| AN INTERVIEW WITH STEVE PROUTY*
Stephen Gladwin: Let’s talk about your first foray into cinematic special makeup fx: 1986’s TRUTH OR DARE-A CRITICAL MADNESS. How did you get involved with this project? Steve Prouty: I had been making special props for a physical effect man in Atlanta named Bob Shelley off and on for a year or so. Assorted rubber guns, knives, etc. He was in Florida 1 week into shooting Truth or Dare when he called to see if I could get on a plane the next day to go down there and take over the make up effects on the show. The original artist had what they termed an "emotional breakdown" and left the show abruptly. So there I was 17 years old using my hotel room as my lab working around the clock with no sleep but having the time of my life. SG: Did you have any formal training with makeup fx? SP: No, I never had any formal training in makeup. I learned a great deal from books and was fortunate to work with many talented people that helped further my knowledge. SG: Was this shot on video and then transferred to film? SP:To the best of my recollection Truth or Dare was shot in 16mm. SG: What kind of local talent was on board? SP: The writer Tim Ritter was from Florida. The special effects man Bob Shelley and stuntman Jerry Berry were from Atlanta. Much of the crew was from Chicago, which is where Peerless Films was based. SG: How were some of the more intricate details handled? Such as the scene where an older man cuts his hand off, another man blows his head off with a grenade, and a hospital assistant gets a pencil through his eye? SP: Both the head blowing up and the severed arm were gelatin that I poured directly into alginate molds of the actors. Bob Shelley rigged the head with primacord explosives and sent it flying. The gelatin head was so tough however that it kind of blew up like a balloon but did not come apart completely. If you slow down the scene it looks even creepier. The pencil in the eye was a latex piece over half a pencil mounted to a piece of plastic. I added some blood and raw egg for eye goo. SG: Do you know where any of the cast or crew is now? Perhaps what they’re doing? SP: I tried recently to search the Internet for the film company but with no luck. I think that Tim Ritter is cranking out films in Florida and I know Bob Shelley is still doing great work for films and TV shows. SG: Now let’s move on to DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS, the Indonesian horror film you worked on. How did you get involved with that project? SP: I had just finished working on a show for Greg Cannom and the producers of Seductress (originally called The Scarlet Mirror) came to his shop to see if he wanted to do the effects. He did not so he recommended me to them. After a couple of meetings, I started on the job. SG: Were you entirely in charge of the spfx? SP: I handled most of the effects but they did add some after I finished the show. For instance, I did not do the guy getting his head cut off with the flying glass; I’m not sure who did. SG: I know that you worked with the leading actresses Amy Weber and Tonya Offer. What were they like to work with? SP: Amy and Tonya were great, very professional. I worked closest with Amy, Tonya only wore teeth and contacts which she put in herself. SG: Do you have any idea what they are doing now? SP: I occasionally see them on TV or in magazines but I have had no contact with them. SG: I remember you telling me that "John Miller" (the credited director) was a collective pseudanym. Do you know how many directors handled that film and did you know them personally? SP: I believe there were 2 or 3 men who appeared to direct scenes. The lines of whom did what were blurry there. The language difference made it even more confusing. I did not have a chance to get to know the Indonesian crew that well. The days were long with not much time to socialize. SG: Did you learn anything about the Indonesian film industry? Perhaps any interesting anecdotes or mishaps during the shooting? SP: One cool thing about the Indonesians was that they built all there own film equipment (i.e. dollies, cranes, stedicams.) using only photos from filmmaking magazines. They were very clever. Also we would shoot all night until dawn and as I was cleaning the make up off of Amy we would hear the morning Muslim prayer horns or bells sounding all over the city. It was very surreal. SG: In the opening fx shot of Weber transforming from her mucky state, did you have Frank’s initial transformation from hell from HELLRAISER in mind? SP: I’m sure Hellraiser influenced me but much of that scene was thoroughly storyboarded by the production. They had a pretty definite idea as to what they wanted. SG: How exactly was that impressive sequence achieved? SP: For the first shots of skin regenerating, I did some gelatin skins over fake bones. We melted the gelatin and then reversed the film. Later the production did some stop motion style animation of skin chunks assembling on to a skeleton. When Amy first stands up I rigged a skeleton arm and partial leg that she wore. The arm had some mechanical movement. This is funny, originally when she rips the dog’s head off, they wanted to use a real dog and just behead it. Luckily (for the dog) I convinced them to use a prop dog as to not upset any animal rights groups. When Amy is grabbed from below ground by the forces of the underworld, those arms are all the crew guys that I made up. I think they enjoyed groping for her legs.
*A very special thanks to Bill Knight for making this interview possible!
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