How What We Do In The Shadows Season 4 Brings Baby Colin Robinson To Life
"What We Do in the Shadows" has had plenty of grotesque moments over the years, but few were as bizarre and squirm-inducing as the show's season 3 finale cliffhanger. After going to bed ill, obnoxious energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) dies in the night. It's apparently a natural thing, as energy vampires only live to be 100. Yet, as he mentioned earlier in the season, the lore around energy vamps seems pretty vague, so it came as no surprise when there was more to Colin's story. What is surprising? That he ended season 3 by being spontaneously reborn as a creepy, adult man-like baby.
In a press conference attended by /Film ahead of the show's fourth season, the team behind "What We Do in the Shadows" shared insight about the process of bringing baby Colin Robinson to unnerving, undead life. "The VFX team went above and beyond and really utilized every trick in the book that they could come up with to make it work," Proksch shared. "It was really complicated for them to figure it out to make it look as seamless as it does." The actor joked that it's "always a risk" when a show decides to turn a main character into a baby.
Energy vampire turned energy-sapping toddler
The team also revealed that, as an energy vampire, Colin seems to grow a little quicker than most kids, and a clip shared with those in attendance showed the character looking like a weird mix between a toddler and an adult man. A teaser for the season, which shows Colin partying in the club in a walker toy alongside his vampire roommates, seems to include a baby-like body with what looks like a small version of adult Colin's head on it. It's all extremely weird-looking, but that seems to be by design as the character's power has always come from being the most off-putting guy around.
Executive producer and writer Paul Simms explained that the monstrosity that is baby Colin isn't purely CGI. Instead, a mixture of practical effects, VFX, and on-set elements made the little stinker look as real as possible. "We never found a way that would work for every shot," Simms admitted, "so it was an improvisation technically the whole way." Here's more from Simms on the process:
"Sometimes it's practical effects, sometimes it's visual effects, digital effects. Sometimes it's camera angles, sometimes it's wigs. We used every trick under the book which is what you have to do when you plan a big story without knowing how you're going to do it beforehand."
Colin may look different now, but it sounds like he's still a hilarious drain on the energy of everyone around him. Simms explains that the baby sucks up everyone's energy, but it's hard to tell whether that means he's more powerful than ever, or just like any other two or three-year-old.
"What We Do in the Shadows" returns to FX on July 12, 2022.