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Horror makeup is a huge part of what Horrify Me is all about. It's what makes the portraits into "horror portraits" and adds a huge slice of fun to the process.
Like many kids of my generation, growing up with the awesome horror films of the 1970s and 1980s was hugely inspirational. This was a true golden age of horror films, after all, and with it came a slew of new makeup artists and techniques which blew our young minds! The inventiveness and influence of these artists was so powerful that the ripples of their genius are still felt now in modern films, as well as many other creative pursuits. For me personally, Tom Savini was always my favourite and my work continues to be inspired by this legendary makeup artist.
Below I have tried to show how the early horror films of my youth have shaped and inspired my current work. Rather than creating direct copies of characters, you will notice that certain tropes, styles and features fed into my imagination as a kid and are often coming out in my current work.
I have created a number of direct horror character tributes which you can see here.
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INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATIONS
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ZOMBIES
The zombies of the eighties were exciting. They were elevated during this decade from fairly simple "greasepaint and torn clothes" to highly elaborate creatures of exquisite grotesqueness. They gave makeup artists a great creative workout as they crafted some truly horrible and imaginatve zombies. Some were fairly simple works of face paint and liquid latex, while others wore elaborate prosthetics showing decay and rot, and a third group of zombies were created with fascinating animatronic puppets with missing jaw bones and impossible deep wounds. George A. Romero's films are the most obvious source of inspiration for me, naturally, but I also love the more comedic Return of the Living Dead as well as many of the Italian zombie flicks such as Zombie Flesh Eaters. Most of my zombie work is reminiscent of the eighties era.
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VAMPIRES
I grew up loving Hammer horror films and the vintage Universal monsters, and chief among these were vampire films. I loved Dracula, particularly when portrayed by the legendary Christopher Lee. Vampires changed in the eighties, becoming more monstrous, more savage, more sexy... And more imaginative. Just more of everything! Films such as The Lost Boys, and Near Dark, gave us vampires that provided real youthful antisocial menace, and films such as Fright Night and VAMP offered more sexual, monstrous creatures that were as terrifying as they were beautiful and seductive. Vampire character makeups became vastly more adventurous, depicting the monstrous, snarling demonic beings that hid behind their human veneer. Modern vampire films still adopt many of the design breakthroughs that were established in the eighties. When I make my vampire portraits, I always access the rich resource of inspiration that this marvellous decade provided.
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DEMONS
The Exorcist really revolutionised the modern demonic possession theme, introducing the now common features such as blank white eyes, green puke, bodily scars and self harm, weird voices, and twisting limbs and heads. The tropes that were established in The Exorcist continue to live on in modern horror films. In the eighties, the Evil Dead gave movie demons a huge cultural boost and took the possession motif to the next level. Possessions were chaotic and scary, and the bodily corruption that resulted from the possession was intense. The Italian horror film Demons continued the trend, as it served up deliciously gross demonic makeups and murders and wore its inspiration proudly. When I create demonic portraits, I’m very much transfixed by the creatures of the eighties, which are still the best and still the template followed by many modern films.
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CHARACTERS
Some of my portraits are direct reproductions of famous characters, such as Freddy or Valak, but many are “inspired by” certain characters rather than direct recreations. Hellraiser provides a great pool of creative ideas thanks to its imaginative characters and Clive Barker’s remarkable world. Sometimes I just create the “flavour” of the character, such as in the themed art nudes, and other times I’ll create my own completely reimagined version of something popular. Horror characters supply a great play pen of wild ideas and inspiring visions, and, what I love most about the genre, is how it inspires experimentation and creativity.
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GORE
I’m pretty well known for my relentless bloody gore. It's a huge thrill when I'm told that "your work reminds me of those eighties films". This is perhaps my biggest artistic “steal” from the decade. Eighties horror was abundant with gore, and it was brutal, graphic, and just fucking awesome. Savini was the king of the gore genre, creating some of the most memorable and shocking moments ever. He made a career out of killing people in horrific ways and we got to see it in all its disgusting glory. A lot of it was just shocking for the sake of being shocking and this always delighted me. It still does, if I'm honest, and I don’t mind admitting that I still adopt this same attitude. I love photos to be bloody, messy, gory, and visually horrific and much of my artistic education came right off the screen back in the day.
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