Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh (2008) (TV)

Director:

Kevin VanHook

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

This documentary delves into the art of make-up effects with industry legends Dick Smith, Rob Bottin...

Plot Keywords:

Make Up | Special Makeup Effects | Horror Filmmaking | Werewolf | Special Effects

Cast

Howard Berger	...	Himself
Rob Bottin	...	Himself
Josh Brolin	...	Himself
John Carpenter	...	Himself
Wes Craven	...	Himself
Joe Dante	...	Himself
Frank Darabont	...	Himself
Peter Dinklage	...	Himself
Mick Garris	...	Himself
Jordan Ladd	...	Herself
John Landis	...	Himself
Gregory Nicotero	...	Himself
Simon Pegg	...	Himself
Robert Rodriguez	...	Himself
George A. Romero	...	Himself
Eli Roth	...	Himself
Tom Savini	...	Himself
Dick Smith	...	Himself
Quentin Tarantino	...	Himself
Dee Wallace	...	Herself

Directed by
Kevin VanHook

Produced by
John Esposito	....	consulting producer
Andrea Kaufman	....	producer
Gregory Nicotero	....	executive producer (as Greg Nicotero)
Michael Ruggiero	....	executive producer in charge of production

Original Music by
J. Lynn Duckett

Cinematography by
Ken Bell
Carey Lee Coffey
Keith J. Duggan
Danny Lanham

Film Editing by
Jay Marks

Makeup Department
Michael Deak	....	special makeup effects artist

Sound Department
Tyler Faison	....	sound
Andy Hay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Todd Lotoszinski	....	sound
Scott R. Palm	....	sound

Other crew
Steven Belgard	....	publicist

Thanks
Stan Winston	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• Starz Media

Distributors

• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD) (As "Fantastic Flesh")
• Starz Entertainment (2008) (USA) (TV)
• Starz Media (2008) (USA) (all media)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA (2010)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Starz Media

Movie Connections:

Features From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Good Bare Bones Effects Documentary

"Fantastic Flesh" is a one-hour documentary briefly exploring the world of makeup and special effects in horror films. Interviews are conducted with most of the bigger names in makeup and effects today, including Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Dick Smith and more. Also featured are clips from some of the more notable effects sequences in horror history, such as "The Thing" and "The Howling".

The film's strong point is the variety of ground it covers, from makeup to animatronics to computer generated effects. Also, many people were interviewed... if I were to list them all, it would take up a whole paragraph. For those interested in effects, this is the perfect introductory film. I was introduced to effects masters from years past that I simply didn't know anything about, and the story of how Nicotero met George A. Romero was a bit of horror history that has escaped me up until now. I had no idea how much of a family they all are.

The drawback to this film is that it is only an hour. I could have used another hour or more. While many effects are covered, very few are actually shown in the process of creating them (with the notable exception of the tire-across-the-face scene from "Death Proof"). You will not learn how to actually apply makeup or develop effects from watching this film. And that's a shame, as anyone interested in effects is going to want to know how its done.

My recommendation is to catch this on television if you can. I received the DVD as part of my review duties, but probably won't have picked it up otherwise. As I said, there's only an hour of material. And, sadly, no special features. Unless you count English subtitles. No extended interviews, no featurettes. If these were added, I'd recommend the film, but as is it's a one-time watch.