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Creature suits are realistic costumes used to disguise a performer as an animal, monster, or other being. They are used in film, television, or as costumed characters in live events. Unlike , they are often made with a high degree of realism. In contrast with prosthetic makeup, which is applied to an actor's skin, the wearer is not normally visible outside their movements controlling the costume, although in some cases, part of the wearer's body is still visible (such as in the case of or other half-human monsters).
The first foam rubber creature suit used in film was Gill-man, from the film Creature from the Black Lagoon, which released in 1954 and beat Godzilla by half a year. The suit, created by the film special-effects artist Don Post, was extremely hot when worn outside of the water, requiring actor Ben Chapman to be regularly hosed down, and difficult to see out of.
The success of Godzilla caused creature suits to be adopted in the Japanese tokusatsu genre as kaiju, or giant monsters. They were animated using the suitmation technique, combining slow-motion filming and miniature sets to make them appear larger than they really were.
Creature suit technology advanced during the latter half of the 20th century to include modern materials and animatronics integrated into the costume itself, increasing their realism. The animatronics were usually puppeteered by an operator with a remote control. However, their use dropped due to the advent of CGI, which was often cheaper to implement. For example, the suit used in the television series Harry and the Hendersons cost USD $1 million.
Nevertheless, despite the fluidity of CGI animals and monsters, purely visual effects are often panned, or, at least, not preferred by discerning film viewers. It is extremely difficult to mimic realistic lighting, leading to most CGI creatures and characters looking obviously fake when placed alongside real environments, especially if the film has a low budget and cannot afford sophisticated 3D modeling and rendering. Films such as Jurassic Park, which made heavy use of , including creature suits, remain well-regarded for their special effects, while CGI creatures quickly become dated as technology advances. This has led to the continued use of creature suits in modern-day films and commercials to provide additional realism, such as Hellboy and .
In other instances, CGI and creature suits are combined, using green parts of the suit to chroma key them and add or remove appendages in post-production. This technique was used to hide suit actors' heads in the 2005 film , replace satyr creatures' legs in the 2005 film , and to add facial expressions to the monsters in the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are.
Creature suits have also been used in many live events and productions, such as the dinosaur suits used in Walking with Dinosaurs − The Arena Spectacular. They are also used in to represent monsters and other creatures that have to interact with players. In addition, they are sometimes used in , such as Bigfoot sightings.
Sometimes, the suits are made by smaller studios or individuals. often make replicas of famous Monster movie. Some of the most commonly seen creature suits in cosplay are the Alien and Predator from their respective series. Other cosplayers make suits of Anthropomorphism or monster characters from and anime. They can also come in the form of realistic made to depict the owner's original character, with no prior appearance in mass media.
While most suits are operated by a single wearer, some suits, such as those of large quadrupedal animals like Greenpeace polar bear Paula, must be worn by multiple people in a similar manner as a pantomime horse. However, the wearers usually refrain from such goofy and comedic antics as their satirical counterparts, in order to add the illusion of lifelike movement.
Notable suit actors include Haruo Nakajima, who portrayed Godzilla in twelve consecutive films, as well as various other giant kaiju, and was considered "invaluable" to the Godzilla franchise. Doug Jones portrayed many monsters in films directed by Guillermo del Toro, including the faun and Pale Man of Pan's Labyrinth, and the Amphibian Man from The Shape of Water. He had been slated to portray Frankenstein's monster in a film based on the Dark Universe franchise before it was cancelled. Mark Steger, a veteran creature suit actor, portrayed the Demogorgon of Stranger Things. Misty Rosas, among other roles, portrayed Amy the gorilla in Congo, as well as the aliens Kuiil and Frog Lady in Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.
In addition to realistic gorilla suits used in film and television, dressing up as a gorilla for comedic effect has become a public phenomenon. They are sometimes linked to the character of King Kong, who was portrayed using a suit in the Japanese Toho films of which he was protagonist, as well as the 1976 remake and Its sequel.
Though suitmation proved to be a valuable method of portraying giant creatures and characters, some uses of the technology could prove to be a gruelling experience for the suit actors. On the set of Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), Kenpachiro Satsuma, who portrayed the titular main antagonist, Hedorah, suffered from a bout of appendicitis during production. Satsuma gave an interview before the diagnosis wearing part of the costume, causing a rumor that he wore the suit during the procedure.Godziszewski, Ed, and Michiko Imamura. "Inside Godzilla: An Interview with Kenpachiro Satsuma." G-Fan, September/October 1995, pg. 25.
The appearance of a robot suit on Russian state television channel Russia-24 sparked controversy when it was billed as a real robot, before being revealed as a £3,000 realistic costume.
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