In terms of slasher movies, the iconography of the killer is usually extra necessary than the story. So long as followers are being given the possibility to observe Michael Myers present up in his white-painted Captain Kirk best to slaughter anybody who will get in his approach, nobody cares about making an attempt to make sense of the the nonsensical and convoluted timeline of the “Halloween” franchise. Even individuals who have by no means watched a horror film of their life may in all probability establish Jason Voorhees from “Friday the thirteenth” in his iconic hockey masks, or clock Leatherface from “The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath” even with out his titular weapon. The look of a slasher villain ought to strike concern into the hearts of the viewers … however it also needs to be memorable sufficient to be marketable.
It is a delicate steadiness, and it isn’t the best factor on the earth to tug off. The fundamental “sackhead” look of Jason in “Friday the thirteenth Half II” is just memorable as a result of it is Jason, as a result of when the design first emerged 5 years earlier in “The City That Dreaded Sunset,” it did not hit with audiences. (It additionally did not hit when the movie bought a metafictional sequel in 2014, as a result of the slasher was simply … a man in a sack masks). Even a “dangerous” slasher masks can nonetheless be memorable (I nonetheless love you, Fencing Masks in “City Legend: Last Lower), however if you would like your killer to pack a punch, you gotta name within the specialists.
Probably the greatest within the enterprise is Tony Gardner, whose design for the brand new Valentine’s Day slasher movie “Coronary heart Eyes” (learn our overview right here) is already being hailed as top-of-the-line slasher villain designs in years. This should not be stunning, contemplating Gardner has one of the vital spectacular style movie pedigrees of anybody working immediately within the make-up and particular results subject.
Tony Gardner bought his begin on the largest music video, ever
Earlier than we transfer ahead, it must be famous that Tony Gardner has a wild origin story. As he mentioned on The Flesh and Blood and Bone Podcast he co-hosts together with his daughter, filmmaker Kyra Gardner (who we interviewed for her documentary “Dwelling with Chucky”), the best way Tony Gardner broke into the business does not actually exist anymore. He grew up round Cleveland, Ohio, and have become fascinated with particular results and creature designs. He made facehuggers and an E.T. masks in his spare time, as only a few examples, earlier than shifting to Los Angeles to go to varsity. As soon as in Los Angeles, he determined to make use of his place as a scholar to get him nearer to his heroes like Steven Spielberg and results artists Carlo Rambaldi and Rick Baker. He bought himself onto the Common lot by taking a web page out of Spielberg’s ebook by dressing up, displaying up, and appearing necessary however the best way he met Rick Baker would get somebody placed on a watch checklist if replicated immediately.
The at-the-time school scholar knew the place Baker’s store was, so Gardner drove to the town and regarded up the entire individuals named “Rick Baker” within the cellphone ebook, eager to interview him for a college challenge (that did not really exist). He finally discovered himself on Baker’s doorstep, however he was out of city taking pictures a film so Gardner spoke with Baker’s father, and left him slides of his beginner results work. Ultimately, Rick Baker contacted Gardner and agreed to be interviewed. They spoke for hours and the interview grew to become conversational, however nothing actually got here from it. Nevertheless later that summer time after 18-year-old Gardner had returned dwelling to Ohio between semesters, Baker tracked Gardner down and known as his household dwelling to supply him a job on a music video set requiring a bunch of zombies. This manner, Gardner would know if this was the business meant for him. He eagerly agreed and was on a airplane the subsequent day to return to Los Angeles.
That music video was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” arguably the best music video of all time.
Tony Gardner is a dwelling particular results legend
Listening to Tony Gardner talk about his profession together with his daughter Kyra on their podcast is surreal at instances as a result of there is a humble casualness to name-dropping tasks like “Return of the Dwelling Lifeless,” “Military of Darkness,” “Hocus Pocus,” “Hell Fest,” “Freaky,” “The Addams Household,” “Freaked,” “The Blob,” the “Zombieland” movies, and the “Chucky” franchise. Gardner is so intrinsic to the latter, that he even performs a fictionalized model of himself within the faux-movie inside a film “Chucky Goes Psycho” in “Seed of Chucky,” and is killed on display screen by the very puppet he is been working for over a decade. These titles alone are sufficient to place him in god-tier standing, however Gardner’s work is not unique to the world of horror.
He is additionally labored on movies like “Honey I Shrunk the Children,” “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls,” “Blissful Gilmore,” and “Batman & Robin,” to not point out the bodily transformations proven in “Shallow Hal,” “Hairspray,” the “Jackass” movies, and “Beastly.” He is additionally prolific on the earth of commercials, creating the designs for the Geico Cavemen (and subsequent TV present I am certain you forgot existed) and the delightfully bizarre Halloween Snickers business that includes the rubber-faced girl on the grocery retailer.
However the one which at all times knocks me again is figuring out that he helped create the signature helmets for Daft Punk, in addition to the completely cursed [complimentary], skinless robotic for his or her “Technologic” music video (which is a “Seed of Chucky” animatronic repurposed to provide me, particularly much more nightmares). His Alterian Inc. firm has solidified itself as an business chief in prosthetic make-up results, animatronic design, and specialty prop creation, to not point out his rising roster of slasher masks.
The Coronary heart Eyes masks is horror perfection
When it got here time to create the Coronary heart Eyes masks, Gardner and Bryan Christensen took the concepts from the movie’s artistic crew and introduced all of it to life. The seen seams and exterior laces elicit each a BDSM-inspired gimp masks and that of “The Collector,” with a cloth alternative that feels paying homage to Dr. Decker in “Nightbreed,” the tanned flesh of Leatherface, and sure, even Sackhead Jason. It is an extremely basic method to a masks however injected with the modern iconography of the center eyes emoji, glowing brightly to evoke the ominous risk of crimson lighting or the emphasis of consideration like a Tex Avery wolf admiring from a distance. The eyes are additionally bespoke, offering the killer the benefit of night-vision, a sexier take beforehand seen by Buffalo Invoice in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
The mouth is, after all, carved right into a Glasgow smile, a grotesque twist on the universally accepted presentation of happiness. Mixed collectively, the Coronary heart Eyes masks is actually unforgettable. Throughout a current Reddit AMA, “Coronary heart Eyes” director Josh Ruben talked concerning the collaborative effort that went into the masks’s design, between Gardner, Christensen, and the crew at Alterian turning concepts right into a tangible actuality, to the VFX crew in New Zealand led by Stef Knight who utilized a Vaseline-esque sheen to the masks in order that even at the hours of darkness, “the slightest gentle is picked up and refracted in an eerie, sweat-like approach.”
When wanting on the masks for “Coronary heart Eyes,” we’re not simply seeing a cool slasher villain, we’re seeing the fruits of over 40 years of experience and horror historical past introduced right into a single design by way of artistic collaboration, led by an business genius.
“Coronary heart Eyes” is now taking part in in theaters all over the place.
