- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
BY TOM LOUNGES
Times Correspondent | Monday, October 27, 2008 | (No comments posted.)
Highland native Doug Goins' apron is stained with blood, and his work bench is strewn with decaying flesh, disemboweled intestines, severed limbs, loose teeth and the occasional eyeball.
Goins owns Hoosier Effects Lab Ltd., a tiny "monster shop" hidden away in the midst of a local cluster of warehouses. In the last decade, the 43-year-old has become the Chicago area's go-to-guy for gore.
Goins sculpts, carves and paints -- while working in molding clay, plaster, latex, silicone and other media.
He has designed and created special-effect visuals for live events, independent film projects and regional television programs; created custom "life masks" and body castings for a variety of celebrities and film stars; and has created his own custom line of affordable, high-quality masks.
"This is a pretty insane time of year for me," said Goins of October.
"Right now, I'm most busy getting commissioned projects done for private clients."
Those "things" vary from creating custom latex masks, to special effects prosthetic appliances such as custom-fitted fangs, to custom Hollywood-style make-up jobs for seasonal events.
"Halloween over the years has become a very popular holiday, not only with kids, but with adults," Goins said.
"Most of my work comes to me through referrals and repeat clients," he said.
That is how Goins wound up doing the annual "Halloween Bash" at the Green Dolphin Street Jazz Club (2200 N. Ashland Ave.) in Chicago.
"Every year Green Dolphin commissions me to set up shop inside the club, where a couple of assistants and I spend the evening doing custom make-up for their party patrons," he said.
"It's always a very long night, but I enjoy it, because it's challenging to do so many people and make them all unique.
"It's a little weird to have beautiful, decked-out women tell me they want me to slash their throat from ear to ear, turn them into zombies or give them an oozing gun-shot wound to the head.
The zombie gets his closeup
Word of mouth is also how Goins came to work on many independent horror films and recently got involved in the annual "Chicago Horror Film Festival," a three-day event at The Portage Theater on Milwaukee Avenue every September.
"I work on ... maybe a half-dozen or so low-budget indie films every year," he said. "I love the creative freedom working on indie films gives me. These up-and-coming filmmakers are open to fresh ideas. Working on a low- or no-budget film forces you to be creative with what you've got.
"Some of these films are pretty bad, but some are pretty impressive. You can see the talent in some of these people. They may wind up being the next generation's Quentin Tarantino, Wes Craven or John Carpenter."
Some indie films shoot in Chicagoland, giving Goins the luxury of going on location; others require Goins to create a specific visual effect, which he then ships out and delegates to the on-site effects person to execute.
His growing reputation has prompted various effects companies such as Smooth On Industries to recruit Goins to field-test new products. He currently is testing Smooth On's new silicone products in places where he once used latex.
So how did this soft-spoken, laid back, all-around nice guy get into the business of blood, guts and gore?
Always a fan of old black-and-white horror classics such as "Dracula," "Frankenstein," "Phantom Of The Opera," and his personal favorite, "The Creature From The Black Lagoon," Goins became fascinated at age 10 with how make up artists devised those creatures.
He created his own monsters out of modeling clay and things he found around the house and always had his nose buried in copies of "Famous Monsters Of Filmland" magazine.
"I checked out every book I could find on make-up and special effects from local libraries," Goins said.
"I wanted to learn how everything was done. Then after I'd get a handle on something, I'd go down to the basement and try it myself."
A lifelong passion
At 16, Goins began calling long-distance information to track down the Hollywood make-up artists themselves. He would write them letters and call them directly, asking questions about their craft.
"Looking back now, I'm shocked they took the time to talk to me on the phone or write back to me," he said.
"They'd answer my questions, turn me on to little secrets and offer me encouragement. That is how I came to know, study and work with the great Dick Smith."
Smith succeeded Lon Chaney Sr. as the industry's top make-up master in the late 1940s through the 1970s. Smith was one of the first make-up artists hired for television when it was a new medium in the 1950s.
Goins studied the art of horror make-up, special effects and mask-making under the tutelage of Smith, the genius who created the special effects for such films as "The Exorcist," "Little Big Man" and "Altered States."
"For the longest time, I thought I was the only person in the region who did this kind of stuff," Goins said.
"But I recently came into contact with twins Megan and Kristin Baker (of Lowell). They had to go to Los Angeles to find me, even though we are almost neighbors."
The 21-year-old Baker twins both graduated this summer from the Cinema Make-Up School in L.A. and while out there, picked up an issue of the national "Horror Show" magazine, which featured an interview with Goins. Shocked to discover he had been working all these years in Highland, they contacted him.
Impressed with their talent and dedication, Goins recently opened his workshop to them. "I see an amazing amount of talent in these two young ladies," he said.
"I'm not impressed easily, but these two impress me. They are a triple threat, because they do it all -- straight make-up, horror make-up and creating prosthetics."
The Baker twins will be working with him Monday night at the Green Dolphin Jazz Club.
IF YOU GO
Halloween party featuring the work of Highland's Doug Goins and Lowell twins Megan and Kristin Baker
When: 9 p.m. Monday
Where: Green Dolphin Jazz Club, 2200 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago
Cost: $5 cover
FYI: (773) 395-0066 or http://www.boomboomroomchicago.com
Back to story No comments posted.
- It wasn't clear, concise or focused on the topic in the story.
- It was a personal attack, vulgar, explicit or degrading, used actual or implied profanity or contained potentially libelous statements.
- It accused someone of being guilty of a crime.
- It promoted violence or illegal acts.
- It contained telephone numbers or street addresses, or e-mail addresses and links to Web sites other than nwi.com or government agencies.
In no way do these comments represent the views of The Times or Lee Enterprises.
Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude and profane language and personal abuse are not welcome.
Reader comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined. They may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.
If you feel a posted comment has violated these guidelines, please email our New Media team the commenter's name, the comment and a link to the article.
For more information please read our Terms of Service.