Epix will unleash a new nightmare on Feb. 20 when its new sci-fi meets horror series, “From” debuts.
The story revolves around a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. The show’s cast features Catalina Sandino Moreno from “Maria Full of Grace,” Eion Bailey from “Band of Brothers,” Hannah Cheramy, Simon Webster and Ricky He from “The Good Doctor.” The residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out as they battle to survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.
Visual effects supervisor Roberto Biagi teases there are great monster reveals. He says, “I am most excited to reveal the aftermath of the monsters’ dirty work. They appear quickly but the carnage they leave behind is gruesomely artful.”
While developing the creature transformations was a challenge, his biggest challenge came in keeping the locations clean of any modern amenities. He says, “It gave a vigorous life to our workload. It was imperative that the ‘From’ community be set off-grid, with a forest surrounding and encroaching the boundaries of the community.”
In creating the forest, Biagi wanted to set the world in a naturalistic reality while creating enough mystery and mythology to set ‘From’ apart from the ‘real’ world. “We strived to create invisible effects that kept the importance on the story without bringing excessive attention to the work taken behind the scenes. This is meant to be a real place that is accessed only via a strange, unlucky fate,” he says.
Elizabeth Kuchurean, head of makeup, worked closely with the special effects teams to ensure cohesiveness. “It’s going to be interesting for audiences to see how the character’s looks change with the subtle nuances,” she says.
Her biggest challenge was turning around looks within a timeframe of two weeks. While the show shot over 4 1/2 months over summer, she would often get scripts two weeks before. Kuchurean says, “There would be subtleties in the make-up, facial hair, bruising, cuts, scratches, scrapes, and injuries (how they aged in a very short timeframe).”
Helping her tell her story was executive producer Jack Bender, who also directed the first four episodes. She says, “Jack gave direction on what he was looking for [for] each character, and how their story should evolve.” She adds, “Jack also gave a bit of a backstory on each character so I had a better understanding of them and what he was actually looking for. It was very collaborative.”
Watch a clip below: