Anair bladder effect, or simply abladder effect, is a visualspecial effect to achieve the appearance of bubbling or peeling skin inmotion pictures, particularlyhorror movies. The effect involves plastic or latex balloons—known as "bladders"[1][2]—which are concealed beneath the surface offoam latex or similarprosthetics. Attached to the bladders is a system of tubing that allows them to be inflated. When the bladders are inflated underneath the prosthetics (often skin prosthetics), it results in the prosthetics appearing to shift, bubble, swell, or pulsate.[2]
During the production of the 1973 filmThe Exorcist, make-up artistDick Smith usedtrichloroethane, a liquid, to achieve the effect ofwelt-like letters being raised on a foam latex stomach.[2][3] He went on to develop and refine air bladder effects for the 1980 filmAltered States,[2][4] which depicts lumps rippling beneath a character's skin.[5] Smith continued to implement air bladder effects in other films, includingScanners (1981)[2] andSpasms (1983).[3]
Rick Baker, who worked as Smith's assistant onThe Exorcist, made use of air bladder effects in combination with other mechanisms when creating awerewolf transformation sequence used inAn American Werewolf in London (1981).[2][6] Baker and his protégé,Rob Bottin, also incorporated air bladder effects for a werewolf transformation inThe Howling, also released in 1981.[4][6][7] Bottin again made use of air bladder effects for his work onThe Thing (1982).[2] Other films which employ bladder effects includeThe Beast Within (1982)[2][8] andUninvited (1987).[9]
Dick Smith came to the rescue, when he told Baker about the technological breakthrough he had achieved forAltered States with inflatable bladder effects [...] Baker decided to try the technique forThe Howling, and he and Bottin set about filming a makeup test [...]
Jumping on the bandwagon of on-camera bladder effects and change-o mechanisms, special makeup artistTom Burman manages to outdo anything seen before.
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