What Should The Creature Be?

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
The previous movies gave us snakes, bugs, rats and...more bugs. For Indy 5, what should the main creppy creature be?

Any B-movies from the 60s that could be used as inspiration the same way The Naked Jungle inspired ants for Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull? We've expressed desire to revisit Asia, or make a detour to Antarctica. Any ideas besides something outlandish like killer pandas or polar bears?
 

Demi-Lune

New member
Scorpions? Bats? Spiders (too close to bugs maybe)?

If they had an underwater scene, jellyfish. I've gone swimming once in an environment that was crawling with jellyfish and UGH.
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
We've had scorpions (Crystal Skull), bats (Temple of Doom) and spiders (Raiders) already, but I love your jellyfish idea.
 

curmudgeon

Well-known member
It's pretty dependent on where the films takes us.

There are some multi-continent creatures the films haven't used yet, for instance: bears, wild canines, amphibians, and fish.

Even though bats were in Temple of Doom, if any part of the movie gives us a haunted castle, I feel like they could be used again to nice effect.

Indy films haven't done much with the big cats (the circus train lion being the only significant one) and Asia hosts a at least a few types of leopards...
 

Indyfan82

Member
Killer bees sound like they could be appropriate. Or maybe Spielberg could do a Jaws reference and use killer sharks.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Forbidden Eye said:
Any B-movies from the 60s that could be used as inspiration the same way The Naked Jungle inspired ants for Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull?
"Sands of the Kalahari" (1965) has a huge swarm of locusts...and pack of vicious baboons.
 

Kai Hagen

New member
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Indyfan82

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forbidden Eye
Any B-movies from the 60s that could be used as inspiration the same way The Naked Jungle inspired ants for Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull?
"Sands of the Kalahari" (1965) has a huge swarm of locusts...and pack of vicious baboons.

Depending on the nature of the artifact Indy is looking for, this could also have significance if a swarm of locusts was used particularly, as it has Biblical significance in relation to apocalyptic prophecies. (See Exodus 10, the book of Joel as well as Revelation 9.)
That might add an interesting dimension to the creature scene to have a greater tie-in to the overall quest.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
I was discussing this offline the other day. The sweet spot that really needs to be hit is something that is both creepy and threatening.

This renders lots of larger creatures, like bears, as somewhat off-model. I think if you want a mammal - other than bats, which are worth a second go - something like hyenas, which have the benefit of laughing and coming off as somewhat mangy, might be your best bet. Hyenas also have the benefit of living throughout much of Africa.

I suggested that things that swarm are pretty much overplayed, specifically as far as bugs are concerned. Maggots are a strong thought insofar as they're legitimately repulsive, but I'm not sure they seem immediately dangerous enough.

That said, bees and the like are worth considering, though also being territory somewhat owned by The Wicker Man remake. They do have the benefit of flying. I think wasps or hornets would be closer to the mark than bees, especially with bees being endangered.

I like Indyfan82's general idea of tying the creatures into the quest more, though as for locusts specifically, I'm not terribly keen on them going back to the Biblical well. Locusts would also, arguably, be re-trodding the agricultural devastation theme of Temple of Doom.

They've lost their chance on piranhas, I fear, having been to the Amazon in the most recent installment and not following through on that. That said, there's some indication that a scene with Mutt being bitten by a piranha was filmed and cut, so possibly the general idea of threatening fish is something they'd like to revisit.

Certainly, having the creature scene in the water would be offering a twist on it. Jellyfish is a compelling thought; so too are eels. Or anything in the cephalopod family, which, like most mammals, offers the possibility of working with a larger creepy creature. Possibly also some really threatening crustaceans.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
This sort of sequence, if done right, might be cool. It would fill the creature quota and give a nod to Spielberg's past, while also making for an interesting action scene - again, if done right.

Indy & co are travelling by boat and and we see views of a shark swimming in the water around their boat and Indy's companion is nervous. Indy basically tells them to "relax, they don't attack unless they're hungry" or something - only to have the shark attack and Indy and his friend(s) have to fight it off and kill it. It'd be a short sequence, maybe ten minutes, but would fill the quota. Maybe have Indy, out of breath at the end of the sequence, brushing his hair back over his head and putting his fedora back on, say a little bitterly something along the lines of, "It's always somethin'"
 

TheFedora

Active member
I wonder if something like wolves should be the new creature. Say a particularly vicious pack or something thats guarding whatever ancient temple that they are going towards.
 

Olliana

New member
I just hope for something that's not all CG this time, or if so, that it looks believable and grounded in reality at least.
Wolves would be nice if they go for a snow-bound setting this time. They looked pretty convincing in the latest Jungle Book movie.

The only real threatening creepy crawlies so far were the snakes in ROTLA and the ants in KOTCS. The bugs in TOD were harmless on their own behalf, but they played brilliantly with the female character's phobia and her time pressure of getting past her fear to save the hero(es). I'd like to see something clever like that again.
 

TheFedora

Active member
Olliana said:
I just hope for something that's not all CG this time, or if so, that it looks believable and grounded in reality at least.
Wolves would be nice if they go for a snow-bound setting this time. They looked pretty convincing in the latest Jungle Book movie.

The only real threatening creepy crawlies so far were the snakes in ROTLA and the ants in KOTCS. The bugs in TOD were harmless on their own behalf, but they played brilliantly with the female character's phobia and her time pressure of getting past her fear to save the hero(es). I'd like to see something clever like that again.

Yeah I do hope for a snow bound setting as well, aside from Nepal in Raiders, I don't think we've had snow bound settings at all. Also Uncharted 2 showed me that Snow bound settings can be pretty awesome done right. And yeah, in a pack, wolves would be very grounded.
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
From "Raiders of the Lost Ark":

post_indianajones_raiders_cat.jpg


I'll see you again, Indy!

:)
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Olliana said:
The only real threatening creepy crawlies so far were the snakes in ROTLA and the ants in KOTCS. The bugs in TOD were harmless on their own behalf, but they played brilliantly with the female character's phobia and her time pressure of getting past her fear to save the hero(es). I'd like to see something clever like that again.

I agree with how you broke that down, that the bugs largely depend on Willie's reaction to them, but I would say that they <I>could have</I> been dangerous, that is, poisonous, or simply disease carriers, as the rats presumably would have been. Though, yes, the rats bite and/or pull hair, which is more than we definitely see of the bugs.

Animals in packs are good, but wolves in particular have had a fair deal of mainstream exposure lately, between The Grey and both the Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast remakes.
 

TheFedora

Active member
Attila the Professor said:
I agree with how you broke that down, that the bugs largely depend on Willie's reaction to them, but I would say that they <I>could have</I> been dangerous, that is, poisonous, or simply disease carriers, as the rats presumably would have been. Though, yes, the rats bite and/or pull hair, which is more than we definitely see of the bugs.

Animals in packs are good, but wolves in particular have had a fair deal of mainstream exposure lately, between The Grey and both the Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast remakes.

So are you saying that wolves could be considered too overdone then to put in a Indy movie? More to the point I just brought that up since it seemed like an animal that you could easily have the hero kill one or two, and it will feel like a minor victory for the character, but then they might still prove an overwhelming threat
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
TheFedora said:
So are you saying that wolves could be considered too overdone then to put in a Indy movie? More to the point I just brought that up since it seemed like an animal that you could easily have the hero kill one or two, and it will feel like a minor victory for the character, but then they might still prove an overwhelming threat

That's my thought for the moment, yeah. There was an entire Liam Neeson film built around fighting them and all that.

But I think the rest of what you and Olliana said about wolves is on point, that they're A) different than what we've had before B) something that can be fought off, outsmarted, or evaded and C) from a different type of environment. They aren't particularly creepy or disgusting, which I think is part of the formula, but it could be pulled off. Still, for that type of animal, something canine or feline, I'd be intrigued by some kind of wild dog or hyena.

So I guess I'm pushing these guys?

hyena-laugh.jpg


Though this Wikipedia article on Man-Eaters suggests a real missed opportunity for Temple of Doom:

Reports have been made of goonch catfish eating humans in the Kali River in India.[47] As seen on River Monsters, the wels catfish, piraíba, and the candiru-açu have also been known to potentially attack, kill, and eat people.
 
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