As I mentioned in "
A Visual History of the Hockey Masks," Reel EFX usually recast extra copies of hockey masks created for previous films, even as bucks and molds went missing and hero masks were given to actors. This is why the part 8 mask, the largest and roundest of the masks in the franchise, is such a massively bloated distortion of the original.
The size and shape alone suggest strongly that the part 8 mask was recast directly from a part 6 mask. It also shares certain unusual characteristics of some of the masks to come off the 1986 buck.
Look carefully at the above photo of Gabe Bartalos on the set of Jason Lives with one of his blank pulls. You can see a horizontal "crack" across the mouth holes of the mask that seems to extend from one end to the other. This mask may be a late pull from the movie buck after it cracked under vacuum pressure (as even the most well constructed bucks sometimes do).
The part 8 mask shares a horizontal crack along the same path...
And its also visible all the way across the part 8 "trailer mask":
Though, in case you are wondering, the part 8 masks is much too large to have come off the same buck as the 6. As an interesting aside, the part 7 mask has approximately the same fracture you see in the part 8 mask, visible on the right side.
This strongly indicates that the part 7 and 8 masks descend from a part 6 mask-- the size and features of the part 7 mask suggest it may have come off the same buck as the part 6. But back to the part 8...
Which "Jason Lives" mask does the Part 8 descend from? Possibly this one:
As you can see, this old promotional poster features someone wearing a weird mashup of the Part 8 clothes with a leftover Part 6 mask. Courtesty of Mario Kirner, here's a closeup of the same mask from an old video store display:
So we know that Reel EFX or Paramount were still holding on to a 6 mask by the time part 8 was released, and if this was the only one, its the best candidate for the source of the 8.
Looking closely at the scratch patterns around the right side of the mask, you can see a lot of identifiable details line up with the "Alice Cooper mask" used to promote Part 6:
It's almost certainly the same mask. So was the Cooper mask used to create the Part 8 mask? Can't say 100%, but there's a strong possibility that was the case.
Amazing detective work here my friend. I always come back to visit your blog eager for more. =)
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying, thank you for such a great blog! The information that you've gathered, from the best places to get masks, to your articles about the masks has been invaluable to me.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I'm commenting to confirm that you are correct about the Part 7 descending from the Part 6 mask. I can also shed more light on the Part 7 mask, that I learned.
I had the good fortune to be at a convention on Friday the 13th (October 2017) and was able to learn a lot of information about the Part 7 mask. The night started with a photo-op with Kane Hodder in full Part 7 makeup, so I was literally face to terrifying face with a recent pull of the mask. After the photo-op I spoke to John Carl Buechler about his process for both the makeup and the mask.
- He said that he was given the previous film's mask as a starting point. I, unfortunately, didn't think to ask if he meant that he received the mold from the Part 6 or a pull to recast (I'm assuming a pull).
- It was indeed vaccuformed in black ABS (I forgot to ask about the thickness).
- He intentionally made it smaller, by removing much of the perimeter of the mask, to reveal more of the underlying makeup.
- Then it was cut to remove the propeller damaged area and given many deep cuts/scratches to simulate cracks at the point of impact from the propeller.
- The bubbly "road rash" like texture over and around the right eye was done with a torch.
- The entire mask was then slightly warped at some points (most notably on the right cheek) to show further wear.
- Other random wear and scratches were added as well.
- The shape of the mask, propeller damage, and warping were also done very deliberately (explained further down).
- From there the mask was cast into a new mold for running off extras. This is probably the source of the "promo" masks. Also, there were more copies made at the time of filming, but only the one was actually used during filming, because, in John's words, the others "walked off the set".
As far as the painting and coloring of the mask, I don't have too many solid details. I forgot to confirm the Krylon "off white" base coat. John did tell me that it was painted and weathered in acrylics. I got the impression that the colors weren't straight from the bottle or tube, but actually reached through mixing to create the desired color. I got this impression based on the fact that the new mask he made for the photo-op (which was pulled from the original mold) had slightly different tones than the photos of the screen used mask. This means that approximations based on photos is probably the only way to go. When I showed him the mask I painted, he said it was "very close" to correct noting only that the thickness and size were slightly off. If you are interested, I could give you more info about my color and paint process, but I figured I'd leave it out for now (since this is already very long).
The mask is definitely, and very intentionally, lighter than the Part 6 mask. While many, myself included, just assumed that this was due to much of the blood and grime washing off while under water, there is actually another reason that John lightened the color palette and made the other creative decisions that he did. Now for the part that blew my mind, as I somehow never picked up on it, but John was very deliberately, with the coloring, shape, and sizing of the mask trying to give it the look of a skull. He told me that he wanted his "meat terminator" Jason to look like death in the shadows.
Finally, Kane confirmed that the black scratches were a natural occurrence from filming because only the one mask was used during the shoot. He remembers one set of scratches coming from his fall into the puddle of water on the gravel road and another coming from his face dive down the stairs of the porch after the roof was dropped on him.
Interesting insights, thanks for your contribution!
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