Kothoga or Mbwun?
which creature would you prefer for the film?
personally i like the Mbwun. but i cant help but feel that if they took the pincers off the Kothogas face then it would of benn the mbwun anyway.
They are one in the same :).
Though they changed the look for the movie as well as the name cause let's face it, Mbwun is slightly confusing as to its right pronunciation. I usually pronounce it as UM-BU-ONE, though I can't be sure if that too is correct.
Taking off pincers wouldn't make it an Mbwun :). The creature in the book is slightly more human or ape-like, it's face is flat and the creature can grasp doors, thus suggesting opposable thumbs. Plus it's more slender which allows it to navigate around the enclosed spaces, something which didn't make sense in the movie. It can also stand up right on its hind legs.
For this reason, many fans don't like the creature design, it deviates too much from the source.
i always pronounced it Mub-win
i know it doesnt make it the actual Mbwun per say. i just meant that i would of thought of it more of the mbwun then i do with the insect features.
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But if you read the book, The creature wasn't meant to be that menacing. It was supposed to retain human thoughts. It didn't WANT to kill people in the book. It even held off killing humans for 6 years, It would eat smaller animals and the fibers of the plant. It resorted to killing humans once the plants were moved and the smaller animals didn't provide enough resource for it.
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True, The only official picture is the one on the front of the book. and that is harldy clear enough.
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A valid point, although I fell that if the script resembled the book a little more faithfully, the apelike appearence would of worked fine.
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No offence man, but have you read the novel? Why would you say Mbwun wouldn't have worked if it had been more faithfully designed?
Honestly, I think the Kothoga was the biggest disappointment (aside from the lack of edge and reduced atmosphere) of the whole show: instead of showing us something disturbing as Mbwun, they created that big, dumb thing that would've definitely worked better in a Star Wars movie rather than a horror feature. Honestly, how can someone believe something that huge could hide in the museum while stalking and hunting people? Not to mention climbing on walls (something Mbwun didn't do, BTW)? It is also so big it makes the notion of it feeding off human hypothalamus ludicrous at best (the damn beast has a mouth wide enough to swallow a man's head).
I really feel THE RELIC was a wasted opportunity. Which is a shame as it does sport great sets, good actors, a creepy soundtrack and Peter Hyams' cinematography (which unfortunately got heavily punished in all the video edition I've seen) fits the story excellently.
You said it! In the book the creature chopped with the side of it's hand (claw?) to remove heads. They had to give the movie creature pincers to do the same thing. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Not to take anything away from Winston, he did a great job but the creature could have been used in another film.
Personally, I'd love to see a remake done properly. It would be tough though. The novel is the finest horror/creature book I've ever read. And the ending with it's twist was a chilling eyeopener.
A nice find for reading...
Welcome to my Nightmare- Freddy Krueger