How cinema turns our most recognizable body fluid into excess.
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Paint it red
Even before color came to the movies, blood was a vibrant element in cinematic storytelling. Think: the splatter in the shower at Psycho (1960) or the frenzied zombie feeding in the Night of the Living Dead (1968). Then, just as the color arrived: The crimson contents of the pail falling on the prom queen in Carrie (1976) and the elevator that floods in The Shining (1980).
In all its elemental, metaphorical, pretentious, over-the-top, sweet beauty, blood is something that has entered the visual vocabulary of movies. But how exactly did all this noise come about on the movie set?
It's a catchy story. We'll stop at the Globe Theater in 16th-century London and the spooky Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in Pigalle, before making our way to the Hollywood sets. Don't be surprised if we encounter concoctions both poisonous and delicious along the way.
Now watch out for that puddle (the crime scene experts will handle it) and ignore that shadowy figure in the corner. It's time to reveal some filmmaking secrets.
Stormy moments in the history of fake blood
Mid 16th century: There are various theories about what early modern theaters used as stage blood. Materials such as paints, pigments such as vermilion (made from cinnabar), vinegar and wine may have been used. Farah Karim-Cooper, head of higher education and research at Shakespeare's Globe, reckons animal blood was less likely. Washing the jacket, tights and other suits would be impractical and costly.
Late 19th to mid 20th century: Open from 1897 to 1962, the Grand-Guignol Theater in Paris became famous for its bawdy productions. To get that shocking red on stage, they used a special mixture that included a combination of carmine—a pigment produced from the crushed cochineal bug—and glycerin. Released in nine different shades and it was literally boiling, thanks to the addition of methylcellulose.
20th to 21st century: Standard fake blood recipes began to appear in the film industry during this time period (ie, before CGI took over our screens). There was also a sweet solution used for blood in black and white film sets. In the Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock and in The Night of the Living Dead by George Romero, the fake blood used on set was actually chocolate syrup.
New recipes were developed with the adoption of technicolor film. A recipe was created by British pharmacist John Tynegate, whose edible concoction of golden syrup, water, food coloring and cornflour, called 'Kensington Gore', appeared in many films during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970, including Dracula (1958 ) , of The Shining and his Carrie .
Another popular recipe, this time venomous, created by Emmy Award-winning “Godfather of makeup» Dick Smith. His recipe, a mixture of corn syrup, water, methylparaben, red and yellow food coloring and Kodak Photo-Flo (a wetting agent used during film development) was used in movies As the Taxi Driver (1976), the The Godfather (1972), and the The Exorcist (1973).
"If a man gets shot in the stomach and bleeds out like a stuck pig, that's what I want to see – not a man with a stomach ache and a little red dot on his belly."
The director Quentin Tarantino in a 2010 Telegraph interview.
The bloodiest of all
There's a lot to mention when it comes to the compelling use of fake blood in storytelling, whether it's depictions of bloodbaths, a painful red tear, or the hint of a bloody handkerchief. But if you want to watch a movie where the blood itself is almost the main character, you have to delve into a subgenre of movies known as splatter horror.
Contrary to what one might think, films in this genre are rarely as creepy or haunting as other horror genres. Instead, the excessive use of blood pushes the films into a realm of provocative black humor and absurdity.
The Blood Feast (1963), directed by genre pioneer and Chicagoan Herschel Gordon Lewis, was the first theatrical splatter film. While critics hated it, audiences both adored it and raved about it. Watch the movie with them Two Thousand Maniacs! in 1964. Both were box office hits.
With the bloody digits
$4 million: Ticket sales were made by Herschell Gordon Lewis from the Blood Feast, which was shot in five days on a tight budget of just $24,500
300 gallons (1,135 liters): The amount of fake blood was used in the elevator scene in The Shining
450 gallons (1,703 liters): The amount of fake blood that director Quentin Tarantino used in both Kill Bill movies
1,000 gallons (3,785 liters): The amount of fake blood was used in remake of Carrie of 2013 while filming the iconic scene with the bucket falling
19,95 £ (24,50 $): The cost of a pint of “Drying Blood” special effects makeup by Fleet Street Bloodworks (instructions: “Shake well”)
135 $: The cost of a gallon of water-soluble blood from Graftobian professional makeup
Fun event!
One of the most significant bloody scenes in film history it was an accident. In the masterpiece Sanjuro of 1962 by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, the climax of the film is a duel between two samurai. The eponymous character Sanjuro punches the rival Hanbei ( you can watch here ) with his katana and after a half-hit a huge spray of blood erupts – a dramatic effect that was entirely due to a special effects malfunction. Nevertheless, the shot made it into the final cut and went on to influence many other films, most notably the Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino.
Watch this…
Check out this video from Insider who goes behind the scenes to show how fake blood is collected for the silver screen. Want to try it yourself? Here is one we found for Kensington Gore — let us know if you dare to try it.
Voting
Which director is best at using fake blood in movies?
- Akira Kurosawa of course—he's the OG
- Anything by Tarantino, he's a bloody virtuoso
- You have to hand it to Francis Ford Coppola for the Godfather and to Bram Stoker for Dracula
- The bloody nose at Emma (2020). Obviously Autumn de Wilde wins.
*Cover photo: Giphy
By Julia Malleck
Source: quartz