You don’t have to be told when you’re a little kid that there’s something under your bed
or there’s something in the closet.
You know for a fact that there is something in the dark.
No one teaches that to you.
Since like the dawn of man, Romans, you know, had sports arenas where there was
blood and gore and like visceral entertainment and, you know, we subconsciously still crave that.
I think people gravitate towards the horror genre, you know, horror films, because a lot of times it feels real.
So I think there’s something tangible about it
that really triggers some key emotions in us that makes us feel really human.
There’s something terrifying happening. Someone, some creature, someone’s being chased.
There’s so much adrenaline going on that you can’t help but get sucked into it,
so you feel like you’re almost dragged into this horrifying situation in a way.
The horror film is sort of a rite of passage. When you’re a kid, like, “Oh, did you see Friday the 13th?”
You hear about it from your older cousins or your older brother or sisters,
and it creates this need in you to see it, to sort of test yourself, to see if you can get through that fear.
The kills themselves, half the time are just as creative as, you know, any other film that you go see.
People don’t like to look at horror movies as art, but they are, and it’s just a different form of art,
and a different form of expression.
Sideshow cut its teeth on horror, Universal Monsters, that’s where we started.
We’ve learned a lot throughout the years with paint techniques and production techniques where,
“Let’s go back, let’s revisit these characters and let’s start with
some of the modern horror characters that we had done before.”
Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, and Pinhead.
Leatherface was kind of one of those characters that in my mind kind of exists
a little closer to the reality spectrum.
That’s always been the character that frightened me the most.
All the others, they sort of exist in this fantasy realm, but that guy is…
he’s just a little too close to home and real, you know? It’s like…
Jason Voorhees would ruin you if you met him in public, and you would…you’d be dead.
That mask is now iconic with slasher horror and not a sport, which is insane!
Jason drowned because, you know, teenagers are off having sex and not doing their job
being camp counselors and, I mean, c’mon! Who’s the villain here?
Freddy Krueger is one of the most spectacular and horrific horror icons.
I mean, what’s more horrifying to think that like you can’t even be safe in your own dreams?
He’s definitely a more animated villain.
Cut your throat you little piggy! [laughs]
Pinhead definitely was one that was taken a lot further in design. Tailored to be something unique head to toe.
Hellraiser was one that scared the crap out of me when I was younger.
And especially part three man, I even…[laughs]
Pinhead, you open the box because you’re curious…he’s letting you into his world.
We’re not trying to take a still from the movie. We’re not trying to filter down to one specific time in the movie.
It’s more representing the character itself.
Seeing what the film was presenting to you and connecting that to a more imaginative look, and you know,
have a little bit more artistic fun with the pieces is kind of our goal this time around.
We’re finding the best angle, taking that and putting our own style into it. We can’t wait to get it out there.
It’s really exciting.
Why have some of these characters lasted so many years? I think it has to do with
the mythology around the characters and there’s an ideal to them that, you know,
I think we’ve all sort of conjured in our own minds.
It’s cool coming back to these licenses cause it’s a new opportunity for us
in this new time to approach these in a different way.
The things that we fear we really kind of seek to understand, and I think
that that’s kind of a theme that radiates through, ya know, the entire platform of stuff we’re putting forth.