Sunday 23 April 2023

F/X: The Series (1996)

A television spinoff of the 1986 cop thriller F/X, and like the movie it was based on revolved on a special effects artist who ends up in the employ of the police. As such, the various mock TV show segments tended to be an excuse to show off lovingly realized prosthetics. The series was filmed in Canada, with the first season's special makeup effects provided by Paul Jones who would later provide the werewolf effects for Ginger Snaps.

There's a direct link between Ginger Snaps and F/X: The Series though; the Howling-inspired werewolf suit seen in the episode 'French Kiss', worn by an unlucky stuntman, would be briefly reused in Ginger Snaps in a fakey 'film within a film' on a television. The suit itself apparently was reused in another TV series, Tracker, a few years later, but I've never watched it myself so can't be sure.

The very first episode, 'F/X: The Illusion' starts off with a sequence parodying the Alien films, its xenomorph pastiche having multiple limbs and red bulbous eyes; in the style of the actual Alien films, the suit is mostly seen in extreme close-up or as a silhouette in long shots.
The episode 'Double Image' starts off with a filming sequence parodying such shows as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys with an actor in an ogre bodysuit, the prosthetic mask fitted with a jutting jaw, tusks and horns.
The second season continued the trend of parodic TV segments, with the episode 'Standoff' possibly parodying Ghostbusters as a demon-like monster is blasted with lasers by a pair of weirdos dressed in silver.
Another grotesque demon appears in a segment that is once again a parody of 90s fantasy shows, this one aimed at Xena: Warrior Princess, and the demon's design feeling like a homage to Rob Bottin's work on Ridley Scott's Legend.

Friday 21 April 2023

Werewolf: The Devil's Hound (2007)

A film where a werewolf stalks a special effects artist, how meta! The special makeup effects were realized by Keith Palmer. The actual werewolf was a furred bodysuit with prosthetics over the face and chest; the chest was sculpted with breasts to show the werewolf was female. The plot revolves around it wanting to mate with the SFX artist it's stalking. So not only is it meta, but also sounds more than a little self-indulgent...

Never Cry Werewolf (2008)

A Fright Night wannabe that swaps the vampires for werewolves, with dubious success. The effects were realized by Paul Jones Effects Studio, with Graham Chivers and Jason Detheridge also credited among Jones' team. A misshapen half-formed werewolf prosthetic mask and hand appliance were created for the half-turned werewolf.
A full werewolf suit was also constructed, with a head fitted with mechanisms for jaw movement.

Arizona Werewolf (1996)

Immortalized thanks to its savaging on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (that episode is far more worthwhile a watch than the actual film). Credited for 'special makeup effects' are Mark Williams and Mike Tristano, though I wonder who did what on the picture. Facial prosthetics and sculpted gloves were utilized for most of the werewolf transformations.
The fully transformed werewolf was achieved as a furred bodysuit and wolf mask; the mask had mechanisms inside allowing the eyes to swivel and jaws to open and shut.