Possible Inspiration for the Imp?

Just add some spikes and there you go!

It does seem uncannily similar. Then again, there are probably lots of generic "monsters" the imp could be said to look like.

Seems possible.

Imps are said to be mischievous demons. Just imagine in Doom 4, Imps like to play tricks on you by mimicking the voices of their victims crying out for help luring you to investigate. Instead of a terrified human being...blood red eyes, a toothy grin, claws and spikes and fire greet you.

To answer the question in the thread title, It was said in The Masters of Doom that the imps have metal spikes and brown fur.

I see the resemblence in that the imps obvious attributes are the same as in this picture. The red eyes, the big mouth, the brown skin and stubby nose, but I think if the imp's designer used that image as a source of inspiration, the imp would have turned out much chubbier, slimy looking, have spaced out jagged fangs for teeth, a rounder jaw, etc.

Those dominant features don't appear in the imp at all.

Cool picture anyway though.

I don't know if we'll ever get the definitive answer of where those brown bastards came from, but this'll suffice in the meantime.

Piper Maru said:

Instead of a terrified human being...blood red eyes, a toothy grin, claws and spikes and fire greet you.

Or better still, what seems to be another human, which turns out to be a disguised imp, catching you off guard.

I myself always assumed the imp was based on a partially decayed corpse.

When a person dies insects lay eggs in the eyes, nose and mouth, because they are moist and relatively soft. This causes the lips, nose and eyes to be comsumed by maggots first, leaving the teeth exposed, the nose reduced to a hole, and empty eye sockets. At the same time the skin blackens, then becomes brown and leathery.

Take this appearance, add spikes, make the empty eye sockets glow , and ... voila! You have yourself an imp!

I highly doubt that particular movie poster inspired the imp. Evil dark skinned creatures with skull like faces and glowing eyes have been a staple of horror for decades--if not centuries. In fact, this is the way vampires were depicted before Dracula turned them into handsome aristocrats and Twilight turned them into brooding guys without personalities and a preference for whiney girls.

Technician said:

http://static.fjcdn.com/gifs/Xtro_1275c3_1895247.gif

Is this from Xtro?

Totally freaky.....

gemini09 said:

Is this from Xtro?

Totally freaky.....

I'd like to know as well. When I try using it in Google image search, it says the best name for the image is "Creepy Gif".

Meh, I wouldn't think so.

It is a very clever costume. What appears to be the creature's back is actually the actor's belly and the creature's face is a mask on the back of the actor's head. The actor is basically then just doing the old crab walk away from the road.

That's the kind of cleverness I wish we can see more of in the movies. There is too much reliance on CGI these days. Practical effects rule!

gemini09 said:

Is this from Xtro?

Totally freaky.....

I believe it is. The whole movie is on Youtube, or was a while ago at least, but I don't know if linking it violates the forums' TOS.

As for the image in the first post... it bares some similarity to the imp but I think it's just another "creepy brown humanoid-monster" with no actual influence.

http://th07.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2010/022/9/8/Xtro_alien_forms_by_crovirus.jpg

Drawing of the alien.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/455/8wga.jpg

Boingo said:

http://th07.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2010/022/9/8/Xtro_alien_forms_by_crovirus.jpg

Drawing of the alien.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/455/8wga.jpg

Looks more like an Archvile.

To me, imps always looked reptilian (like "lizardmen" or some sort of slimy amphibious "frogmen" or "swampmen") in appearance, so I just can't wrap my head around this whole "furry imps" concept

Furry imps? I've never seen them that way. I've always perceived them as reptilian-like creatures, they even let out snake like hisses when they spot you.

gemini09 said:

Is this from Xtro?

Totally freaky.....

HK!D said:

I'd like to know as well. When I try using it in Google image search, it says the best name for the image is "Creepy Gif".

Yup. XTRO might be one of the best budget horror movies out there.

XTRO...I remember seeing that movie once on some local TV station...no way of knowing the title back then, but I recall the whole "alien father" concept. There also was a gross birth scene, if I recall correctly. Weird shit on provincial TV...

As for the "furry imps", that's a recurring meme around here. Sadly, it's apparently supported by the Doom novels (but FWIW, those are not properly canon), and by an Adrian Carmack quote in an interview (check?).

Well if the Imps are furry, no wonder why they have the most porn.

I always thought the imps just had a hairless, tough, brown hide that had horn-like spikes and barbs.

Cacodemons appeared more scaled to me.

I never thought of cacodemons as being scaled, more like lumpy alienish flesh.

Maes said:

To me, imps always looked reptilian (like "lizardmen" or some sort of slimy amphibious "frogmen" or "swampmen") in appearance, so I just can't wrap my head around this whole "furry imps" concept

Furry Imps are just Wookies.

LOL that's a possibility.

No way!
1.The imp's head is round, it isn't a blob.
2.The imp's mouth is straight, not round.
3.The imp don't have damn nose for stars sake.
4.The imps isn't an alien, it's a demon.
5.The imps can't make spit.
6.The imp's eyes are round but they're covered with a bit of his skin.
7.The imp's teeth don't have any space.
8.The imp's teeth are white, not yellow.
9.The imps have a tounge.
10.The imps don't have any wrinkles on his face or any, at all.

10 reasons is already enough to say that it ain't the inspiration.
I'd say they wanted a demon that looks like a human, and then they added brown skin, spikes ,red eyes and instead of nails they have spikes too.

that gif and goat legs...

joe-ilya said:

5.The imps can't make spit.

Ever read the Doom novels? I'm pretty sure they spit in that. And the movie. So, I pretty much just invalidated your entire claim. Also, inspiration doesn't mean "Copy Detail per Detail".

joe-ilya said:

No way!
1.The imp's head is round, it isn't a blob.
2.The imp's mouth is straight, not round.
3.The imp don't have damn nose for stars sake.
..
6.The imp's eyes are round but they're covered with a bit of his skin.
7.The imp's teeth don't have any space.
8.The imp's teeth are white, not yellow.
9.The imps have a tounge.
10.The imps don't have any wrinkles on his face or any, at all.

And you came up to these conclusions by looking at a pixelated sprite, with a distorted aspect ratio, at that? I'm impressed.

joe-ilya said:

4.The imps isn't an alien, it's a demon.

Good luck with that. If you believe you have solved one of the greatest debates in the community as a simple point in a 10-point list, then by all means, go ahead and totally own/end the next thread that pops out about the topic. Actually, there's one not even a week old still around...go and kill it. For me.

joe-ilya said:

5.The imps can't make spit.

That sounds a lot like the "mice can't vomit", "pigs can't look at the sky" and "a duck's quack doesn't echo" kind of urban legends, only applied to an imaginary being. Care to explain?

Clonehunter said:

Ever read the Doom novels? I'm pretty sure they spit in that. And the movie. So, I pretty much just invalidated your entire claim. Also, inspiration doesn't mean "Copy Detail per Detail".

Less "hot" of a counterpoint than what I'd expect from a "seasoned old fart" like you, Clonehunter, tsk tsk. Using staunchily non-canon (and problematic) sources as a means to "pwn" someone else's shaky arguments? C'mon, you can do better than that.