Randy Cook on the Makeup Effects of FRIGHT NIGHT

Tom Holland, author of PSYCHO II·, makes his directorial debut and revitalizes the vampire genre. by Charlotte Wolter character from a wolf to a boy. An elaborate, antique-filled If first-time director Tom Hol jumble of rooms which rambled land has his way, FRIGHT through two sound stages was pro NIGHT, which opened August2, duction designer John De Cuir's will bring new respectability to a set for Dandridge's sinister man tradition he genuinely reveres: the sion. The set was like visiting an vampire film. "The last gasp of the immense Halloween funhouse. genre was the parody, LOVE AT How does Holland think mod FIRST BITE," he noted with ern audiences will react to a now scorn. "THE HUNGER was so vampire film? "Hopefully it will be ashamed of its genre that it didn't scary enough for those who are even mention the word vampire. into vampires, but also with They were terrified of it. This film enough character, relationships is the first modern retelling that and just plain fun so that other stays faithful to the conventions of people will like it too," said Hol the myth. The vampire is very con land. "I think, if you want to do it temporary, but still subject to the successfully, you have to embrace laws of the genre." it with great caring. There is no Holland, who wrote PSYCHO Christopher Sarandon as vampire Jerry Dandridge, in makeup by Ken Diaz. sense that this film is a parody of II, is an intriguing character in an the genre. The vampire is dead industry of professionally interest Jerry Dandridge, the film's creature like this, as well as the real, a real threat. The danger is, if ing people. A former actor in vampire, is portrayed by Chris attraction of it. I needed someone you don't get a willing suspension soaps (LOVE OF LIFE, A TIME topher Sarandon, whose exten who was strongly sexual, but who of disbelief, the audience is going FOR US) and over 200 commer sive credits include the Stratford would also be willing to scare the to be laughing in the aisles." cials, he is a Phi Beta Kappa Connecticut Shakespeare Festival shit out of you. Sarandon had UCLA graduate and a member of and numerous on- and off-Broad both qualities." "I think also that all of us want the California Bar. way appearances. Sarandon's Newcomer William Ragsdale, to believe in the vampire legend," No stranger to the blue-collar preparation for the role included delighted to be making his feature added Holland. "There are certain world of genre films, Holland has inventing a detailed biography for debut as the film's teen hero after fantasy characters that have a sort also scripted such modest works as the character. "The scenario I cre solid stage experience, isappropri of timeless appeal. I don't know CLOAK AND DAGGER and ated for myself was that here is a ately ingenuous as the youth who what archetype it is, but it is one CLASS OF 1984. "I never start man who has not only lived stumbles onto a vampire in his that sure is appealing to the human out to do them, "claimed Holland. hundreds of years, but also lived home town. Casting Roddy Mc consciousness." 0 "It's just that they are the entry them unable to make any lasting Dowell as a former horror star McDowell with the film's teen leads, level jobs in the business. I con human bonds," he said. hoping to recapture some of his William Ragsdale and Amanda Bearse. sider myself a writer of psycho log i Added Holland, "It's not a very past glory was sheer inspiration. cal suspense much more than I do pleasant way to live out eternity, "I had to have people who horror. In PSYCHO II there are being constantly chased and would deliver for me," said Hol some carefully chosen horrific hounded. I didn't want to re-write land about his cast, "because I was images, like the knife in the mouth, the story and make him a nice guy, asking so much more than is usu but generally it was a dialogue and but I did want the audience to have ally required within the genre. I character film." a sense of the curse of being a wrote strong acting scenes, and I did some scenes in masters so they Reluctant vampire killer Roddy McDowell watches a werewolf In its death throes. had to give a sustained perfor mance for 2 to 3 minutes." ·Holland called on Richard Edlund's Boss Film Corporation to produce the special effects which range from matte shots to a puppet bat. The most impressive works are the makeup creations of Ken Diaz. Both Sarandon and Amanda Bearse, who plays Ragsdale's girl friend , undergo startling makeup transformations. Even genre vete rans were visibly startled by the gruesome sight of the whole somely pretty Bearse arriving on set in a macabre full-face pros thetic for her vampire scene. In another scene, makeup effects cre ate the metamorphosis of one --------REVIEWS:-------- only be seen a& one quick cut for a Randy Cook on the fraction of a second," said Cook. "So I threw a kind of built-up toothpaste makeup effects of ad mouth together in a couple of days, That mouth ended up being FRIGHT NIGHT used in five different shots, "I was a little embarassed by it," By Marc Shapiro Cook continued. "It doesn't really Vampires and bats have been play the way it was intended. I would horror film staples since NOSFE have taken more than a couple of RATU (1922) and, consequently, days with it if I had known it was have become familiar assignments going to be visible for more than a for special effects people, It has long fraction of a second." since passed the stage when bats on Easily the most arresting effects a string and snap-in fangs cut the sequence in FRIGHT NIGHT is the mustard for discriminating audi death of Evil Ed and his transforma ences, so Randall William Cook tion from werewolf back to boy. faced it bit of a challenge when he Handling this sequence was Steve was picked to do the prosthetic Johnson who, through work on THE ,design, sculpture and bat effects on HOWLING and AN AMERICAN FRIGHT NIGHT. WEREWOLF IN LONDON, has become a veteran of beast makeup Cook, who created the makeup and hidden moving bladders, effects for The Boss Film Corpora As Evil Ed, dying, changes from a tion, is holding court this day in a noisy parki ng lot at the special wolf back into actor Stephen Geof freys, the sequence begins with a effects shop in Santa Monica, Cali fornia. The reason for the outdoor full-sized wolf puppet. The puppet setting is that some of the special was wired to move across the stage effects for the upcoming POLTER floor, and appliances on Geoffreys Simulated the various stages of the GEIST" are being completed inside Cook's design for Amanda Bearse-turned-vampire was intended to be used as a transformation effect. Johnson and to say that people are security quick shock cut, but director Tom Holland ended-up featuring II extensively. pushed the now all too familiar conscious at this stage is an transformation scenes a step further, understatement. films are these bouncing marionette makeup that was a striking cross according to Cook, who was present Cook has done stop-motion between Sarandon's features and the effects on a number of films includ bats on strings that look and perform when these scenes were shot. previously sculpted giant bat. "Stylistically it was a definite step ing LASERBLAST, GHOSTBUS exactly like what they are and are not TERS, a, and THE CRATER LAKE very convincing," he continued. "The Molds of vampire actor Chris forward, In previous films, that sort of MONSTER and was more than challenge was to come up with a Sarandon's hands were made so that scene was shot as a show-stopping capable of adding that kind of marionette bat that would flap its makeup artists could create the 'okay we're going to transform some animation to FRIGHT NIGHT's small wings convincingly and with a sense dozens of finger extensions that the body' kind of thing. On FRIGHT " flying bat and the monsterous off of power without doing something vampire wears throughout the film, NIGHT the approach was different in spring that appears near the film's like dropping the bat and yanking on Full and partial masks were created that the scene was done almost end. Stop-motion wasn't used strings to create movement." for Sarandon's transition into an completely with cuts rather than one because the filmmakers ruled it out. Cook said the flight of the giant bat increasingly bat-like appearance, continuous scene, It flowed real well was accomplished by filming the "At the time I was creating the "The film company said before and didn't distract from the progress marionette at super slow speed, one shooting began 'that they did not makeup, no actor had yet been cast," of the story," frame per second, which looked just said Cook, "I had to reverse the want stop-motion effects used," said Cook concluded by laughingly right when projected normally at 24 normal process and create the bat Cook. "They wanted us to use recalling some of the jobs he'd done frames per second, with an eye toward the direction the marionettes because it was felt it over the years to break into the field.

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