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Behind the Mask with Sam McCain of HSS

Behind the Mask with Sam McCain of Horror Sanctum Studios

How did you get started in the buness of mask making?

I got started at about 15 by going to the library and looking for books on ANYTHING that had to do with makeup, appliances, airbrushing. Over the years I sculpted almost daily and tried to airbrush with a Badger airbrush with CO2 cans…it SUCKED!! When I was around 18 or 19 I met Ed Edmunds at Distortions Unlimited. He was only 50 miles away and well, the rest is history.

Please describe in detail what led to your pason for the horror genre and or the Halloween holiday?

My earliest memory was the original Frankenstein movie with Karloff. I remember being around 3 years old and he scared the hell out of me. My dad got me to calm down about it by telling me it was Herman Munster. The Munsters were big at the time, also the Addams Family. At that point on I was hooked by anything that had to do with monsters. The Outer Limits was on, Night Gallery. Every Friday there was a local Denver station that showed all the old clasc monster movies late at night. I fell asleep every night watching Frankenstein, The Wolfman. All of the clascs. On Saturday there was a show called Creature Features that showed all the "B" movies and Godzila movies. As a kid you tend to wander your neighborhood looking for treasures. One day I was walking by someone's trash cans and I saw what seemed to be a model of THE WOLFMAN!!!. I started digging and found Frankenstein, The Phantom, The Mummy, and Dracula…ALL OF THE AURORA MODELS!!! I spent months repairing them and painting them.

Who or whom was the biggest influence in your life and how did that effect who you are today?

I would say the biggest influence was Rick Baker. He was really young when he started and became one of the best Special Effects makeup artists in the world. I really followed his work, his movies. I wanted to do what he did.

What do you do in your spare time when you are not making masks or doing something work related.

In my spare time (don't have much lately) I tend to surf the web. I used to buy and sell on Ebay a lot too. I also have a huge cache of ren and plastic models that I build once in a while.

What was your first sculpt and or mask making experience? Were you a natural or did it take time to hone your skills? How much have you learned nce then?

Well, I have always played with clay nce I was a little boy. I think my first sculpt was a dissected human eye. The skin was removed so you could see the bone and muscles. I wasn't a bad sculptor. But with anything the more you do it the better you become at it. My first Shape mask in 81 had HORRIBLE ears. It years before I was able to sculpt what I see.

What projects have you accomplished in your career that you feel really cemented your legacy in the buness. Was there a point where you took a step back and said, "Wow, how am I going to get all these orders filled"?

At the time I had no idea that the masks I made in 1981 would be so sought after 30 years later. I really didn't find out how popular they were until about 3 months ago. I was on Ebay and just for fun I did a search for my name and an auction with MY 1981 SHAPE MASK CAME UP! The buy it now price was $2000.00. I almost passed out! I had tossed the molds for The Shape and Jason 10 years ago. I had no idea anyone would be paying that kind of money for something I sold for $65.00 for. I really never made it into a huge production where I needed to hire helpers. Until I worked at Distortions and Post. Of course that isn't counting now, at this point my Shape and Kirk is so popular I may have to hire a Myers crew to handle all of the orders.

What project have you worked on in the past that you would conder your favorite thus far? Well, I really don't have a favorite. I have very fond memories of working at Distortions Unlimited, Don Post Studios and the movie work I did. Of course there are bad memories.

What were some low points in your career (if any) when you had to take time to reflect and ask yourself if this buness isn't right for you?

The lowest point in my career was after I had worked at Post, I worked on a movie called Alligator II the Mutation. I worked everyday for a year straight. I was gone sometimes for 3 or 4 days at a time and saw my family very little. My final week working on Alligator I came home and gave my wife my check. Came back 3 days later and all the furniture was gone…she was gone with my daughter. She took every dime I had made with her. I had no money, no home and had to live in my car for about 4 months in LA. At that time I just wanted to get out of LA and forget about that life…so I went back to college and got my degree.

What upcoming project can you share with us? Any surprises on the horizon?

Right now I'm finishing up my Shape/ Kirk 2008. After that I'll be recreating my Jason from 1981 and The Tarman from ROTLD. My plan is to quit my day job and do Horror Sanctum full time. My last day of work is Feb 13.

Thanks for the great interview Sam! Justin & Joel

I hope your still sculpting your a very talented artist and writer as i remember :) have a very happy new year sam may 2011 be a great year for you dragoness :)