In one small Pennsylvania town, the phrase "growing pains" takes on an excruciating new meaning. Last season Netflix's Hemlock Grove had a face-ripping werewolf transformation nominated for an Emmy, and with the next season now available, Eli Roth and company are bringing back more gore with a werewolf turning back into its human form, and by the intense looks of the behind-the-scenes video, this reformation is something Rick Baker would likely be proud of.

Here are more details about MASTERSFX, the company behind the live action transformations: “The company, founded by Todd Masters, is known for creating original and unique characters for films and television shows. MASTERSFX applied its unique process of combining prosthetics makeup used for on-set performances with their top notch digital techniques. For season 2, MASTERSFX pioneered several new approaches to create an amped up level of FX.

MASTERSFX is producing all of the live action “Werewolf Transformations” that occur during Season 2 of “Hemlock Grove.” The company devised, through practical makeup FX, specialized prosthetics, and unique FX props, a means by which to depict actor Landon Liboiron as Peter Rumancek painfully transforming into a werewolf. This never-before-devised process delivers a remarkablyrealistic transformation experience to viewers.

“Shelley” is also one of the characters of "Hemlock Grove" that MASTERSFX worked on. The company used season 1 as a jumping off point and without changing Shelley’s essential look, they refined it. Shelley, a character who truly resonates with fans of the series, now has an enhanced eye that blinks and emotes.

In season one, “Hemlock Grove” garnered two Emmy Award nominations in the following categories: “Outstanding Visual Effects” and “Outstanding Main Title Theme Music.” New showrunner/executive producer Charles "Chic" Eglee ("The Walking Dead," "Dexter,") joins season two of the riveting supernatural thriller.

Said Todd Masters, Founder, MASTERSFX, "I tuned-in to Season One of Netflix’s ‘Hemlock Grove,’ which we DID NOT work on, and it occurred to me that this show could allow us to develop some fun new characters, our area of specialty. We love creating original and unique creatures for pulpy, serial horror entertainment films and television shows, so of course, we had to work on this hot new series!”

The producers of “Hemlock Grove” season 2 were very interested in having MASTERSFX apply its unique process of combining prosthetics makeup during an actor's on-set performance with their digital techniques. MASTERSFX calls this process dMFX, which stands for “Digital Makeup FX.” The company integrated its dMFX techniques throughout the course of its work on season 2 of “Hemlock Grove.”

"The producers were really pushing the limits with the storylines, which in turn, pushed the FX to whole new levels,” Masters explains. “Not only are we embellishing some of the characters that appeared during season 1, but we're also adding several truly weird new FX gags. I believe the FX work on the new season of ‘Hemlock Grove’ is really going to shock a lot of people.”"

To learn more on MASTERSFX, visit:

 

  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.