RESONATING EVILS AND SINISTER INSPIRATIONS PART 2: THE MONSTER MAKERS by Eric

As we countdown to Halloween, kids and adults alike will be stocking up on their holiday accessories. Masks, wigs, make up and costumes. Be it ghoulish or sexy, most people wanna' be something other than themselves come Halloween. My lady is a performer and, in lieu of this, is prepping for what will be the inevitable Halloween-themed performance. I have somehow taken on the task of building her costume. As I am in the process of doing this, I reminisce over previous efforts during my childhood past.

Now, I would be willing to risk all sorts of humiliation by posting images from my past. Unfortunately I don't have access to photographs displaying my keen costuming/make up sense as a child. I recall one taken when I was around eight years old. It features my brother (approximately four years old) wearing the uniform of his favorite football team. I'm in that image, too, standing next to him in my dad's oversized suit and rubber Frankenstein mask. We were both way too small for those outfits at the time. And yet my arms are outstretched, reaching out in my best Karloff pose. While my bro tries to cop a bad-ass stance even though his helmet is tilted sideways. The second image is far more embarrassing. But this was due to my botched make-up attempt than anything else.

When I was ten, my horror obsession had pretty much reached it's peak. And as Halloween approached I pleaded and begged for my parents to procure what looked to me the greatest path to the most kick ass Halloween costume ever. It was a MONSTER MAKE-UP KIT created by and licensed in the name of one Dick Smith, arguably the first superstar Hollywood make-up artist and creature maker. This Oscar winner's credits include LITTLE BIG MAN, THE EXCORCIST, SCANNERS, DEATH BECOMES HER, THE GODFATHER and so on. Within this kit held instructions to create the gnarliest, most realistic Mr. Hyde. It looked absolutely fantastic in the instructional booklet that came in the box. Also contained therein were various plastic molds, false dentures, fake hair and an odd, powdery substance. This was Smith's trademarked "Flexi-skin." You would mix the powder with water. An oozy, translucent substance would result. You would then pour the substance into the molds, bake them and -- wallah! -- you'd have a fake nose appliance. Or a fake forehead. Or chin. Or grotesque scars.

The problem lies in the details however. For to achieve the full effect (re: to get your face to look exactly like the image in the instructions), you needed to endure hours of applying millions of strands of fake hair to your face, you needed just the right kind of skin toned make-up to powder over the glued appliances affixed to your face and, more importantly, you had to glue all the fake stuff to your face with spirit gum.

What looked like a scary work of art on page became a stupid, mess of clumps on my face. It looked awful. I was competing against a friend of mine who had found instructions to create the most realistic werewolf face ever. And my heart sank when I looked in the mirror knowing that I had failed in my intent. To my relief, it turned out my friend's attempt was just as unsuccesful -- his "look" amounted to no more than patches of badly painted cotton balls pasted to his face. We both laughed at each others' misery. But our embarrassment was then compounded by a child who would go Trick R' Treating with us that night. For his make-up job was not only terrific but perfect. And put us both to shame.

So I'll leave it to the pros. Before there was Dick Smith, there was Jack Pierce: the man who created Karloff's Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy and The Wolf Man. If Pierce begat Smith, then Smith begat Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Stan Winston and KNB.

So here is a quick list of influential creature makers and make up effect technicians, with some of their credits and links to various sources on the web:

JACK PIERCE (b. 1889. d. 1968)
Credits: DRACULA (1931), FRANKENSTEIN (1931), MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932), WHITE ZOMBIE (1932), THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932), THE MUMMY (1932), BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), THE WOLF MAN (1941), THE KILLERS (1946), THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1950), I BURY THE LIVING (1958)
http://www.jackpierce.com/

DICK SMITH (b. 1922)
Credits: DARK SHADOWS (1966 T.V. series), STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL AND HYDE (1968), MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969), HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS (1970), LITTLE BIG MAN (1970), THE GODFATHER (1972), THE EXCORCIST (1973), THE SENTINEL (1977), ALTERED STATES (1980), SCANNERS (1981), GHOST STORY (1981), HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1999)
http://www.dicksmithmake-up.com/

RICK BAKER (b. 1950)
Credits: SCHLOCK (1973), THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN (1974), IT'S ALIVE (1974), SQUIRM (1976), STAR WARS (1977), THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN (1977), THE FURY (1978), THE HOWLING (1981), AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981), VIDEODROME (1983), THRILLER (Micheal Jackson video, 1983), GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (1984), GORILLAS IN THE MIST (1988), ED WOOD (1994), BATMAN FOREVER (1995), THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996), MEN IN BLACK (1997), THE RING (2002), THE WOLFMAN (2010)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Baker_(makeup_artist)

ROB BOTTIN (b. 1959)
Credits: PIRHANA (1978), THE FOG (1980), THE HOWLING (1981), THE THING (1982), TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, (1983), LEGEND (1985), ROBOCOP (1987), TOTAL RECALL (1990), SE7EN (1995), FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998), FIGHT CLUB (1999), CHARLIE'S ANGELS (2000), MR. DEEDS (2002)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Bottin

STAN WINSTON (b. 1946, d. 2008)
Credits: GARGOYLES (TV movie, 1972), MANSION OF THE DOOMED (1976), THE WIZ (1978), THE HAND (1981), DEAD AND BURIED (1981), TERMINATOR (1984), ALIENS (1986), EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990), TERMINATOR 2 (1991), BATMAN RETURNS (1992), INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1994), ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (1996), AI (2001), CONSTANTINE (2005)
http://www.stanwinstonstudio.com/

The latest generation of horror makers might best be represented by Greg Nicotero's K.N.B EFX. Honestly, their credits are vast so I won't list everything here. Their work spans from SIN CITY to DEADWOOD to HOSTEL to CASINO ROYALE. Here is their website: http://www.knbefxgroup.com/

In fact, I intentionally didn't list all credits per artist as it would be too exhausting. But you get the general idea. These are the guys who make the monsters featured in some of our favorite horrors. And I'd be a total numbnut if I neglected the one who arguably started it all, Mr. Lon Chaney (b. 1883, d. 1930). Dude was not only a great silent movie actor, but a helluva make up artist. All one needs to do is look at his iconic work on PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Now I end this post with a special treat. And it kinda' works as an efficient segueway into what will be my next article on favorite haunted houses. There's this guy named Bob Burns who was sort of a surrogate father to pros like Rick Baker, special effects guru Dennis Murren and cult director William Malone. Now like some of these guys, Burns was a b-movie actor, make-up artist and special effects technician. However, the thing he's most reknown for is his collection of famous Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy props and a child-like imagination. A fascinating documentary is currently running online in four parts focusing on Bob Burns' legendary Halloween shows (a 20 minute segment has been uploaded per week leading up to Halloween). What started off as a lark in the early 1960s has developed into an elaborate display of live SFX and creature effects. Not only that, but there are a slew of people who "went on to big things" who have helped Bob along the way. You need to check this out.