News
[R.I.P.] ‘Monster Squad’ and ‘Hellboy’ Makeup Artist Matt Rose Has Died
So much of what we love about our favorite horror movies comes from makeup effects artists, and Matt Rose is one name that no conversation about horror movie makeup should be without. Perhaps most notably, Rose designed the iconic makeup for the title character in Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy, and he also sculpted The Monster Squad‘s Gill Man.
Sadly, we learned over the weekend, Rose just passed away.
Rose’s many other credits included Aliens (creature effects crew), Invaders from Mars (special makeup effects artist), Harry and the Hendersons (sculptor), Predator (creature effects unit), Beetlejuice (special makeup effects artist), Fright Night Part 2 (additional sculptor), Gremlins 2 (creature crew), Ed Wood (makeup artist: Bela Lugosi), Wolf (special makeup effects crew), Batman Forever (head sculptor), Men in Black 3 (key makeup artist), and most recently, The Predator (creature effects crew).
Artist Jordu Schell paid tribute to Rose on Facebook, “I’m getting PM’s asking me who Matt Rose was. If you’re in this industry and don’t know, you should. Matt was, arguably, the best sculptor this business has ever known. His credit list is astonishing, and the art and design he gave us raised the bar for every single artist who does this work. I stood in absolute awe of his talent, and I learned so much from him in the time I spent with him that it’s difficult to measure. Imagine having Rick Baker working for you for months, creating perfect piece after perfect piece that need zero art direction; imagine the stories and knowledge and information contained in that mind; imagine knowing a sculpting legend, becoming friends with him after years of reading about his work as a teenager, having hours of discussions and laughs and story exchanges. Imagine the respect and admiration and love that I —and everyone else— felt for this man. And now he’s gone. How doesn’t matter. We’ve lost a precious thing. And there aren’t enough tears to express the depth of that loss.”
He added, “Goddamn it Matt. We still need you.”
If you’d like to learn more about Matt Rose, we encourage you to head over to Daily Dead to read a lovely tribute from Heather Wixson, who had recently struck up a friendship with him.
Only one episode remains in Season 3 of “Chucky,” and what a bloody road it’s been so far, especially for actor Devon Sawa. The actor has now officially died twice on screen this season, pulling double duty as President James Collins and body double Randall Jenkins.
If you thought Chucky’s ruthless eye-gouging of the President was bloody, this week’s Episode 7 traps Randall Jenkins in an elevator that feels straight out of an iconic horror classic.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with series creator Don Mancini and actor Devon Sawa about that ultra-bloody death sequence and how the actor inspires Mancini’s writing on the series.
Mancini explains, “Devon’s a bit of a muse. Idle Hands and Final Destination is where my Devon Sawa fandom started, like a lot of people; although yours may have started with Casper. I was a bit too old for that. But it’s really just about how I love writing for actors that I respect and then know. So, it’s like having worked with Devon for three years now, I’m just always thinking, ‘Oh, what would be a fun thing to throw his way that would be unexpected and different that he hasn’t done?’ That’s really what motivates me.”
For Sawa, “Chucky“ is an actor’s dream in that the series gives him not one but multiple roles to sink his teeth into, often within the same season. But the actor is also a huge horror fan, and Season 3: Part 2 gives him the opportunity to pay homage to a classic: Kubrick’s The Shining.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Devon Sawa as President James Collins, K.C. Collins as Coop — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Collectively, it’s just amazing to put on the different outfits, to do the hair differently, to get different types of dialogue,“ Sawa says of working on the series. “The elevator scene, it’s like being a kid again. I was up to my eyeballs in blood, and it felt very Kubrick. Everybody there was having such a good time, and we were all doing this cool horror stuff, and it felt amazing. It really was a good day.”
Sawa elaborates on being submerged in so much blood, “It was uncomfortable, cold, and sticky, and it got in my ears and my nose. But it was well worth it. I didn’t complain once. I was like, ‘This is why I do what I do, to do scenes like this,‘ the scenes that I grew up watching on VHS cassette, and now we’re doing it in HD, and it’s all so cool.“
It’s always the characters and the actors behind them that matter most to Mancini, even when he delights in coming up with inventive kills and incorporating horror references. And he’s killed Devon Sawa’s characters often. Could future seasons top the record of on-screen Sawa deaths?
“Well, I guess we did it twice in season one and once in season two,“ Mancini counts. “So yeah, I guess I would have to up the ante next season. I’ll really be juggling a lot of falls. But I think it’s hopefully as much about quality as quantity. I want to give him a good role that he’s going to enjoy sinking his teeth into as an actor. It’s not just about the deaths.”
Sawa adds, “Don’s never really talked about how many times could we kill you. He’s always talking about, ‘How can I make this death better,’ and that’s what I think excites him is how he can top each death. The electricity, to me blowing up to, obviously in this season, the eyes and with the elevator, which was my favorite one to shoot. So if it goes on, we’ll see if he could top the deaths.”
CHUCKY — “Death Becomes Her” Episode 305 — Pictured in this screengrab: Devon Sawa as James Collins — (Photo by: SYFY)
The actor has played a handful of distinctly different characters since the series launch, each one meeting a grisly end thanks to Chucky. And Season 3 gave Sawa his favorite characters yet.
“I would say the second one was a lot of fun to shoot,“ the actor says of Randall Jenkins. “The President was great. I liked playing the President. He was the most grounded, I hope, of all the characters. I did like playing him a lot.” Mancini adds, “He’s grounded, but he’s also really traumatized, and I thought you did that really well, too.”
The series creator also reveals a surprise correlation between President James Collins’ character arc and a ’90s horror favorite.
“I saw Devon’s role as the president in Season 3; he’s very Kennedy-esque,“ Mancini explains. “But then given the supernatural plot turns that happen, to me, the analogy is Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, the character that is seeing these weird little things happening around the house that is starting to screw with his sanity and he starts to insist, ‘I’m seeing a ghost,‘ and his spouse thinks he’s nuts. So I always like that. That’s Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, which is a movie I love.”
The finale of “Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesday, May 1 on USA & SYFY.
5 Deep Cut Horror Movies to Seek Out in May 2024
‘Flesh of the Gods’ – Kristen Stewart & Oscar Isaac Starring in ’80s Vampire Movie from Panos Cosmatos!
‘Baby in the Basket’ – First Look at Gothic World War II Horror Movie [Exclusive]
Original Classic ‘The Crow’ Returning to Theaters for 30th Anniversary
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Heads Home to Digital Next Week
You must be logged in to post a comment.