International Monster Cosplay
This week we’re talking about Monsters from Around the World, so I thought I would bring to you some amazing International Monster Cosplay! Dressing up for Halloween is fun in and of itself; Dressing up and scaring people? That’s even better!
Babadook
“If it’s in a word, or if it’s in a book, you can’t get rid of the Babadook…”
I loved this horror movie from Australia. There is so much symbolism behind the Babadook and I highly recommend it. There are a couple ways you can dress up as the Babadook.
If you want to do a couple’s cosplay you could be ultra creepy and dress as the Babadook and the Woman as portrayed in the book!
Or if you wanna look more like the live version of the Babadook you could do this.
I had to include this makeup tutorial by one of my favorite YouTube makeup artists, Charlie Short of PinkStylist!
Ju-On/The Grudge
Asian horror films are probably my favorite. They just go to a level of WTF that I don’t see in a lot of American horror films. I was really torn between featuring Sadako of The Ring or Kyako of The Grudge and ultimately Kyako won because Sadako is a little girl so it is harder for a grown woman to pull her off (in my opinion). Ju-On/The Grudge is a Japanese horror film that was remade for America. I personally think the Japanese version is scarier but I enjoyed the remake as well. There are also several sequels and an upcoming Sadako v Kyako movie!
Here are a couple of really good examples of Kyako cosplay I found. One even goes a step further by including the plastic wrap that Kyako is seen wrapped in as she makes her descent down the stairs.
Photo by Kevin Herrera Photography
You can learn how to look like Kyako by following this makeup tutorial.
Nosferatu
Nosferatu is a 1922 German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. This film really does stand the test of time. When I watched this film I was creeped out. Max Schreck is a creepy dude. I featured a Nosferatu costume in this article last year ICYMI.
This costume isn’t that difficult to pull together. What’s more important here is the makeup and the personality of the person portraying him.
Skip on Cosplay.com shows you pics of his makeup process for this Count Orlok cosplay.
Pan’s Labyrinth
Guillermo del Toro is no stranger to monsters and special effects makeup. Pan’s Labyrinth is a Spanish dark-fantasy movie, but there’s no doubt that there are monsters in this movie. The one monster that stood out to me the most was the Pale Man. This scene from the movie really got to me and this guy is quite creepy!
The most difficult part of this cosplay is that it’s not simply finding clothing and putting on some makeup. This cosplay involves the whole body. This cosplay was just really spot-on.
While this makeup is more of an “inspired by” than a replication, you can follow this tutorial by Artistic Femme to have the basic idea.
The Orphanage
I’ve included mainly adult characters in this article but I couldn’t resist including one more del Toro character. The Orphanage is a Spanish horror film with an eerie atmosphere and a wicked WTF ending.
I actually could not find any cosplay for this movie so I’ve included a close-up shot of the cowl worn by the ghost child in the movie. It looks like an old ragdoll face with some eyeholes cut into it. Do with it what you will…
I hope I have thoroughly terrified you! There are some real gems in International horror films and if you don’t mind reading subtitles I really recommend watching more International horror films. Have you seen any International Monster Cosplay that I haven’t included? Please share it with us here or on any of our social media.
Stay Spooky!
~Jams
