A JOROGUMO’S ENTANGLEMENT
2024
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A Jorogumo's Entanglement is a silent film script I wrote for my final college project centred on the Japanese Yokaī, the Jorōgumo.
The narrative unfolds as a unfaithful Samurai encounters a captivating woman at the forest's edge, drawn into a mesmerising but perilous journey where reality blurs with myth. The pivotal moment reveals the woman's horrific transformation into the Jorōgumo, leading to a chilling confrontation
The project delves into the unsettling intersection of myth and morality, leaving viewers with haunting reflections on the complexities of human nature and the allure of the unknown.
WHAT IS A JOROGUMO YOKAI?
The Jorōgumo Yokaī in Japanese folklore is a represention of sex workers 'enticing' married handsome men to cheat; however, instead of sex, she transforms from a beautiful woman into a terrifying spider monster and feeds from her human prey.
She lives in a cave behind a waterfall, where reality and a more eery fantastical atmosphere are clouded.
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GEISHA: Character design and application.
Cream face-paints, beauty makeup with emphasis on cool toned highlighters and a long black lace wig.
Transition to BLOODY GEISHA, used a mouth-safe blood capsule.
JOROGUMO: Character design, prosthetics and application.
Full face of a custom-made prosthetic, overlapping gelatine prosthetics, glatzan baldcap, Opti-cast resin eyes, and easyflo resin and biscuit foam fangs.
DECAPITATED SAMURAI WARRIOR: Character design and model-making head prop.
Cast, mould, and sculpted for a 360 silicone head prop, biscuit foam filling, coloured with psycho paints and oil paints, and hair punched with black human hair, topped with homemade fake blood.
Other Bits: Script writing, Story-boarding, Photography, Lightroom, Poster design.
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Photography of Jorogumo Monster: Kasse Garcia
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The Jorōgumo before her transition, The Geisha.
I wanted to focus and adhere to Japanese culture when creating my Jorōgumo in her human form. By researching and studying the scrolls of Edo Japan, I recreated a classic Geisha look with black teeth representing her passage into womanhood with more of a wet, shiny look and an extraordinary long black lace wig to emphasise her otherwordly beauty. This glow continues into her costume, with a satin sheen with her kimono and fan.
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The Jorōgumo beginning her transition, The Bloody Geisha. Continuing from the Geisha look, I wanted an oomph of a hint of her transformation; my model bit into a mouth-safe blood capsule where blood pours from her mouth, signifying her change in behaviour and the uncomfort of her body transforming.
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I wanted to reflect her setting and deceitful personality through her design, making her skin look still human-like, blood vessels and veins enlarged and bulging while looking glossy, wet, and slimy, with utterly cold black eyes staring back, leaving any void of humanity, she is only a monster who sees unfaithful, weak married young men sustenance.
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The decapitated Samurai Warrior is to showcase the aftermath of the Jorōgumo attack. His lower face was ripped off to represent a fused Tengu warrior mask on his face where the Jorōgumo tore it off. His eyes are swollen and bruised to illustrate the impact of her assault and a gouging wound on his neck from her terrible bite. Discoloured, disfigured and glossy from the cold wet cave floor and the Jorōgumo's drool, this Samurai won't be going anywhere in too much of a hurry.
MOODBOARDS
KEY SCENES
STORYBOARD
TRANSITONS
JOROGUMO IDEAS
CHARACTER DESIGNS
SAMURAI IDEAS
GEISHA CHARACTER CHART
JOROGUMO CHARACTER CHART
PROCESS OF CUSTOM-MADE FACE PROSTHETIC
SAMURAI CHARACTER CHART
PROCESS OF CUSTOM-MADE HEAD PROP