Monster Squad: Celebrating the Artists Behind Cinema’s Most memorable Creatures
Published by BearManor Media, 2017. 430 pages.
By Heather A. Wixson

In the early ’80s, makeup artists that worked on horror movies were becoming real celebrities, just as if they were the main stars of the films they worked on. Seeing names like Savini, Baker, or Bottin in the credits would get fans to go see a film on their participation alone. So many young fans out there were so inspired by these names, that they dabbled on their own with latex, spirit gum, and greasepaint, some more successful than others. Like a lot of us fans during that time, the movies affected us more than most people watching them. Some wanted to be part of the world that were creating this magic. That passion is what drove them to never stop trying, never stop learning, and just never stopping. That era when rubber monsters and outrageous creatures ruled the genre is over three decades ago, with quite a bit being replaced with CGI. But that hasn’t stopped some of these guys from continuing with their craft, still fueled by that same passion to create magic on the screen.

Since the days when Savini, Baker, Winston, and company were the gods when it came to the fans, for every one of those names, there were dozens of other highly talented and creative individuals that were turning out some amazing work, from monsters and fantasy creatures, to gore effects, and so much more, but that never seemed to get the notoriety that some got. And that is where author Heather Wixson and her wonderful love letter to these artists comes in. She has interviewed 20 different special effects and makeup artists that have worked decades in the business, creating some amazing effects in some of our favorite films. I really liked the fact that the people covered within these pages are not the usual suspects we tend to hear about all the time. It’s great to put a spotlight on these people and their work. Some of these names might be familiar, some may not, such as Bartalos, Wade, Keen, Wang, Masters, and Aspinall. They should still be right up there with the other greats. If you don’t know them, once you read about the films they worked on, I’m sure that will change and you’ll now will not only have a new found respect for them, but you will remember those names.

Wixson leaves most of the content here to the ones being interviewed, letting them tell us their stories. We get to hear what set off the desire to become a makeup artist, which usually was a monster film, either a Universal classic, a Harryhausen animated creature, or something in between. These vary from each of the artists, but the one thing that they all seemed to have in common was that deep rooted passion to learn as much as they could about their craft. Working hard and long hours, with little or no pay was something that they all went through to get more experience. It was the passion that fueled them and kept them going. And it still does today. You can hear it in their words, how much they love what they do. We should all be so lucky to be able to find a career that gives us that much fulfillment.

I devoured this book inside of a week. The stories from the artists, even though were dealing with makeup effects, it is the passion that each of us horror fans are going to resonate with. Our outlet may have been directing our own films or even just writing about them, but it is one thing that has kept us following the genre for as long as we have. So even if you’re not in the business but just a fellow fan, you will still feel the kinship with each one of these listed in this book. Highly recommended.

You can order it directly from the publisher, BearManor Media through their website HERE.