Behind the Mask:The Secrets of Hollywood's Monster Makers

by Mark Salisbury, Alan Hedgcock, John Carpenter (Foreword)

The secret of Hollywood's Monster Makers. Mark Salisbury and Alan Hedgecock look at the master makeup artists who have, in the 20 years since "The Exorcist", proven themselves to be the leaders in their craft. (We are sorry, but there are NO RETURNS on this item.)

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[David Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the revolutionary period of SFX make up when such pioneering characters like the predator, terminator and the xenomorphs were created. It might be less popular than CGI now but I'm unsure whether computer generated characters have as much charm and presence as their moulded and sculpted counterparts in the 70s/80s/90s. They certainly inspired my childhood to an immense degree and in this book is the history of these characters and a look at the artists who created them. Very interesting to find out who these unsung heroes are and to link them to their specific bodies of work.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love horror and I love movie monsters. This book give a good behind the scenes look at some of the great make up icons of the cinema!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A competent, well-written (but strangely not comprehensive) volume, this follows the careers of five SPFX make-up artists (Dick Smith, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Stan Winston and Steve Johnson) up to 1994, when the book was published. There’s plenty of good information but some films are skipped over quickly, whilst others (“Freaked”?) get more space than they perhaps deserve and the exclusion of Tom Savini (especially considering Johnson’s output) seems odd. It’s a good read, however and well worth a look.