Horror is a highly personal genre that filmmakers attempt to make universal, and, according to expert in practical effects Jason Baker, it all depends on the actor.
The co-founder of Callosum Studios, who established the business with special effects guru Tom Savini, known for his work on films like Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, and others, was a driving force behind the 2022 thriller The Black Phone. He has reflected on how Ethan Hawke’s interpretation of his creation left him “terrified.”
It all comes down to the performance, dude, he told Metro.co.uk. The masks were unsettling, but when we placed Ethan in them, that creature started to move. I feared the worst! I had a right to wish to go.
“I can’t recall the last time I felt like I wanted to run away.” I actually considered leaving his office without saying anything. I said, “Nope! We’re fine!” And it was almost midday! There was nothing ominous about the situation because it was daytime and he had large, lovely windows in his office.
However, the mere fact that he was gazing at me while wearing that mask made me think, “No, nuh-uh, f**k this! I’m out.” The scariest thing you can create won’t matter if the actor can’t make it come to life.
That holds true for all kinds of films, whether it’s Derek Mears playing Jason Voorhees in the 2009 Friday the 13th revival or Brendan Fraser giving a critically acclaimed performance in The Whale.
Jason, who is well-known for his work with wrestlers such as WWE star Bray Wyatt, said of the movie, “The Whale,” “Yeah, it’s this beautiful, beautiful makeup, but it’s Brendan Fraser’s performance that brought it to life.” He sold that with the way he moved and behaved!
‘I believed that was a 600lbs man. Or, one of my favourite ever people that played Jason was Derek Mears. The way he moved, the costume and everything.
‘He wasn’t just some guy in a suit with a mask on. No, I legitimately believe this is a really angry, ferocious person running around the woods.’
Although the screenplay previously only asked for a “old, leather devil mask,” director Scott Derrickson was the one who first had the idea for The Grabber’s bizarre mask in The Black Phone.
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From concern art and designs to the completed project after everything suited the filmmaker’s vision, Jason, Tom, and their crew divided the job and moved in separate ways.
‘He knew the textures, he knew tones, he knew the colours, he knew everything,’ Jason recalled, although Scott was also ‘very open to collaboration’, making ‘for a fun process’.
‘Our job is just to please the director and if the director knows what he wants, that makes our life so much easier,’ he added.
There were challenges trying to do this during the pandemic, with just Jason and a couple of others going to Ethan’s office to fit the masks because the actor was ‘rightfully’ uncomfortable travelling.
The team had to create some 40 masks for the production as a result of the cross-contamination problem, including “hero masks” for Ethan and backups, stunt versions, picture duplicates, and more.
The Grabber “didn’t make these, this is something he found,” Scott stated while describing his preference for a “antiquey” mask, which led Jason in the correct direction.
‘So, if these are a hundred years old in 1970, that puts these around the turn of the century, so it’s very vaudevillian,’ the effects guru explained. ‘So we looked at how things were made around the turn of the century.
‘And I would go to what little antique stores were actually open during Covid. I would go and just photograph porcelain dolls and stuff, because they would have discolouration, a little bit of molding, cracks, we’d use that.’
Even the almost-yellow, off-white colour palette served a purpose since Jason was motivated by childhood recollections.
‘It takes place around the late 70s. I grew up int he early 80s – everything was nicotine stained because everyone chain smoked everywhere,’ he laughed.
‘I’m sure they were white when they first moved in, but by the time we were born they were all nicotine yellow from people chain smoking in their houses everyday for 20 years.’
It all comes down to a few straightforward guidelines when it comes to Jason and his business.
‘I always feel like makeup should enhance an actor’s performance, never take away from it,’ he pondered. ‘You should see a performance behind whatever you’re putting on somebody.’
Source My Celebrity Life.
