10 Movie Scenes With Hidden Tricks You Totally Missed

6. The Matrix - The Bug

The Matrix Kung Fu
Warner Bros.

The Matrix, as you all are well aware, changed a lot about filmmaking when it landed in 1999. So much of the movie was memorable and whilst some of the CGI effects of the original trilogy have dated over time, some effects still work because of the use of practical wizardry.

One scene in particular that always stayed with me was early into the film where the Agents interrogate Neo. Using the power of CGI they remove Neo’s mouth from his face so that he can’t scream and - disgustingly - unleash a bug onto his body that crawls inside of his belly button.

But it wasn’t all CGI.

The effect required some truly chilling visuals to hit home, including the bug wandering around inside of Neo’s stomach, pushing against his skin. Instead of doing everything digitally, the production team on The Matrix built a very realistic animatronic of Keanu Reeve’s torso using the actors’ body to create a cast. The bug inside of him could be controlled remotely, to give it that squeamish look in both the implant and extraction scenes.

If it gave you nightmares before, then looking up behind the scenes footage of the realistic headless and limbless torso of Keanu Reeves with the remote controlled bug inside certainly won’t help.

Contributor

Coming from a content creation background that now spans over two decades, Psy cut her teeth on personal video production and community radio. Originally joining the team as a writer and presenter, she added video editing duties to her responsibilities over time and became the longest-standing editor of the irreverent gaming show Tues Your Own Adventure. Psy has worked on many previews and reviews, long-form editorials (either her own, or supporting as an editor), as a frequent quizmaster and more. Praised for the two-pronged attack of her hard work ethic and light-hearted editing style, Psy is otherwise known as a font of retro video game knowledge which has caused her to rack up many gaming quiz wins. Outside of WhatCulture, Psy runs First Aid Spray Podcast - a long-running channel that focuses on Resident Evil in all of it's forms. You can follow her on BlueSky at http://psywhite.bsky.social and Instagram at http://instagram.com/therealpsywhite