You’ve probably seen that internet prank, where a friend tells you to do a complicated, but seemingly innocuous maze – and just when it demands the most concentration, a shrieking, nightmarish face appears.
Usually, it’s a smiling shot of Linda Blair in demon make-up from The Exorcist.
Even four decades later, that look gives new definition to the phrase “hard on the eyes.”
You can thank Dick Smith, a legendary make-up man who received an honorary Oscar last year, for that contribution to America’s high blood pressure.
Instead of going for a straight monster look, he and Friedkin decided, “Why don’t we try to do what looks like she scarred herself and these sores will get worse and worse?” the director said. “[Smith] did a lot of research on gangrenous wounds and burn victims. And he brought me a lot of actual photos of people to whom that had happened.”
It’s ugly work, but someone had to do it.
NEXT PAGE: Another oozing face on The Exorcist.
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