‘Lots of lube’ for gruesome Stranger Things monster

The first part of Stranger Things Season 4 dropped on Netflix just a few weeks ago, and has viewers looking in dark corners for monsters

Without giving too much away, Vecna is already the breakout star of the season.

He’s the big, scary monster wreaking havoc on Hawkins. But behind the scenes, it seems like a nightmare process to make the gruesome creature.

Season 4 of Stranger Things has a new monster dressed in lube

An 80s technique to create Stranger Things’ new monster, Vecna, took designers up to 7 hours to apply.

The process behind it

To give Vecna a slimy look, prosthetics were painted with silicone and a whole lot of lube.

Parts of the costume were attached to the actor’s skin directly which took up to 7 hours to complete.

Prosthetics designer, Barrie Gower who had worked on films like the Harry Potter series, was hired for season 4 of Stranger Things.

Speaking to the Verge, make-up department head Amy Forsythe says getting Gower on board added another level to the show.

“Practical effects are such a huge thing with the nostalgia of the ‘80s, and we were losing that so much in our show.”

Lube is a popular technique to make monsters look slimy and was particularly used in the 80s.

Stranger Things’ success

Though season 4 took the team 14 months to film (including a 6 month disruption due to Covid-19), the new season has proven to be successful. 

Since the release of season 4, 286.79 million hours were viewed in just the first few days of its release. 

Breaking a Netflix record, Stranger Things 4 surpasses Bridgerton’s premiere and also reached the top 10 in 93 countries.

Katerina Kostakos contributed to this article