Last Updated on November 7, 2024 by Angel Melanson
The Eye of the Salamander director Pavel Nikolajev describes his movie as a twisted plot involving teleportation and alter egos. And of course, an ancient creature unleashed into the world. The movie was heavily inspired by classic '80s Sci-Fi and horror films, which meant it was important to Nikolajev to utilize mostly practical FX with minimum CGI.
As often tends to be the case in independent movie making, Nikolajev wears multiple hats on the production. Director, FX and… creature actor. “It’s not because I wanted to,” Nikolajev makes it very clear, but securing insurance for stunts and a creature actor made it far more practical for Nikolajev to take it on himself. Take a look at some test footage below.
When it came to putting the suit on, Nikolajev says “It was exhausting.” But should the offer come in, would he consider doing more creature work? He’s not entirely opposed: “If there is a demand for it I’ll see. I was really surprised at how everything worked out. I think this type of suit can be applied to many different characters, making them look authentic, and allowing directors to shoot in camera avoiding unnecessary CGI shots. “
Special stilts allowed for the odd, eerie movement.
“They’re specially designed digitigrade stilts. They fit around your hips, legs and ankles, emulating the real animal anatomy. Plus they have strings from the knees to the heels, acting as tendons and allowing you to move easily. Very robust and well done!I’m happy I decided to go with those, otherwise the suit wouldn’t work as it did! It took me a while to put the skins on them correctly though.”
What about the learning curve? Going from a writer and director behind the camera with two features under your belt does not necessarily mean you can jump into creature acting and digitigrade stilt walking. “You have to learn how to walk in them, but it was quick and easy. It was the balancing while standing which caused the fatigue! You have to sit after several takes. Walking and even running was fun though, the stilts fit perfectly anatomically and you can move forward, backward and do side steps.” Your digitigrade stilt walking mileage may vary.
Nikolajev describes the plot as Indiana Jones meets the Doom video games, with a crazy scientist added into the mix. The film is intended to be fun, more of an adventure comedy with sci-fi and horror elements.
Speaking of the film’s horror elements, let’s dive further into that custom-built creature. The creature that Eye of the Salamander centers on is in a sense Frankenstein’d together. An amalgamation of original parts and items procured from various sources. A practice not entirely new to Nikolajev.
For his third feature, Nikolajev built around a reptilian skeleton, with an animatronic tail, while sourcing other parts (the skin for example). “For the legs and torso I had to shop around until I found the studio with the right designs and money/quality ratio. They did a good job based on my specifications. For the stilts I used commercially available scale leatherette.”
The creature design was important to Nikolajev and team from the outset. Something they were very clear on from the beginning: if the creature doesn’t work the film doesn’t work. The final look was born of a combination of existing components and Nikolajev’s imagination.
“Xolotl is described as a dog or dog skull-headed man or a deformed monster with reversed feet. Dog-headed man was ruled out immediately as it resembles a werewolf, but the skull head monster was interesting. We decided it should be a mixed creature that combines reptiles, mammals, and some bird features. The skull head would be crowned by grotesque horns.”
Creating a concept is one thing, bringing it to life in illustrations and mockups is all well and good but a some point, you have to build the thing, and it has to be functional.
“When the concept was done, I started with a cheap dinosaur mask and gray suit to test the movement choreography, which confirmed we needed the digitigrade legs for authenticity and professionally made body skins. I designed and built the mask myself since I had a good idea of how it should look. The stilts we built in a chicken feet-like style using a scale leatherette. The Tesla Coil battery Xolotl uses to shoot its lightning is Steam Punk-inspired, built from a couple of canisters and different metal parts glued together. The animatronic tail we had to order from a different workshop, and glued the correct skins on top.”
Nikolajevl has a background in engineering and for his second feature, he repurposed an Elvis Presley animatronic head and built an entire robotic rig controlled via bluetooth. For his first feature, he built his own 3D camera rig, so working with animatronic elements is not entirely new for the director.
For the story and the actual lore of the creature, Nikolajev was inspired by South American mythology and built around elements of the Aztec god Xolotol. When looking for the film’s big baddie, Nikolajev wanted to steer clear of demons and South American mythology was an intriguing place to start. Using his own original design, with the mythology built around Xolotol, resulted in a creature reptilian in nature, with added horns and the ability to shoot lightning like a Tesla coil.
“The plot device for the film is an ancient tablet from a pyramid, and the creature behind it. When working on the script, I had to choose between two well-known pyramid civilizations – Egyptian and combined South America. The first is a bit overused while South American mythology and Aztec mythology in particular had amazing potential! And the Xolotl god looked like the right creature to move forward with considering its appearance and abilities. The skull head and pale body in the dark catacombs sounded like a real deal, particularly when it shoots its lightning. Add to that a possible teleportation to Earth, and it makes that mythology come true! There is also a salamander species named Axolotl after it, hence the name of the movie!”
The Eye of the Salamander is in select theaters November 1. If you’re in the Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, or Chicago areas, you can catch it on the big screen. Get your tickets now, and show up to support indie cinema!
If you're in Atlanta, catch Nick Karner for a Q&A November 1 . Not in Atlanta? Don't worry, LA folks can see writer-director Pavel Nikolajev and producer Olga Polevaya in a Q&A at the Laemmle Glendale following the evening screening on November 2.
