10 Recent Movie Effects You Thought Were CGI (But Weren't)

2. Polka-Dot Man's Transformation - The Suicide Squad

James Gunn's The Suicide Squad cost a beefy $185 million and features creatively over-the-top VFX in basically every single scene, but one of its more grotesque effects was actually executed 100% for real.

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The film makes an unlikely hero out of niche comic book character Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), who is stricken with an interdimensional virus and must purge his polka dots twice a day or grow glowing pustules all over his body.

We end up seeing the stomach-churning results of this in the movie, where Polka-Dot Man's face is covered with neon-coloured growths, and given the effects-heavy nature of the production, why wouldn't it simply have been added in post?

But shortly after the film's release, James Gunn posted behind-the-scenes photos confirming that Polka-Dot Man's glowing pustules were indeed totally practical, with a combination of makeup prosthetics and lighting effects employed to bring it to life on-set.

Ultimately Gunn decided to tone down the more elaborate original effect for the final film, but it was still executed without any additional VFX elements whatsoever.

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