Editorials
[It Came From the ‘80s] The Awesome Creature Effect We Almost Got in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors’
With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology. Artists like Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Tom Savini, Stan Winston, and countless other artists that delivered groundbreaking, mind-blowing practical effects that ushered in the pre-CGI Golden Age of Cinema. Which meant a glorious glut of creatures in horror. More than just a technical marvel, the creatures on display in ‘80s horror meant tangible texture that still holds up decades later. Grotesque slimy skin to brutal transformation sequences, there wasn’t anything the artists couldn’t create. It Came From the ‘80s is a series that will pay homage to the monstrous, deadly, and often slimy creatures that made the ‘80s such a fantastic decade in horror.
If you’re a regular reader of this column, then you have at least some idea of the blood, sweat, and tears put into the special makeup and creature effects that gave us enduring movie monsters. The insane hours put into engineering, molding, casting, and application while under the pressure of time and money constraints. Sometimes the effects that take the longest to create only end up on screen for mere seconds. For other effects, they don’t even make the film at all. Such is the case with the nightmare girl on a tricycle in the opening scene of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
After the opening credits that introduces us to new final girl Kristen (Patricia Arquette), who is falling asleep while crafting Freddy Krueger’s dilapidated house, her mom comes in and ushers her off to bed. Cue the dream sequence, which sees Kristen trying to save a little girl in a yellow dress from the enclosing claws of Krueger. Kristen runs through the house holding the girl in her arms until she reaches a room full of bodies, the girl whines, “Put me down! You’re hurting me!” Kristen looks down and finds this:
It’s startling enough, the transition from cute human child to charred skeleton, but it’s not so impressive. Especially compared to the effects that were to come in the film. It turns out, though, that the nightmare girl in the film wasn’t the original plan. The original plan was to have a mechanical puppet that would move and clutch at Kristen. So, what happened?
Special makeup effects artist Mark Shostrom (Evil Dead II, Phantasm II, From Beyond) explains, “I made this mechanical corpse of this little girl that could move and open its eyes and grab at her shirt and everything. [Director] Chuck Russell‘s instructions were ‘Think Auschwitz.’ I went to the Simon Wiesenthal museum and I got research and I made this corpse. The ribcage looked very emaciated and it was a little heart wrenching, this poor little girl puppet.”
The emaciated little girl looked so effective and authentic that it spooked Russell, who was already overwhelmed with shooting three units and under a time crunch to wrap up filming by Christmas. “He looked and said ‘Oh my God, everybody who’s Jewish in the audience is going to look at this and hate me. We can’t film this.’ I spent ten weeks making it, we need to film it. And Rachel Talalay, the production line producer, said ‘we need to film this.’” But Russell didn’t budge, and someone in props instead threw together the charred skeleton that we see in the final film within minutes.
It understandably baffled Shostrom, who spent 10 weeks creating what Russell asked for. “I’ve never in my life experienced anything like that because at the very least take an hour, put it on film and decide later when you’re not frazzled by shooting three units and the day before Christmas. But they didn’t even film it,” Shostrom says of his lost creation. And it is indeed lost. When asked if the puppet still exists in a warehouse or shop somewhere, he answers, “No, it eventually just rotted away.” All that’s left of the emaciated nightmare puppet are photos and memories.
Granted, Kristen’s nightmare girl only plays a small bit in her journey, and what was used on screen doesn’t hinder the final film. But it would’ve been really cool to see this far scarier, mechanical puppet terrorize Kristen. We often celebrate the effects that appear on screen, but sometimes the effects that don’t make it to screen deserve just as much praise and attention.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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