It turns out, however, that once you take away the spooky lighting, ominous music, and scary masks and makeup, a terrifying spectacle can easily become nothing more than just a bunch of people at work, having fun (sometimes) hanging out with the rest of the cast and crew, who are all in on the joke of their soundstage spookshow made by actors in tights covered in colored corn syrup. Few things can shatter the illusion of a spooky flick like behind-the-scenes photos of actors out of character, out of context, and out of costume. Here are some amusingly disillusioning set photos that will keep you from looking at iconic horror movies the same way ever again.
Freddy with a Walkman
As the franchise went on and expanded into TV shows and video games and a 900 number phone line (children, Google what this means), Freddy — always deftly played by Robert Englund — would become quippier and punnier until he basically turned into the 1980s version of a Deadpool without a mask and who did slightly less murdering. But before he became such a cuddly figure that his commercial warned children to ask their parents for permission before talking to him on the phone, that dude was, you know, a serial killer with wizard powers who was probably also a child molester.
That’s why it’s kind of jarring to see him chilling with the teens he would dream-murder while bumping 1984’s slappingest bops on a Walkman (children, Google what this means). And of course, the real irony is we know now that the actual monster, Johnny Depp, is standing behind him.
This actually way more terrifying shot of Gizmo
The adorable, non-evil mogwai Gizmo is arguably the hero and definitely the breakout star of the Gremlins franchise, so he’s generally meant to be cute rather than scary. But according to Prop Store, makeup artist Rick Baker’s team built a prototype human-sized suit for a small actor to fit into so Gizmo could walk around on camera. Thankfully, this idea was ditched and this horrifying, presumably child-eating suit that looks like the granddaddy of some Five Nights at Freddy’s nightmare never appeared on camera. At this point, the more disturbing thing is that someone actually bought this suit and it’s sitting in their house hopefully (please) in a storage case and not like on their body.
Gage Creed goofing around
One of the more memorable terrifying toddlers in film history is Gage Creed from the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, as played by 3-year-old Miko Hughes. Hughes’ performance as a dead child resurrected after being buried in accursed ground who slashes Herman Munster’s Achilles tendon and bites his throat out before murdering his own mother with a scalpel is so effective that it’s pretty easy to forget that he’s actually a (presumably) normal and not-at-all accursed preschooler behind the scarface makeup.
So it’s a little strange (and maybe more than a little relieving?) to see him in this behind-the-scenes shot just goofing around with toys. Is it a little worrying that the toy in question is a light firearm? Sure, yes. But it seems like even at that adorable child’s most malicious, he’s much less likely to shred throats with a flying disc gun than a scalpel.
Cuddling with the Pale Man
The monster who gives his name to the title is the Faun (this makes more sense if you know that the film’s title in the original Spanish is El Laberinto del Fauno, or if you know that the Greek god Pan was a faun, also known as a satyr), but the real nightmare star of the film is the Pale Man, whose “eyeballs in the palms” bit is probably the most memorable visual in the film. The actor behind the Faun would probably be mad that the Pale Man upstaged him if it weren’t for the fact that they were played by the same actor: Doug Jones. Jones is reportedly a very nice person despite his monstrous roles, so maybe it’s no surprise to see him showing some affection behind the scenes to makeup artist Montse Ribé.
Leatherface cheats at cards
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from 1974 is one of the most influential and beloved horror films ever made. Its sequel, 1986’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, has something less of a critical consensus behind it, but its reputation has grown in recent years. Director Tobe Hooper wanted the second film to expand on the black comedy elements of the first film, so the sequel really amps up the satire as well as the gore to make something almost as over the top as the first film is understated. (Despite its title, only two people get killed with a chainsaw in the first film, and one of them is off-screen.)
That spirit of fun really shows in these behind-the-scenes photos, and especially in the above shot where you can see Leatherface (played in the sequel by Bill Johnson) playing cards with his brothers the Cook (Jim Siedow) and Chop Top (Bill Moseley) in a game that seems to have gone somewhat awry. Presumably that was a crazy game of poker.
Babyraiser
Anyway, easily the most recognizable character from this Hot Topic mishmash of a franchise is Pinhead, the leader of the Cenobites (the facially pierced bondage demons), portrayed in the first eight (!) films by Doug Bradley. You can recognize Pinhead because he’s the one with, you know, the pins in his head.
According to Birth Movies Death, while promoting Hellraiser III in 1992, Bradley was walking through New York in full makeup and costume so he could present a spooky Rubik’s Cube to Planet Hollywood. Naturally, his presence drew quite a crowd, and at some point one of the dozens of people following him down the street asked him to take a picture holding their baby. Bradley refers to this as “Pinhead running for President.” (Thankfully for Pinhead, sex evil has never been a disqualification from that particular office.)
The weird thing to think about is that that baby is now fully adult and probably wondering why their parent gladly handed them over to a demon that looks like he rolled around in Marilyn Manson’s trash.
Another less than frightening Freddy
One of the most important additions to the Elm Street mythos in this film is the role of Kristen Parker — portrayed by Patricia Arquette — a young woman with the ability to summon other people into the dream world at will. And one of the most famous scenes in Dream Warriors is the one in which Freddy appears as a giant snake that tries to swallow Kristen whole until serpentine Freddy is stabbed with a shard of glass and pukes Kristen up.
As cool as that scene is, it’s somewhat undercut by the above shot of Arquette not at all bothered to be halfway down Freddy’s gullet.
Creeping on the King
The film’s cast includes many notable faces, such as Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, and Ted Danson, but one notable role was played by King himself. King appears in the film’s second segment, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” based on his short story “Weeds.”
Night of the Living Color
One of the key elements to the tone of the film is its stark black and white photography, which was partially due to budgetary issues but also because Romero thought black and white made the blood feel more real. That’s why it was so shocking to see a collection of behind-the-scenes photos from NotLD in full color. The scenes of cast members chilling on picnic blankets or of Barbra and Johnny in the graveyard seem way cheerier and less ominous in full color. “They’re coming to get you, Barbra … to take you to the mall for an Orange Julius!”
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