Happy Halloween! This year’s theme was 80’s Horror movies and with an actual Friday the 13th in October, that had to be at the top of the list. We also included a bonus of Nightmare on Elm Street and Evil Dead into the mix (yeah, I went too far again).
I wanted to have a more practical special effects feel and less photoshop (at least for some of the photos. I got the idea to build a cabin façade that we could use for the photos. I started getting pallets from work and breaking them down. I built a pretty flimsy door and wall, but it just had stand up for a little while. I then destroyed the top part of the door and started to add back the pieces, attached with wire, to look like they are breaking open and flying apart. So now Tyler, “Jason”, can look like he is smashing his way into the cabin.
I made a door and wall set piece out of old pallets.
We tried a bunch of different poses and scenarios, but I stuck with the three that told the best story. We made the tee shirts with iron on transfers and a Camp Crystal Lake logo that I put together in Photoshop. Those lovely tight little red shorts were bought on Amazon, and will never be worn again for the love of humanity. Tyler’s Jason outfit was a plain white hockey mask that I roughed up and hand painted. The clothes were picked up at Goodwill and aged and destroyed by hand. The machete is a toy prop.
Two counselors not paying attention to the campers. Friday the 13th family portrait.
Will Suzannah be the final girl? Friday the 13th family portrait
Next up is Tyler as Freddy Krueger. This was hard. I am happy how it turned out, but I think I would have needed to practice this a few times with different types of makeup to get it right. I knew I was going to be hard, but it was tougher than I thought. I included a time lapse below. It took two hours to complete. Thanks to Tyler for having patience to do this each year!
Tyler as Freddy Krueger.
Tyler as Freddy Krueger.
Last, but not least, myself, as Ash Williams from Evil Dead. I always get asked for more of me, but it’s really hard to get into makeup or a costume and not be behind the camera to get the photo. Tyler takes the photos, but I have to stop, look, readjust and keep trying till I get what I’m looking for. I went with Ash from Evil Dead 2, even though I look closer to Ash vs Evil Dead (age and body type). Outfit was torn up, tea-stained and dirtied up by hand and the chainsaw was hand made. I used EVA foam and a bunch of You Tube videos to make it. The foam is amazing. I can see why cosplayers use it, it is incredibly versatile, and it was a lot of fun to make. I will definitely be trying to find other things to make in the future.
Eric as Ash Williams - Evil Dead.
Eric as Ash Williams - Evil Dead.
Ash’s chainsaw. made almost entirely out of EVA foam, paint and rubber cement.
Overall, I’m happy with the outcome this year. We already have plans for next year, thanks to Suzannah, who has picked the theme. Whatever could it be…..
Tyler as Freddy - Eric as ash and Tyler as Jason.