Rebel Ridgefeatures over 500 VFX shots, and VFX supervisor Chris Connolly now explains why they were needed and where to spot them. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier,Rebel Ridgestars Aaron Pierreas Terry Richmond, an ex-Marine attempting to pay his cousin’s bail who finds himself facing off against police Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and his crew of corrupt officers. The Netflix thriller was met with positive reviews from audiences and critics upon its release in early September, due in part to its tense, grounded action sequences.
Connolly now sits down for an interview withArt of VFX, revealing thatthere are 502 VFX shots inRebel Ridge. Some obvious moments that include VFX include Terry’s bike crash at the start of the film and various gunshots throughout, but there are plenty of far more invisible VFX shots as well. Connolly explains, for example, that VFX was used fairly heavily throughout several fight scenes to adjust actors' movements and the timing of various elements in an effort to make these scenes more intense:
“For the fight scenes, we tweaked actors’ position and movement to add intensity and realism. Sometimes it was a subtle speed-up; other times we would delay a character’s movement so they would land just right. We merged actors’ actions from separate takes, enhanced elbow hits, and intensified impacts. We also enhanced things like blood, muzzle flashes, bullet hits, tasers, and smoke.
“These are also a lot of subtle 2D comps that enhance visual composition or add to the feel of the storyworld. We added elements to shots, including trains, jets, trees, lightning, railroad crossing barriers, windows for blue screen sets, sky replacements, reflections in windows, and shadows on buildings.”
Though Connolly touches on several VFX-heavy sequences in the interview, he singles out the scene in which Officer Lann (Emory Cohen) and the Shelby Springs P.D. ambush Terry on a lonely road as one that features some surprising VFX work. According to the VFX supervisor, he’s proud of the scene in part because they used VFX to re-time a lot of the action going on in the background:
“There are quite a few in the scene where Lann pulls over Terry and tries to ambush him in the truck. With the actors falling and fighting on the road, there was a stunt pad on the pavement that we needed to remove. We also added the taser firing, the prongs hitting Lann’s neck, and taser wires hanging on the truck door.
“We worked on the timing of the background deputies so they approached the action but didn’t get too close, too early. Several of the muzzle flashes are visual effects, and we enhanced the practical blood squibs. A couple of the breaking windows are Special Effects, but the bullet hits in the windshield and back windows are all visual effects. Hopefully it all blends together for the audience, and they can just enjoy the intense scene.”
Saulnierhas also drawn attention to the film’s VFX work on X, formerly Twitter:
“BREAKING: There are over 500 #VFX shots in REBEL RIDGE!!!” he writes. “Bet you couldn’t spot ‘em, until now…”
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Rebel Ridgeis widely praised in reviewsfor effectively telling a grounded and relatively contained story. Connolly’s comments above, however, speak to just how important a role VFX artists play in even seemingly down-to-earth stories. While VFX is most often associated with big, fantastical blockbusters with elements that could not feasibly be pulled off practically,Rebel Ridgeis a testament to howdigital effects have become a crucial part of the filmmaking pipeline in projects of all scales and genres.
As of writing,Rebel Ridgesports an impressive 96% onRotten Tomatoes.
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VFX muzzle flashes and blood spurts are commonplace in movies now, but Connolly’s comments about the re-timing of various elements or the shifting of actors' positioning in a scene are eye-opening. A movie that recently made headlines for using a spiritually similar approach to fight scenes was Prime Video’s 2024Road Houseremake, which used VFX to make it look as if punches were actually connecting. WhileRoad Housecaught some flak for this technique, as some punches looked less real than others,Rebel Ridge’s VFX have been far less controversial.
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For the most part,Rebel Ridge’s VFX look flawless. There are select scenes in which VFX shots are noticeable, but this is mostly due to inference. Considerations regarding actor safety, for example, meanaudiences with any awareness of the filmmaking process will know that things like the bike crash or gun muzzle flashes are accomplished using VFX. There are many moments during theRebel Ridgeendingfight, too, that unsurprisingly feature VFX enhancements.
While the use of practical effects in films is often celebrated – and is now sometimes used in movie marketing –Rebel Ridgeis a testament to the power of “invisible” VFX. VFX being used to shift an actor’s elbow a few inches to the right or remove a pad on the ground is less flashy than an elaborate practical effects sequence, but it’s arguably just as important, and just as worthy of celebration.
Rebel Ridge
Cast
Former Marine Terry Richmond travels to Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin, only to find his savings unjustly seized by a corrupt local police force. With the help of court clerk Summer McBride, Terry uncovers a deep-seated conspiracy and vows to bring justice to the town.
