Director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is celebrated for its fantasy scope, detailed acting, and New Zealand landscapes. However, the films relied heavily on the creative studio and special effects house Wētā Workshop—distinguished from the digital effects company Wētā FX—to craft elf ears, dwarf noses, orc prosthetics, and chainmail. The practical techniques and expertise developed during that fantasy epic directly influenced Wētā’s work on subsequent projects, including the 2006 comedy-horror film Black Sheep.
The premise of Black Sheep
Directed by Jonathan King, Black Sheep follows Henry (Nathan Meister), who returns a decade after a childhood prank by his brother Angus (Peter Feeney) to sell his share of the family farm. Unbeknownst to Henry, Angus has been conducting genetic experiments on the livestock. Unlike normal grazing animals, these genetically altered sheep turn aggressive, and humans bitten by the creatures transform into bloodthirsty, half-human/half-sheep killers.
Despite its absurd premise, the film treats the zombie-sheep concept with dramatic seriousness while incorporating commentary on corporate greed and animal cruelty.
Practical effects and the Wētā connection
Wētā Workshop leaned into gruesome creature effects for the production, using very few visual effects outside of editing out crew mistakes and assisting with transformation scenes. Instead, the team built visceral, gnarly killer sheep by combining animatronic puppets with stitched creature suits.
Notable creations included a foam-latex baby sheep puppet controlled via dual-gimbal cables, rod puppetry, and a servo pack, designed to look expressive and slimy while attacking characters. For human-to-sheep transformations, the studio constructed an eight-foot-tall were-sheep suit around performer Kevin McTurk, who wore stilts and operated an animatronic head.
Upcoming sequel
Twenty years after the original film’s release, a sequel titled Black Sheeps is scheduled to launch on November 12, with both director Jonathan King and Wētā Workshop returning to the project.