The Contemplation of Transmutation: Surveying the Possibilities with Screaming Mad George & Psychosis
You stand impatiently watching a band take the stage of your local haunt, thinking that it's going to be just another chapter in the same old cliched book of music you've read a thousand times before. Slowly, a white screen is lowered and a film begins to play. A man is sleeping in bed and without warning his television comes to life, sprouting spider-like legs as a huge eyeball opens where the screen should be. The film ends, the screen is lifted and the band kicks into a set dripping with energy and power. The front man steps forward and begins singing as a living re-creation of the spider-television creeps out from behind the drum kit and looks directly at you. You couldn't pull your attention away now if you tried.
This is Screaming Mad George's band Psychosis in action. For those of you who have never heard his name, there is no doubt you have seen his work before. He is best known for his Special Makeup Effects work in films such as Nightmare On Elm Street 4 (cockroach transformation), Society (conceptual design & creation of effects), Bride Of Reanimator (failed experiments), Ramones video "Substitute" (spinning eyes and a devil woman painting), The Guyver (co-directed film & designed and created creatures and visual effects), Freaked (Eye Ball creature, Nosey, Toad, monster legs for Brooke Shields, six-legged goat and two-tailed no-headed dog), Nine Inch Nails video "Closer" (a beating heart on a chair) and the soon to be released Tales From The Hood (full demon makeup and crumbling man effects). All of these creations are the products of a man with imagination to spare. His surrealistic vision has yielded the things which nightmares are made of. Now, he is turning some of that unique vision toward more musical endeavors, creating a sound that is both exhilarating and thought provoking.
The riveting stage performance goes far beyond your standard rock show. It's a multi-media experience that continually keeps the audience on its toes and is a purer distillation of the artist's vision. "It's more my concept as an artist than what I do in film. When I work on a film, I'm just a part of somebody's script--somebody's concept, and I'm just trying to work my vision into it. But in my musical performance it's my concept and my songs and my lyrics, so my vision is the one that it really goes towards."
George's "vision" is an amalgam of musical and theatrical expression which combines elements of the Goth, Punk, Industrial and Metal genres. It would seem rather limiting to slap labels on this music, but George is more philosophical about it. "It is hard to classify them because they are mixtures of several genres. You may call them 'gothic industrial punk' by connecting the styles of music they are based upon, but it doesn't really refer to what my songs are. In fact, it is impossible to pinpoint my songs in one genre because each song has its own style and I don't want to limit myself." George's vocal methods are another indication of this mixture of stylings. "Bauhaus, Pistols, Public Image Limited, Dead Boys, Siouxsie and the Banshees, This Mortal Coil, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and Skinny Puppy are the major influences for me, and the ideal vocal style for my songs. Not only vocal, but the concept of their musical expression and presentation was the major enlightenment for my musical creation. Out of all of the great vocalists, I look up to Peter Murphy the most, especially in the Bauhaus period for the ultimate singer performer."
Screaming Mad George has stated in the press that he looks up to Salvador Dali as a major influence in his art. However, his work does not follow blindly in Dali's distinguished footsteps. "Well, I'm not really trying to follow him. I'm so impressed with what he's done and his concepts and how he achieved what he wanted to do. I admire how he created all those things and really reached out to those audiences. What I'm trying to do is have my surrealistic vision reach out to the audience in a multi-media way. He was also doing multi-media, and I'm actually getting to use a little bit more modern technology." Working within two industries that have gone technology crazy, George seems to have a more balanced perspective on its role in his art. "Technology is nothing but another tool, basically. In Dali's time, he was doing painting - and that's what he was very good at -and he was doing other things, but he wasn't really doing films. Actually I thought he could have done incredible films."
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In 1990, George took a major step in the presentation of his vision by co-directing the film The Guyver with Steve Wang. However, New Line Studios had a different view of what the film's intended audience was. "What we wanted to do [Steve and I] was actually to have a Hong Kong style action film, like the Jackie Chan style of films, and Hollywood special FX and then a little humor put together. You know, kinda funny stuff because our budget was slightly low. What we really originally wanted to do was The Guyver like in the comic book, but it would have been so expensive because it had to be dead serious. We would've had to fight with the M.P.A.A. so much, and then because everything is serious, every shot would have to be extremely cool, and that becomes a lot more expensive. By having a more comical tone to it, we could get away with a lot of things. If you have a joke element, it really helps out. But the making of it, that was one of the major things. And distribution-wise...it was very difficult. New Line was really trying to cut down on buying films and once your film is bought, it is exposed quite a lot after all, in the video and cable markets." New Line decided they had the next Star Wars on their hands and compounded that misconception by then aiming the film at an audience it was never intended for. "We really made it for a PG-13 rating; it was really for kids but when the film came out, I think [New Line] wanted to distribute it as a little more serious film. Test-marketing had more youths to young adults attend test screenings. We knew they wouldn't like it too much because it's too stupid - because we intentionally made it stupid so the kids would like it. The test marketing was kinda low, so they decided to put it out in smaller venues. Nobody would even know where it was playing. It would play for just two weeks and then they just cut it off. Same thing in Japan, too. From the beginning we were telling them "This is for kids," but they already had their plans for distribution. They were going for a more adult "Hollywood Special FX" audience....you know, the first top Hollywood artist to make this whole new movie. Which is kind of wrong because the people were expecting Predator or Aliens."
As many FX artists are finding, their hard work never makes it to the screen due to the censorship of the M.P.A.A. It is very often a frustrating experience to have poured so much of yourself into a piece, only to have it cut from the final product due to someone's (other than the director's or the artist's) decision. "One of [those situations] was Silent Night, Deadly Night Part IV, where there was fire coming out of the mouth of [actress] Maude Adams. When the fire starts in her stomach and the fire comes out, and M.P.A.A. said 'That's going to be X-rated.' It's completely a dummy head, you know, fire comes out from her mouth. What's wrong with this?? It's stupid. Why do they have to cut it out?" questions George. Sometimes the only way for the maligned artists to get their work to the screen is by way of the "Director's Cut" version of a film or an unrated release. This necessary evil is something George has come to terms with. "If we can, we should do it. But in a lot of low budget films they don't have access to the original prints. So, now going back in and doing that is going to be a big headache."
Possessing such a vivid imagination is not without its problems, however. Most of George's work appears in smaller horror films and since the horror genre is, at best, anemic these days, one might begin to wonder if Horror, as an art form, is dead. "I don't think that it's dead, I think real horror film is more of a psycho-mystery. You have to treat the monster as the psycho guy. You really don't want to show the monster too much. I think that Jacob's Ladder is one of my favorite films of the recent stuff, besides any of David Lynch's stuff. It's the psychological aspect that is what's really scary and horrific."
An artist of such extraordinary talent is quite a commodity in Hollywood these days. Since George is presently combining his talents as a Special Makeup FX artist, musician, song writer and showma
n, his future looks very bright. "I have a few scripts written and these are the films that I want to direct. I really don't want to direct anything where somebody is saying 'We have money. Do you want to do it?' If that genre is totally not my kind of stuff, why should I do it? I should just stick with the FX until I get my own money or somebody who will pay for my scripts to be made into films. I think this is one of the ways I can do my band stuff and try to have my own films exposed to an audience. To have my vision and my concept exposed to a [larger] audience by people who see that my art is more into this kind of thing. 'He is not just into The Guyver. You know, the monster makeup.' 'He's more of a surrealist.' That's what I really want to do. I only need my Eraserhead and that's what I don't have. For David Lynch...he had Eraserhead. He can do all those other movies [because of that], but because I don't, and my first film is The Guyver, that is a problem. My agent in Japan said if I wanted to do some other more super hero stuff or monster stuff he can raise money easier. I said, 'Well, that's not what I want to do.' I just don't want to stick with that. So, I just want to start to make even more of my 16 millimeter films; just try to make my vision in one solid form and try to show it to an audience."
What exactly the future holds for Screaming Mad George is an exciting prospect. Whether through his art, Special Makeup FX, music, or a combination of them all, his extraordinary vision and his imaginative eye for the surreal guarantee us that he will be producing wondrous images of a fantastic world that most of us only see in our darkest dreamings.
Tom Savini
Another icon of the horror genre sits down to talk. I’d met Tom at a couple of Fangoria Weekend of Horrors over the years and, when we were pulling together a list of names of people we wanted to interview, Tom’s name came up in short order. As the interview got underway, I could hear Tom working in the background on a sculpture and was excited to later see the piece in print. Over the years, I’ve talked with Tom a time or two (most recently in Fangoria # 304) and, as the years have gone by, Tom continues to prove himself to be a congenial and insightful guy who’s now moved on to do more acting and directing. I’ve always been a fan of the man and his work. So, I was pretty excited to speak to him “in print” this first time.
The Artist's Eye and the Chaney Legacy
The smell of freshly popped corn is the first thing you notice. Its scent, full and mouthwatering, brings back lost memories of childhood. Posters of upcoming films line the walls picturing the famous and infamous, looking out at you like old friends. You push through the double faux leather doors and walk down the gently sloping ramp to your usual spot. As any ardent movie-goer knows, the preeminent seat in the house is located exactly fourth row, center. Kicking past abandoned Ju-Ju-Bees and slimy, empty popcorn containers, you find your chosen seat. You settle in, feeling the worn cushions wrap lovingly around your backside. As luck would have it, just as you get comfortable, the lights go down and an image begins to flicker on the screen.
This is the imagination factory that is the motion picture theater. Many are driven to break into the industry that manufactures these feats of wonder. A few of them make it, many fail. A small percentage of those who achieve their goal rises to the pinnacle of their profession and their names become synonymous with outstanding work. Their efforts draw us out of our daily routine and let us, for a few hours, live lives that we, until then, only dream of. Tom Savini is such an artist. A name whispered with reverence by horror film fans. A true artisan. He does it all. His phenomenal calibre of artistry in the Special Makeup FX field, along with acting and directing, has made his name a quantifiable draw in the horror genre. His achievements as artist, sculptor, director, and actor are nothing short of legendary. The FX he has created in such films as Dawn of the Dead, The Burning, Friday the 13th, and Day of the Dead have inspired a whole generation of FX artists, leaving a legacy that has written its own page in the annals of Hollywood.
One of his next projects (which is drawing a lot of attention) is a part in Robert Rodriguez’ new film, From Dusk Till Dawn. This picture could, potentially, re-write the book on how horror films are judged and, more importantly, rated. Its bold attempt to strive for a NC-17 rating could turn the spiraling receipts of horror films around and bring them back to what they were intended to be - scary.
Tom Savini is a gifted man. One might even go as far as to say a renaissance man. His work is legendary, his scope awe inspiring, his perspective unique. Film fans look to his future, alive with possibilities, with anticipation and the hope that he can help save a beloved genre from the bottom line inspired, industry-driven miasma where it presently resides.
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You’ve said in print several times that Lon Chaney was a major influence on your life. Was this because he was the first artist you were exposed to, or because he was the best there was given the materials he had and the state of the art at the time?
I think because he was the first one ever presented to me. I saw Man of a Thousand Faces when I was twelve years old in a movie theater, and that’s where it all began. In fact, my son’s name is Lon, and he is named after Lon Chaney.
Did he also affect you because he was doing the effects as well as acting?
Oh, absolutely. I want to be him when I grow up.
I read in the book The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh that you were supposed to work on the original Night of the Living Dead. What kept you from doing that?
I had enlisted in the Army on the Hold Program, which means they can take you in within a hundred and forty days of your signing. I met George Romero, and he said he could surely use me on the film, but the Army called me before they started, so I was actually in Viet Nam.
Did you find that the experience of going to Viet Nam profoundly affected the way you viewed what you wanted to do? I mean, when someone said, "We’re going to do a bullet shot," you, having seen something like that for real, would tend to lean toward the realistic portrayal of that moment?
Absolutely. For me, unless the effects look like, or give me the same feeling that I got when I saw the real stuff, then it’s not good enough. So, my stuff got a reputation for being very realistic, and I think it was directly because of what I had observed in Viet Nam. I’m not saying that Viet Nam spurred me on to doing it, because I’d been doing it since I was twelve, but it made me do it in a realistic way, as realistic as I had seen it.
When you came back, the first film you worked on was Deathdream. Were you happy with that film?
Yeah, I thought so. It was my idea in Deathdream to have that pit of bodies. Well, they put flour all over them. It was meant to be lye. They had shown us some training films where that was what they would do in mass graves. I don’t know if they did it in Viet Nam, but they certainly did it in World War II.
One of the things I really like about your work is the suddenness of some of your effects. For example in the staking of Martin, the exploding head in Dawn of the Dead, and the falling metronome in Two Evil Eyes, the effect happens so suddenly and seamlessly that even though you know something is about to happen, you are still taken aback. Is that part of the punch that you like to achieve in your work or is it just you following a director’s vision?
Well, I’d say both. What you are talking about are the "Boos," the chair-jumper effects where something pops up and scares you for a couple of seconds. I think the best scares are, like Hitchcock says, you show the monster behind the door, then you send a woman usually toward the door, and on her way you slow her down - the phone rings, she breaks a nail, she opens a letter, or something happens to slow her down, and the audience is wanting her to get to that door because they want to be scared. So, that scare lasts as long as you want it to, as long as you’re delaying this woman. I mean, there’s a point where it goes over the top and you don’t care anymore, but that’s what the director has to be careful of. That’s the best kind of scare, the one that lasts a long time and is based on suspense.
In Danse Macabre, Stephen King says something about onc
e you’ve shown the monster it’s all over.
Exactly. That’s why you don’t see the monster in Alien, I mean the whole monster, until the very end. That’s why in my Tales From The Darkside episode, "Inside The Closet," Lizzy, the little creature... In the script you see her from the very beginning, but I quickly changed that so you don’t see her at all until the end, because, it’s true, once you show the monster, it’s over.
Carpe Noctem Interviews, Vol 3 Page 12