This book explores the human desire to create life, as seen in the work of special-effects creators. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is perhaps the most famous work of literature to deal with man’s obsession with the creation of life, an attempt to take the place of God and nature.

The theme has been taken further in the world of cinema and theater, where special-effects creators have produced automata, androids, and monstrous beings. These creators attempt to make their characters real, so that they “emerge” from the film itself and remain stamped on the memories of viewers, even though, once the movie ends, they are destined to be mere props. Here, extraor­dinary photographs trace the progress of these creatures, from inanimate materials to lifelike wonders.