Between October 1,2014 to October 31,2015 FWYW artist and founder Bradley Beard created a series of 421 horror-themed portraits and released them daily on Facebook for 396 consecutive days. This self imposed challenge has become known as the 13 Months of Horror and to commemorate it’s 5th anniversary, Bradley is sharing it once again on Facebook and Instagram. FWYW will be collecting each week’s and sharing them in our blog so please enjoy as we present to you The 13 Months of Horror – Revisited.
DAY 15 – IT
Ahhh… the smell of cotton candy wafting through the air and the high stepping notes of Entrance of the Gladiators ringing in your ears, the circus must have just rolled into town. No? Then it must be today’s design of Tim Curry as Pennywise from the 1990 TV movie Stephen King’s IT. This movie is about a creature that has the ability to prey upon and manifest its victim’s worst fears. It creates Pennywise to terrorize “The Losers Club” which is comprised of an all-star cast. Tim Curry was born to shape our perception of clowns as his portrayal was truly psychotic and terrifying. I have never liked clowns and after seeing this, I like them even less. Another great rental for the season, just don’t forget the popcorn. And don’t forget to tune in tomorrow or it will be no laughing matter.
DAY 16 – THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Masks instill either fascination or fear in most people with the possibility of what hides beneath. Presented here is the epitome of this ideal. Today’s design is of Herbert Lom as Professor Petrie from the 1962 Hammer Horror classic The Phantom of the Opera; a distinctly lavish Hammer production with amazing sets, great cast, and incredible production values. This is a time honored gothic romance that everyone should already be familiar with so I won’t go into details. Here the Phantom is portrayed as a tragic hero as opposed to earlier movies where he was more of a sadistic villain. The film was a box office failure but has garnered a cult following over the years. Today’s been revealed; wait and see what tomorrow hides.
DAY 17 – THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD
They say that beauty is only skin deep and today’s design is proof that skin is one of the requirements. This is an image taken from the movie poster for the 1970 Amicus Studios classic anthology The House That Dripped Blood. This is a great movie comprised of several short stories starring horror powerhouses Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as well as John Pertwee (Doctor Who). This creature was not actually shown in the movie as she appeared on the promotional poster but the image was so iconic back in the 1970’s that it was on a cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland, t-shirts, posters, and other memorabilia supporting the movie. I liked her well enough that I hoped she would translate into one of my designs. Have a beautiful day today… until tomorrow.
DAY 18 – REVENGE OF THE CREATURE
FIN-ally… I am presenting my first of many Universal Monsters today; there will be more but you will have to wait. Today’s design is of Tom Hennesy as the “land” creature from the 1955 Universal Studios classic Revenge of the Creature; Ricou Browning also donned the costume in all 3 creature films to do the amazing underwater scenes. The movie also starred John Agar & Lori Nelson and it was Clint Eastwood’s film debut in a quick cameo sequence. In this move the gillman is captured in the Amazon and brought back to Ocean Harbor in Florida where he escapes and wrecks havoc. It sounded like a good idea, right? The studio created a distinctly different design for each of the 3 creature movies; this one being the most menacing. Return tomorrow or you’ll find yourself up a river!
DAY 19 – GODZILLA & KING KONG
Today is a big day… in more ways than one. Today is the first day of my challenge where I start posting TWO designs every day. The task is big so in honor of this, the monsters are too. Today’s first design is of King Kong from the 1933 RKO Pictures classic of the same name featuring the amazing stop motion effects of Willis O’Brien and starring Fay Wray. Today’s second design is of Godzilla from the 1954 Toho Studios Japanese classic Gojira. The American version of the film Godzilla stars Raymond Burr and was edited drastically for American audiences. It is suggested to watch the subtitled Japanese version to best enjoy this film in its original presentation. Both of these are classics of the giant beast genre. I hope you enjoyed the double dip in the monster pool TWO-day and I look forward to seeing you TWO-morrow.
DAY 20 – PLANET OF THE APES
There was such a great response to my Beneath the Planet of the Apes design last week that I decided to create more. Today’s designs are of Roddy McDowell as Cornelius and Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius from the 1968 20th Century Fox classic Planet of the Apes; the movie also stars Charlton Heston as the time-stranded astronaut Taylor. Seeing this movie for the first time as a young child in the 1970’s had a very profound impact on me; the revelation of the Statue of Liberty was my introductory thought of nuclear disaster and it scared the hell out of me. Another pivotal scene was when the gorillas on horseback first appeared. This film is a classic in every sense of the word. More great designs are on their way so don’t monkey around, be here tomorrow.
DAY 21 – THE MUMMY & FU MANCHU
Today is a tribute to horror legend Boris Karloff. My first design is of Boris from the 1932 Universal Studios classic The Mummy directed by Karl Freund. The phenomenal make-up was designed by the brilliant Jack Pierce. In this film, Boris plays Im Ho Tep who was condemned to death for his unholy transgressions and returns to life when the Scroll of Thoth is read aloud. Boris actually had to sit 8 hours for this make-up to be applied for the opening scene. My second design is of Boris from the 1932 MGM Studios classic The Mask of Fu Manchu. In this film, Boris plays a frighteningly sadistic Fu Manchu bent on finding the tomb of Ghengis Khan. It is rather odd to watch a Chinese megalomaniac speaking with an English accent. Check back again tomorrow for twice the thrills.
