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Creature Features

Believe It’s Magic! The Painstaking Special Effects of “Ghostbusters”

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I think it goes without saying Ghostbusters is a once-in-a-lifetime movie experience that can and never will be replicated, and a lot of that credit goes towards the special effects of the film. In 1984, this sort of visual sorcery wasn’t running rampant across filmmaking. With few exceptions like Star Wars and Poltergeist, (both of which Ghostbusters visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund worked on) audiences were bedazzled with the hypnotic effects the movie presented within.

Let’s take a ride and talk about that.

A mere year after the visual stunner of Poltergiest, Ivan Reitman and his crew were tasked to make Ghostbusters in UNDER A YEAR. In this case, is asking the impossible with the sort of movie that called for such heavy special effects to sell the story. But according to Ivan Reitman, it had to be done in such a way as to balance the comedy with the “ghosts” so as to not make it too silly, or too scary as doing so would damage the film entirely.

“The special effects are just as important as the comedy. We’ve never seen this level of first-class effects in a comedy film before and it has to be evened out.” – Ivan Reitman

Much of Dan Akroyd’s vision for the creatures were on a large scale, some of which even ended up in space if you can just picture that! However, the budget for the film was about $5 million and Reitman worked with Akroyd to rewrite the script and the creatures in a way that would work in a beautiful balance of comedy and terror. Though they ended up around $700,000 over by the time the film was locked, if Dan Aykroyd’s original script had been filmed, according to associate producer Joe Medjuck, it would have had “50 large scale monsters”.

Enter Richard Enlund, head honcho of Boss studios. Launched in 1983 specifically for Ghostbusters, who knew the importance of not making these creatures into flat-out jokes for the film. And what we ended up with was some of the best damn practical effects of apparations still to this day.

In the instance of the Marshmallow Man, Edlund and his team went through dozens of ideas and designs before opting for the simple, yet practical 100-foot monstrosity we all know and love.

Part of what made the effects so, well, effective, was their practical nature. You just can’t beat practical movie magic no matter how much technology you throw in front of it. The clip below from Ghostbusters.net gives us a short and sweet breakdown of some of the wizardry undertaken in bringing the Library Ghost, Slimer, and more to life in the film.

Made in just ten months and filmed in 55 days, Ghostbusters is the prime example of practical effects done in a time-crunch without the technology of a computer. Cliche to say it has aged like fine wine, so we’ll just say it has aged as well as Keanu Reeves in 2022. Charming, beautiful, breathtaking, and as soft and nostalgic as a twinkie.

With that, I’ll leave here with my personal favorite shot from the movie- the ghost escape from the firehouse that wreaks havoc on New York City all leading up to the climax of Gozer. I’m actually kind of obsessed with this scene as it has everything that is great about this movie all rolled into two minutes of spectacular energy. It’s ominous, a bit silly, but not so much to where you can’t overlook the sense of dread that is coming. Paired with Mick Smiley’s “I Believe It’s Magic”, this is just cinematic gold right here. And I believe what Ivan Reitman set out to do in balancing terror and comedy, marries perfectly in this one scene alone.

Editorials

We Almost Got An Extremely Violent and Gory R-Rated “Gremlins” Movie

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Unfathomable to believe that GREMLINS hits their 40th anniversary this year, and with that comes four decades of dedicated loyalty to either Gizmo or the rebellious Stripe, (you like one better than the other, admit it). Stripe, technically an offspring of Gizmo, is that punk rock kid that blows his nose on your family room curtains, eats the last of the fried chicken in the fridge, and breaks into the candy store to steal all the yum yums.

Also, I’ve heard he’s an award-winning cannonballer.

Then there’s the loveable Gizmo. Everyone’s favorite cute and cuddly bringer of the apocalypse, even though he doesn’t mean any of it. He’s so damn adorable and friendly, Billy’s dad Rand Peltzer premonition of the Mogwai possibly replacing doggies and man’s best friend could have been a foreseeable outcome. If only it wasn’t for Gizzy’s one little flaw-his ability to mass produce an army of homicidal, albeit humorous, clones that aren’t as friendly as him.

Ahh, well. No one is perfect.

However, Gizmo wasn’t always slated to be America’s furball sweetheart of the 80s. In fact, the original script of GREMLINS wrote him in as the ultimate villain!

In Chris Columbus’ first draft of GREMLINS, Gizmo (who is just referred as Mogwai in the script) is basically what we see in the final product as Stripe, only WAY WORSE. There is no relationship between him and Billy- although Billy DID receive him as a Christmas gift in pretty much the same as the final draft. Instead, the nameless Mogwai has water spilled on him, in the same manner we see in the film by Pete (played by Corey Feldman in the movie), and out pops a couple of little hellraisers. who all hail to King Gizmo, I mean, Mogwai, and they proceed to EAT BARNEY. Yep. You heard that right. They eat Billy’s best friend instead of a hefty plate of leftover fried chicken.

THOSE BASTARDS.

Poor Barney isn’t the first to fall victim to the Gremsters in this original script, but rather, half the goddamn town of Kingston Falls gets murdered! Pete goes Christmas caroling and gets eaten alive by a hoard of gremlins. The sheriff gets a more brutal hands-on send-off, and Billy and friends come upon a McDonald’s where everyone inside the restaurant is dead with half-eaten Big Macs hanging out of their mouths.

I personally would have loved to see that.

Worth noting, the early script version here DID have the Gremlin hoard in the theater head banging to SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES and they kept that throughout the entire screenplay process where it finally landed in the movie. Some things are just too good to ever throw in the script edits trash can.

Then, there’s Billy’s dear mother, Lynn Peltzer. Stories were going around for quite some time, and in a few articles making the rounds, Lynn had her head cut off by Gizmo and his band of merry maniacs. As far as I know, other than in hearsay or in commentaries, there is no mention of this in the script available on the Internet. In fact, it’s the second draft -not the first, which I will link all of you to at the bottom of this piece so you can read it for yourselves- and people are spreading this as fact. Well, the facts are in black and white here and state: that Lynn was lured to the attic, attacked by the creatures, and killed. That’s for certain. But no decapitation occurred here.

Now, of course, Stephen Spielberg swoops in and convinces everyone GREMLINS would work better at a PG level; so that’s what we got. I’m not mad about it. Hell, GREMLINS is in my top ten movies of all time. Yet still, I also wouldn’t be mad if this film were to EVER get the proper horror movie monster treatment. Can you imagine a homicidal Gizmo? I think they should take a crack at it.

You can read the entire Chris Columbus draft by clicking here, and I highly recommend doing so.

In the meantime, let’s grab some freshly squeezed orange juice from the Peltzer Juicer, and let me oblige you with my personal favorite scene from GREMLINS. While the throwing of Mrs. Deagle through her own window is as close to a second as they come, the snow plow home invasion with Murray and his wife makes me laugh my goddamn ass off. I mean, and that maniacal laugh from Mr. Plow Gremlin? He clearly loves his job! Give that man a raise! Comment below with your favorite scene in GREMLINS and let’s celebrate 40 years of people getting murdered by little hysterical creatures while we enjoyed every damn second of it as kids- and even more as adults.

Horror Nostalgia

The Most Messed Up “Unsolved Mysteries” Episode That Scarred Me For Life

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January 20, 1987- a day that lives in infamy with true crime aficionados all over the country, with the arrival of that haunting theme music and Robert Stack inviting us to join him in solving some of America’s wildest unsolved mysteries.

As a young kid, I spent a lot of time being babysitted by my grandparents, who were balls deep into this show and would pretty much force me to watch it every Tuesday night with them. I mean, it was either that or hiding in the pantry eating saltines with ketchup, (they were never that great at having any kid-friendly snacks around). So yeah, I opted in for that nightmare fuel that traumatized the shit out of plenty of us 80s kids. To be clear, I was no stranger to horror in my home. Hell, I was watching JAWS and HALLOWEEN in diapers. But Unsolved Mysteries was no fantasy or the option to tell your brain that it isn’t real. It was the real-life Boogeyman that awaited you when you shut off the light and laid your head on a pillow for a very restless night’s sleep. Usually accompanied by that fan-fucking-tactic theme music spinning around in your head like a hamster wheel.

Tuesday nights were never the same, folks.

Anyway, I can certainly rattle off a few episodes that induced a couple of sleepless nights. Segments like the La Posada Hotel, The Black Hope Horror, the abduction of Angela Hammond are all top contenders for me personally. However, Season 2, Episode 3 of Unsolved Mysteries is one that to this day, still fills me with dread and anger and one that I can’t ever rewatch because it’ll make a cry like a baby.

That segment I’m referring to is the Mabel Woods Kennel fire of 1987.

As an avid UM lover, I think about this case all the time, and it fills me with a sense of rage that I cannot convey with words. But I suppose I’ll try.

Sixty-eight-year-old Mabel Wood loved animals. So much so, she been started a sanctuary for stray dogs in southern Missouri and ran it for fifteen successful years. In 1985, she moved to a 110-acre farm in Bonne Terre where she poured her life savings into a $60,000 kennel to house the 115 dogs she was caring for. They were offered for adoption, but those who didn’t find new homes, just lived with Mabel on the sanctuary.

How sweet is that?! As a fellow animal lover, that’s the dream for me. They would have to cuddle and watch A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 with me at least twice a month.

The farm was in an isolated location with her closest neighbors a mile away, so pretty ideal as that would ensure a low disturbance complaint. However, after 18 months of peace and harmony on the farm , on December 11, 1986, that wonderful existence turned to tragedy. Someone had broke into the kennel and shot at some of the dogs, killing two and injuring two. When she discovered them the next day, she rushed the most seriously injured ones to the vet, and they were saved. The police investigated, but at the time, there was a low priority on animal cruelty because the crime was only considered a misdemeanor. Which I to this day disagree with heavily as the murder of innocent animals should be goddamn high on the “let’s find this cocksucker and string him up by his toes” list.


After the shooting, Mabel hired an assistant named Charlie Jacobs to help her and to mostly keep a lookout. Two months later, what we could assume were the previous assailants returned with a vengeance, and what transpired next is nothing short of everything worse than any horror movie you could ever put in front of me.

On the night of February 10, 1987, they burned down the kennel with sixty beautiful dogs trapped inside. It was reported that the blaze was so intense that smoke alarms were set off in homes a mile away. It completely destroyed the kennel, the lives of 60 dogs, along with many hearts that watched this story- including mine.

According to Mabel and the investigation goes, there was no reason for the fire to start accidentally. The kennel was up to code and still brand new. It was noted that the burning came from the inside, not the outside. Mabel also stated that she was certain that it was arson because the dogs were “blazing” as if an accelerant had been put on them.

Just writing that makes my stomach turn with my own fiery rage and disgust.

Days after the murder of these animals, the investigators cleaned off the kennel floor and noticed a “spalding” pattern which occurs when a flammable substance is ignited on concrete, giving credence to Mabel’s theory. Authorities mapped out their own theory and string of events as it transpired: They believe that on the night of the fire, the assailants entered through the doors that separated the two parts of the kennel. They then poured gasoline on the dogs, walls, and floors. They then went back out the doors and lit the fire. Once it was determined that arson had caused the fire, police officials joined the investigation. One hundred yards away from the kennel, a single tire track was found in the mud as their only clue.

And to this day, the case has never been solved. To add insult to injury, poor Mabel and her lovely dogs were targeted once again in 1994 with one shot, one beaten, and another gone missing (never recovered). Mabel Woods was a hero to animals and despite the brutal harassment, kept the sanctuary going for as long as she was able. Miss Mabel passed away on July 4, 2012, at the age of 91 with no justice for her or her rescued puppers.

Massive credit to the folks at Unsolved Mysteries for at least bringing this case to the public eye on a nationwide scale. The show itself has been a life boat for investigators trying to solve crimes with the public’s help. It’s just a shame that one of the saddest stories ever seen on this show, remains unsolved. My mind and heart also remains scarred on the visuals alone of what was described during the crime, and it’s VERY unnerving that, perhaps, these people who did this are still walking around unscathed among society.

If you’d like to actually watch the episode, here’s the video but I warn you, it will fuck you up and want to go on a murderous rampage of your own. And as always, in a long shot but have to do my due diligence here, anyone with any tips on this case, can send them to Unsolved.com or reach out to Bonne Terre authorities in Missouri.