David B. Miller effects wizard who visually brought to life a character that still runs strong to this day...Freddy Krueger. Check out this interview provided to us by our dear ol' Uncle Bill.

(Q): What made you decide to get involved in makeup and special effects? Did you attend school to learn the craft, or were you self-taught?

(A): At the age of 10 or 11, I used to watch a show on Friday and Saturday nights called “Creature Features” hosted by Bob Wilkins. This was in the San Francisco Bay Area. Wilkins would show old horror films and sometimes have guests on the show during the breaks. One time they had a makeup artist on the show that was explaining how he created masks and prosthetics. That was like a revelation for me.

He mentioned that he obtained good reference material from Monster magazines available at local newsstands. I then started buying and collecting monster magazines such as Famous Monsters of Filmland, Castle Dracula, and The Monster Times. I always thought the monsters and characters looked really cool and wondered how they were made. The Monster Times was a monster magazine published in a newspaper format. One issue had an article on a man named Paul Blaisdell. In it he described in detail how he made the aliens for “Invasion of the Saucer Men”. I had just seen that movie on Creature Features the week before. That’s what got me started. I began experimenting making my own face masks and received such an overwhelmingly positive reaction from everybody, that I decided right then and there that I wanted to make monsters for a living. I was then 13 years old. From that point I was pretty much self taught since makeup schools were too expensive and the good ones were in the Los Angeles area, over 400 miles away!

(Q): Did you always have a fondness for the horror genre, or was you're involvement in the genre more of a necessity for the type of work you do?

(A): I had always loved horror films and being scared while I was growing up. It was such a rush to be scared because it was something that everyone in the theatre shared together. I thought that was really cool how a film could do that. Of course when you are starting out in the makeup effects field, it is definitely a necessity to be able to do blood and guts type horror effects because those are the only jobs that are abundant and they always get a good reaction.

(Q): What was your first major job as a makeup or special effects artist, and how would you describe the experience?

(A): As far as films go, my first “Major” job was on a film called “Swamp Thing” I was on a crew of about 7 people. The effects on that film were headed up by artist William Munns. I didn’t immediately get a sense of working on a film because we were creating all of the creature effects in Munns’ garage in Arleta California. All I knew was that I was sculpting, molding, running foam latex, and generally creating all this fun stuff and getting paid for it! How could life get any better? I finally got a sense of being involved in filmmaking when we finally went to the set to shoot everything. It was amazing to me, seeing the process of filmmaking on a real movie set. I absorbed as much as I could while I was performing my duties. My duties included getting stuntman Dick Durock into and out of the Swamp Thing suit, as well as maintaining the suit. My time on the Swamp Thing set was short lived however, when Bill Munns pulled me off of Swamp Thing and arranged for me to head up the makeup effects department on “The Beastmaster” It was 10 times the work, but I was now a department head.

(Q): Your working relationship with director Wes Craven began on the film "Swamp Thing". How did the two of you become acquainted? What was it like working on the project, and did you become friends with Wes?

(A): Although my involvement on the Swamp Thing set was cut short, I did have many opportunities to talk to Wes. Being new to all of this, no one told me that you really aren’t supposed to approach the director and “bother” him while on set. So like a naive idiot, I would walk up and start talking to him whenever I saw him alone. Eventually he would say hello to me whenever I showed up on set and we would talk for awhile. That’s how things are on a movie set. After working with all of the crew for a period of time, you get familiar with people and eventually become a “family”

(Q): You have worked as a makeup effects artist on four of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" films including the original. On the first film, what were your responsibilities? Also, how much of Freddy's signature "scarred" look did you create, and how much input did Wes Craven have on the character’s finished look?

(A): I was in charge of all the makeup effects on “A Nightmare on Elm Street” Freddy’s makeup design was the major part of my responsibilities, but I also did a torso of the Tina character for her bed scene where she gets slashed by blades that “aren’t there”, and there were other Freddy effects such as the splitting chest with maggots, the faceless Freddy in which Tina pushes Freddy’s face off of his skull. I also did a fake head of Tina for the shot of a centipede coming out of her mouth. I also made a charred body of Nancy’s Mom in a bed, and yes, I made that ridiculous false body of Nancy’s Mom that gets pulled through the door’s window frame at the end.

(Q): Tell us about your role in designing some of the key props from "A Nightmare on Elm Street" such as Freddy's infamous razor glove? How did the design come about, and how did the gloves evolve from the first film through part 5, 6, and 7?

(A): That’s a question for Jim Doyle, the special effects genius who was able to pull off a huge number of practical effects on a very miniscule budget. He designed and built the original glove. I do know the only thing that “evolved” with the glove throughout the films was the markings and the coloring of the gloves. The basic design stayed true to Doyle’s original design. For a few scenes in Nightmare 2, the original glove from Nightmare 1 was used. It was stolen from the set one day and another had to be made quickly so that they could continue shooting.

(Q): As the designs of the gloves evolved, so did Freddy's look in each of the subsequent 'Nightmare' films you worked on. The look changed most drastically for the film "New Nightmare". What made you decide to reinvent Freddy's look, and what type of new appliances did you use?

When I returned to the Nightmare franchise on part 5, I was introduced to Alan Munro, the visual FX supervisor. He is an incredible designer and he had this idea to make Freddy look older and haggard. I came up with the idea to give him more wrinkles and a witchlike “hook” nose. He looked pretty evil. I was happy with that design.

When it came time to do Nightmare part 6, Munro wasn’t involved, Wes Craven wasn’t involved, and I really didn’t know anyone. I was only involved as far as Freddy’s makeup. As far as the look of Freddy in that film, I have to take the 5th amendment on that one. I’d rather be nice and say, “No comment”. Sorry, but It was beyond my control!

The Final Nightmare Freddy makeup was intentionally designed to look different. It was supposed to be the “real” Freddy, not the film Freddy. Wes Craven wanted him to be larger, more menacing. I gave Robert Englund/Freddy a really strong jaw, a thick neck, more bone structure and a skin that looked more like it was splitting than like it was burned. All of the prosthetic appliances were much thicker than before. This helped to balance out his look.

The wardrobe department built a muscle suit for Robert to bulk him up and also gave him a (what I call) a designer suit costume. He really looked cool when he walked onto the set!

(Q): I know that many people who listen our show are very interested in the intricacies of your work. So, if you wouldn't mind, take us through the step-by-step process of applying a facial prosthetic mask- for instance, the 'Freddy' mask that Robert Englund had to wear.

(A): Most of the work is done back in the makeup lab. The first Freddy makeup was pretty elaborate. It consisted of about 11 pieces because I had “under” pieces that looked like muscles, then over them I applied the “over” pieces that looked like melted flesh. Unfortunately for my ego, most of the film was so dark, you couldn’t really see all that was going on in the makeup. Fortunately for everyone else, they shot it the way they did, leaving a little mystery with the harsh shadows and it turned out to be for the better. The application of the first makeup took 3 hours every morning. First, I would glue down the muscle appliances (right and left cheeks, forehead, neck). Once they were secure I would then glue the outer pieces down (right and left cheek, back head piece, forehead, neck, nose and chin). The pieces were completely pre-painted down to the blending edges. Once everything was glued into place, I would then use makeup to fill in the blank spaces around the eyes, the nasal folds, and anywhere else that the edges met.

When I returned on part 5, Robert was pretty well sick of the makeup. Well, not so much the makeup, but the time it took to put it on. He asked me if I could design the makeup so that it was quicker to apply. My solution was to combine the back head, forehead, cheeks, and neck into one very large prosthetic “cowl” or “hood” We would simply call it the “ski mask” the remaining pieces were the nose and the chin. I went from 11 pieces to 3. I would first glue down the chin. This was followed by the nose and upper lip piece that overlapped the sides of the chin. Once they were secure, the big cowl piece was stretched over Roberts head. Since the front of the cowl was open, I could fold the cheeks back to get the adhesive way in the back area. The same was true for the forehead area. It worked out very well and since the entire head, cheeks and neck area was pre-painted, there was very little area to blend with makeup. This new design allowed me to send Robert to set in only 1 hour 20 minutes. Needless to say, everyone was happy with that. I also designed a foam latex glove prosthetic for his left hand/arm. Instead of an additional 20 minutes application time for the hand prosthetic, we would just slip on the glove prosthetic prior to filming.

(Q): I know you also had a hand in designing the "tongue phone" for the original "Nightmare on Elm Street", as well as the "goo steps" that the Nancy character runs up towards the end of the film. First off, where did such ideas come from? Secondly, there seems to be some vagueness about what was used to make the steps. Can you recall what was used to make them?

(A): Yes, I designed and built the tongue phone in about 4 days. Fortunately, FX man Jim Doyle had a mold of the original phone, so I was able to make a fiberglass hollow copy of it. I quickly sculpted a Freddy mouth, made a mold, cast some foam latex and glued it to the phone. I also put a little hinge on the mouth piece so it could open by a pull cable. I then added a foam latex tongue that was glued to a stiff cable because it had to be pushed instead of pulled. The 2 cables came out of the back of the phone and I was crouched down behind Heather/ Nancy ready to activate everything on cue. If you look carefully in the film, you can see the back edge of the tongue piece. I was very careful to not push the tongue cable too hard and expose the end during the multiple takes and on the very last take, Wes Craven asked me to really push to try to get the tongue into Heather’s mouth. I did it, but you could see that darn edge. Of course that is the take that was immortalized forever!

(Q): You are listed as having a credit in the classic sci-fi/action film "Terminator". How were you involved with the film? Did you get a chance to work any with Arnold Schwarzenegger and/or James Cameron. If so, what was this experience like, as both men were sort of up-and-coming at the time?

(A): Just before Nightmare on Elm Street, I was hired by Stan Winston to work on Terminator. I was on a crew of about 7 people that sculpted, molded and created everything in the film, from the fake Arnold head puppets to the all of the T-100 robots. I worked on that for 6 months before I got the call to do Nightmare on Elm Street. Arnold was still kind of unknown at the time as far as film work. He was very nice, easy going, and really interested in the process of our sculpting work.

James Cameron was visiting the shop frequently during the design and fabrication period. He always seemed to be having way too much fun. I sure envied that. Actually we all had a blast working on that film. I knew James way back when he was an art director/ conceptual artist at Roger Corman Films.

(Q): You were also involved as a makeup artist on one of our favorite "Friday the 13th" films- "Friday the 13th V: A New Beginning". What were you responsibilities and designs on the film? Did you have a hand in designing some of the death scenes such as the gruesome decapitation of the 'Junior' character?

(A): I worked at a place called Reel Effects which was located at Hollywood Center Studios. It was owned by an FX man named Martin Becker (RIP- He passed recently) Reel Effects did all of the special effects for the film and hired me to do the makeup effects. I didn’t do the Jason makeup. I did do a lot of hockey masks, the Junior decapitation, a guy that gets killed with a flare in his mouth (puppet head), various prosthetic appliances for some of the kills, and a full body duplicate of Roy in his Jason getup for the scene where he falls onto the spikes.

(Q): I have also heard that many effects scenes were designed and filmed, but later cut by the director or producer due to the graphic content. Do you remember any of these "lost" scenes from "Friday the 13th V"?

(A): Honestly, and I hate to admit it, I never saw the film. It seems ridiculous doesn’t it?

There are a lot of films that I work on and don’t see because I am busy moving on to the next one. I am surprised that any of the scenes weren’t chopped (pun intended) considering the content. If anything makes it through, we are cheering!

(Q): You have also worked on another favorite film of mine- "Night of the Creeps". The film featured a truly great cadre of talented FX artists such as Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman. What is your recollection of the project, as well as the people involved?

(A): The director of Night of the Creeps, Fred Dekker saw an article about me in Fangoria magazine and contacted me to do the makeup effects. He gave me a script and a rough breakdown of the effects needed. My eyes got really big! There were a dozen heads splitting open, aliens, mechanical slugs and just a ton of other effects. It was like a dream project for someone who just opened up a new effects shop of his own. (I used to work out of a converted one car garage). Yes, the crew was great on that show. Howard Berger, Bob Kurtzman, (this is before KNB Effects) Ted Rae, Charles Lutkus(Jurassic Park), Anton Ruprecht, Earl Ellis (ME Effects), and a ton of others now more famous than me!

(Q): You are also known as a highly skilled mechanical effects designer, as well as a creature designer? What are some of your favorite creature compositions?

(A): Personally, I am not really the “Designer” when it comes to the mechanical side of things. However, I have always surrounded myself with extremely talented mechanical designers like David Nelson, Peter Abrahamson, Charles Lutkus, and Mike Elizalde (who now has his own fx company- Spectral Motion).

(Q): How do you feel about the work of some of your contemporaries like Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Rick Baker, and Stan Winston?

(A): Rick Baker, Stan Winston? What can I say? They are the best! I also have always liked the work of Rob Bottin, but haven’t heard much from him lately. Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger. Loved their work in Narnia. They deserved the Oscar for that. Now, Tom Savini? Before I even got into the makeup business, I used to buy horror magazines and watch horror films with Tom’s work. I admired him so much in my younger years. He was very instrumental, along with Rick Baker and Dick Smith, in my decision to pursue a career in the makeup effects field. The rest is history.

(Q): A lot of fans of our show are very interested in learning about the inside secrets of makeup effects, specifically how to design and apply them. Can you recommend any books, videos, learning supplements, etc. that might help them better understand the process?

(A): There are a lot of books and videos out there now. A lot more than when I started. I had 2 books. Dick Smiths Monster Makeup Handbook, and the best one I ever found, which was Stage Makeup by Richard Corson. The Corson book was my bible. It wasn’t just about stage makeup. It showed everything from sculpting to moldmaking to application of prosthetics. It even showed how to make lace hairpieces. I don’t know what printing it is in now, but I know it is still available. I would highly recommend it. Another good book is The Technique of Film and Television Makeup by Vincent Kehoe. It’s still around and I am even mentioned in it. Wow!

(Q): Out of all of your work, what are you most proud of as a makeup effects artist and/or designer? Least?

(A): There is a little known film called, “Nothing But Trouble”. It was directed by Dan Aykroyd. Dan also played 2 different characters in the film. He was an ancient, wrinkly old judge, and one of two giant infant babies. This was the most fun I have ever had working on a film and it is also the work I am most proud of. Of course I had an excellent crew backing me up all the way. I can’t think of a film that I am the least proud of

(Q): What film do you consider to be the best overall representation of your work?

(A): That’s a tough question because I look at all of the things that I have accomplished and even though they are good, I still cringe when I look at them because I feel I could do so much better now. I guess that’s part of progressing and growing as an artist. I would have to say “Nightmare on Elm Street” is a good representation because Freddy became one of the most well known horror icons. I thought my work in “Nothing But Trouble” was challenging and diverse and I also was very happy with my work in “Coneheads”, in which we made 900 Conehead masks and about 1,500 Conehead prosthetics as well as various other effects.

(Q): I'm sure that a lot of people would be interested to hear about your website and some of the memorabilia therein.

(A): My website: davidmillercreations.com is a bit outdated. I haven’t added anything to it in a couple of years. I have so much more to put in there, but I just can’t seem to find the time. There is a section on the site called “For Collectors” in which people can purchase Freddy and Jason reproduction masks and props. That all started from some friends of mine who were mask and prop collectors. They asked if I could use the original molds I still had to make them some copies of stunt masks, prosthetics, etc. Eventually more and more collectors caught on and requested the items and eventually that’s how it built up over the years. Now I have a few dozen different items in there. It has just grown over the years. I now have masks and props all over the world. I have a group of people that make all the items for me now and I put my stamp on them before they go out. I still supervise them on the finishing work, but that’s all I can do now because I am just too busy. They are cranking these things out by the hundreds and we still can’t keep any on the shelf.

(Q): What do you have planned in the immediate future for your company, David Miller Creations, as well as for yourself?

(A): Over the past few years, makeup effects have been, and are being replaced more and more by computer imagery. Not completely, but quite a bit. The few jobs that are left are being fought over by dozens of effects shops. I kind of grew tired of the “dog eat dog” grind of trying to maintain an effects facility. I realized that I had to go into other directions to maintain my sanity and still be creative and work in a creative field. So, I now have a production company with several projects in development. That is taking up a lot of my time these days. You can expect to see some diverse projects from horror films to children’s shows. We have a lot in the works.

As for myself, I have 2 young children that I want to spend as much time with as I possibly can. That’s what keeps me really happy in these crazy times!

Thanks to Mr. Miller for the wonderful interview, everyone be sure to check out his website! Interview provided by: A.T. Frye 2006