Practical Effects Are Bringing the Heart Back to Hollywood

Us breaks down why overreliance on CGI is on its way out in movies and TV in favor of an old-school approach

- KAT PETTIBONE

From the multiverse of Marvel to the sandworm-infested deserts of Dune, the ability to bring even the most outlandish fantasy world to life should sound like a movie lover's dream, yet the yearning for less AI-driven content — and more good old-fashioned movie magic — continues to grow.

Practical effects ruled the cinema landscape of the '70s and '80s, when directors like Steven Spielberg awed audiences by using puppets and animatronics to bring his various monsters to life. By the '90s, a supernatural fad took TV by storm, and prosthetics helped design the demons destined to be staked by the Slayer or vanished by the Power of Three.

But a new millennium ushered in a new age of technology, and CGI shifted the scope of what moviemaking could be (and how much it cost). Sure, blockbusters like The Matrix — and just about every