10 CGI Moments In Recent Movies NOBODY Noticed

5. The Sherman Fields Candyman - Candyman

Black Widow
Universal

It's certainly no secret that the new Candyman sequel uses CGI to de-age original Candyman star Tony Todd in its delirious climax, but did you know there's actually a 100% digital character hidden in plain sight throughout the film?

Early on we're told about the tragic tale of Sherman Fields (Michael Hargrove), a hook-handed Black man who was shot by racist police officers decades ago, and several times throughout the film we see him appear as a version of the vengeful Candyman.

While it simply seems that actor Hargrove was kitted out in grotesque makeup effects to perform these scenes, that's not quite the case.

Though Hargrove did indeed perform all of the scenes himself, during post-production director Nia DaCosta decided that the prosthetic facial scarring effects didn't quite look good enough.

And so, VFX house Luma Pictures was charged with replacing Hargrove with a total digital recreation from scratch, using crime scene photography to create a more visceral facial wound.

Yet because this decision was made in post, no movement data for Hargrove had been captured during principal photography, making the process considerably more difficult.

But the end result is extremely difficult to spot, in large part thanks to smart use of dim lighting to conceal the obvious "tells" of a digital human face. Incredible.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.