Parker Finn’s 2022 horror flick “Smile” followed a psychiatrist facing off against a sinister supernatural entity. Now, the filmmaker is expanding the scale of the original with “Smile 2,” which hits theaters Oct. 18. This time, the entity sets its sights on Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a pop star struggling with the pressures of fame.
The film’s creative team rose to the occasion, amping up the effects—and the scares—to match the new setting. A lot of that responsibility fell to prosthetic makeup designer Jeremy Selenfriend, who also worked on the first movie. “Parker very intentionally wrote some heavy prosthetic challenges, like: ‘Hey, I’m upping the ante; run with this one,’ ” he says.
Here, the Emmy nominee discusses what those heightened expectations meant for him and offers advice for aspiring prosthetic designers.
Did you feel extra pressure working on “Smile 2” since the original was such a big hit?
It was definitely a nerve-racking job to take on. I’ve had some shows where I know there’s a massive, built-in audience, like “American Horror Story,” which fans are either absolutely in love with or want to tear apart. Horror fans in general live in that world where it’s either the best or worst thing on earth. “Smile” did really well; and since “Smile 2” is much bigger, there were much higher expectations. So Parker did what he does, and I hope and cross my fingers that when it hits the screen, it lives up to all those expectations.
How to Become a Special Effects Makeup Artist Since “Smile 2” is set in the music world, the looks are much bolder than in the first film. What kind of conversations did you have with makeup department head Sasha Grossman about that?
This was our fourth film together. There was some crossover, but Sasha is an amazing artist in her own right. Creating the day-to-day bruising and trauma for the characters fell to her, and it was the wild, crazy, elaborate “smile deaths” that fell into my purview.
But I love sharing a trailer with Sasha. She’s absolutely incredible, and some of the glam looks she pulled off for Naomi are absolutely stunning. One of my favorites is this chain mail mask with this gorgeous look underneath, and then a rhinestone eye-shadow look for a concert. It’s truly incredible stuff to look at; and the fact that it was all done by one artist in one three-month window of time [is amazing]. Sasha has an entire catalog of different Naomi-slash-Skye looks from just this one project.
You worked on Paramount+’s “Evil” from the beginning, but you didn’t join the team of “American Horror Story” until Season 11. What’s it like to come aboard an already established TV production versus starting fresh?
For “Evil,” I got to get on the train while they were still loading up. But “American Horror Story” was like: Oh, God, the train is already going there. I have to catch up real quick. So it was tough, trying to get on board and keep up while also delivering for every episode. On “Evil,” I got to work for the absolutely incredible [character designer] Joel Harlow and Morphology FX to do all those amazing monsters; that will absolutely be a career highlight for as long as I live. It was what I dreamed of as a little kid: playing with monster after monster after monster, from tiny little puppets to 7-foot-high creature suits.
Do you find that you work with a lot of the same makeup people, actors, and monster-suit performers across multiple projects?
In the [makeup] trailer, there’s a lot of continuity. You tend to find people you work well with, and you stick with them as best as you can. Right now, Sasha’s in Spain doing a film, and oddly enough, Lukas [Gage, who plays Lewis,] is in it, too. Sasha needed some tattoos for the film, [which I did]. There are a lot of artists I have a [similar] tight-knit relationship with, where whenever we can work together, we will work together.
Monster-suit performers tend to come up a lot because I can say to production, “Well, hey, this guy is great.” Let’s use “Evil” as an example. Marti Matulis played 90% of our monsters from the pilot until he had to tap out right before the very last batch of episodes. But whenever I can bring Marti onto another job with a monster, I can say, “Hey, this guy Marti, he’s fantastic. He knows how to work the suit. He can give an amazing performance. He can handle the life casting. He can handle the four hours in the makeup chair.”
What was it like to collaborate with Finn again on the sequel?
We would talk back and forth about what we could do, what we could accomplish, and where the line is between practical effects and visual effects. And yes, it’s 2024, so there are going to be VFX tweaks. Some are planned, and some are Parker getting more ideas in postproduction and saying, “Well, I can amp this up even further.”
Parker loves tangible, practical anything on set, from prosthetics to set pieces to working gags to elemental special effects. It’s so nice to see that in a modern director, because it is something that we’ve lost a little bit. And to have at least one in your corner fighting to get it all back is wonderful. He knows what a powerful tool VFX can be and knows exactly where to use it to have the fullest impact.
You frequently share behind-the-scenes images on Instagram. What made you want to start posting those?
When I was coming up, that barely existed. There were a few TV specials when I was a very young, impressionable child. One I remember very distinctly is a “Return of the Jedi” Jim Henson Creature Shop special that aired on TV. And then there was a making of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” special on MTV. Those were two things that made me latch on, like: Oh, my God, I want to do this. I want to make monsters.
[I love] getting to be part of a community that gives back. One of the greatest in my business, Dick Smith—that was his MO: to give back whatever he could and pass it on to the next generation. Who knows what the next generation of artists and films are going to look like? Right now, we’re in the middle of a pretty heavy-duty sea change for the industry. So being able to document what it’s like here in 2024 and throughout my career over the last couple of decades is important to me. It also showcases the actual tangible artwork that we provide.
You’ve headed up your own special effects company, Monster in My Closet, for more than 20 years. How are the dynamics different when you’re working with your own company versus someone else’s?
[The experience is] unique on each project. For “Smile 2,” I was once again working with Studio Gillis. When we were breaking down the script, they said, “OK, this is going to be Alec Gillis and his team. All this is going to be Jeremy and his team, and that’s going to be Robert Bock and the VFX team.”
I understand what I’m being brought on for in most jobs. Like on “Evil,” they said, “OK, you’re going to handle the practical day-to-day character effects, and Joel Harlow is designing all the monsters.” That was a lovely hybrid because I was able to be on both teams. So I was doing all the day-to-day prosthetic effects and also supervising Joel’s team whenever he couldn’t be there in person. I got to apply each and every monster [prosthetic] on every episode either with him or with a representative. That’s another reason why that show is such a wonderful mark on my belt.
I tend to get along very well with other shops. On “Smile,” I think between life casts overseas and digital scans, we had four major prosthetic companies. Millennium FX did a scan for Naomi, and Morphology did some life casting for me. Studio Gillis made some wonderful creations that were an absolute delight to work on, because Alec, like Joel, has been an inspiration to me for decades. His monsters were the ones I was watching when I was a little kid.
Did you use prosthetics to create the films’ signature broad, unnerving smiles?
When I read the first script, I was like, “Oh, are we going to be augmenting these creepy smiles with prosthetics, à la Jack Nicholson as the Joker or something like that?” There was some digital tweaking in very rare instances, but that’s more to lock faces in than to enhance the smile. The smile is real. I mean, I imagine that was part of each and every one of the actors’ audition processes: “Hit us with your creepiest smile.” For one of the life casts, the actor under the rubber had to hold that smile for as long as they possibly could.
Do you have any advice for people interested in pursuing a career in special effects makeup?
Just start doing it—start sculpting, start drawing, start learning anatomy. Also, everyone should have at least one or two friends who will not mind having prosthetics and glue and blood slapped on them. In my 20s, I did three faces on repeat. In my very early prosthetic book, you can see [my friends] over and over with their sad, dead, little eyes. I owe my career to them and how many things they let me try out on them.
This story originally appeared in the Oct. 10 issue of Backstage Magazine.
