FAINT WAVES

As is often the case with posts like this, this is an unplanned writing in remembrance of Screaming Mad George. Screaming Mad George sadly passed away this year, back in February, his family has just made the public aware this week after taking time to grieve. George was an exceptional talent that worked across multiple fields and mediums, though he was probably best known for his makeup and SFX work. Admittedly, that was my introduction to him. I witnessed his work as a kid, frequently, but didn’t know it until I grew up and investigated the people behind some of the things that struck a chord with me. Chances are, even if you don’t know his name, you know George’s work too. Screaming Mad George worked on Big Trouble In Little China, Predator, A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 & 4, Society, The Abyss, and Bride Of Re-Animator to name a few. He was also extremely influential and if you don’t know his work, you probably know protégés of his, like Greg Nicotero and Robert Kurtzman. If you’re a fan of Marilyn Manson or Slipknot, you might have seen his work too.

Coincidentally, I’ve watched and bought a lot of George’s work this year. I purchased the A Nightmare On Elm Street film collection just this year, George notably worked on A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and A Nightmare On Elm 4: The Dream Master, on some of the most artistic and striking scenes in both films. Screaming Mad George did effects for and co-directed The Guyver, from 1991, an off-beat creature feature disguised as a campy superhero movie. I purchased and re-watched The Guyver just this year. I’ve also got the sequel’s first ever Blu-Ray release pre-ordered, though SMG didn’t work on it, it wouldn’t exist without him either. On a similar note, I purchased Arena, from 1989. Arena is a sci-fi action piece about a human entering a sort of intergalactic boxing championship, in which he must combat hideous alien creatures; Screaming Mad George worked on the prosthetic and creature design for the film. I had a thought this year, if any film was rife for a nicely executed remake, it would be Arena (and I would’ve loved for Screaming Mad George to return for such a thing).

I find the timing sort of odd and sad. Screaming Mad George was top of mind for me for so much of this year and unbeknownst to me and the general public, he had passed away. Artistically, I’d say the world is worse off without him, and maybe that’s just it. Sometimes, I think we can feel the void, the absence a creative force leaves when they go. I’m not a religious or overwhelmingly spiritual person, myself, but I do believe the space we occupy and the energy we give are not meaningless. There have been times in my life, where I feel something or someone is suddenly missing from this plane of existence as we know it, and it often turns out that they’ve passed away. Like I said, I’m not especially spiritual and I won’t claim to be some kind of psychic medium, but I think a lot of people probably know what I’m talking about and understand where I’m coming from. When someone’s passion and energy and artistic ambition exits this mortal realm we reside in, I don’t think its a stretch to say that we can sometimes feel that void, subconsciously.

Either way, a loss to an art form, multiple art forms. All I can say is that I wish his family well and I sincerely hope anyone who learned from him keeps his creativity and ambition alive. It’s a strange time in art and media, a time I don’t always understand or agree with, and we need more people keeping great art forms alive. Every time someone like this goes, it makes me wonder what happens next, who will fill that creative void. Sometimes, the answer is no one, and we just have to move on. My sincere hope is that people learn from Screaming Mad George, appreciate his work, and are inspired to do similarly creative work themselves.

Rest in peace.