On this DirtCast Halloween special, Megan is joined by the ghost of a Victorian man named Madeleine to talk horror movie special effects—specifically, the spine-chilling magic of makeup. From Day of the Dead to Twisty the Clown, gruesome special effects have infiltrated mainstream pop culture in recent years, becoming even more realistic along the way.
From blood spray to prosthetic arms, killer clowns to exploding heads gifs, what goes into creating these sickening looks? Hours? Days? Spirit gum?
To find out exactly what, the (g)hosts are joined by Mike Mekash, a prosthetics and makeup artist from American Horror Story and a number of other Ryan Murphy projects (not to mention Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). We find out how prosthetics affect actors ability to act, which stars are the most patient in the makeup chair, and uncover an unexpected truth about Ben Affleck’s back tattoo.
DirtCast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, NPR One and iHeart Media.
This episode was produced by Rachel Withers. Mandana Mofidi is our Executive Director of Audio. Our theme music is by Stuart Wood. This episode was mixed by Corey Schreppel.