I don't think he means "Monsters" as in dragons, huge mythical beasts, or supernatural creatures.

Why not something like large scorpions or centipedes (OK, I know that TOD had some nasty bugs, but it was just a small sequence). What about that most feared of all creatures.....a shark?

And why not push the envelope a little? How about a Yedi? I don't know about Loch Ness......

Man VS Nature is always a good struggle for an adventure movie.

Click to expand...

Bugs would be great... the scene with zillions of bugs in Temple of Doom was probably one of my favorites in the movie. Sharks I don't know about... what reason would they have for attacking Indy? Sharks very rarely attack people. I know the old serials could make just about any animal vicious for the sole purpose of giving the hero something to combat, but Indy killing sharks makes him kind of an anti-hero in my opinion. It's Indiana Jones, not Jaws. A Yeti might actually work, as long as it wasn't CGI... it's certainly not as far-fetched as having Indy fight ghosts. *COUGHemperor'stombCOUGH* Whew. My allergies must be acting up.

I was thinking about a reeeeeal huge and mean lion when writing that "paw description"...

Gators. I'd go with gators.