Horror Legend Barbara Crampton Is Spending Halloweek Cosplaying The Divas Of Darkness With Fangoria
One of genre cinema's great bright lights is turning simply electric for the Halloween season. Fangoria has unveiled a new Divas of Darkness photoshoot with the legendary Barbara Crampton ("We Are Still Here," "You're Next," "Re-Animator") as she gets a Bride of Frankenstein bedazzling from make-up man extraordinaire Brett Freedman. The LA-based makeup artist is transforming Crampton into two more horror icons before the week is up, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
For those of you not in the cool monster kids club, Crampton has been a mainstay of horror and thrillers since her debut in Brian De Palma's 1984 shocker "Body Double." She endeared herself to fans with a trilogy of H.P. Lovecraft-inspired flicks pairing her with Jeffrey Combs and director Stuart Gordon for producer Charles Band: "Re-Animator," "From Beyond" and "Castle Freak," the latter of which she recently produced a remake of. In addition to her movie work as both actress and producer, she has also appeared on recent hit series like "Channel Zero," "Into the Dark," and "Creepshow."
'Out From the Dark Shadows'
Besides being one of the sweetest and most thoughtful actresses I've ever interviewed, Crampton consistently carries those qualities over to her roles, even in non-genre fare like Zach Clark's wonderful goth nun dramedy "Little Sister." That is why it is so fun to see her embodying Elsa Lanchester's titular "Bride of Frankenstein" from James Whale's 1935 sequel. Like that film, which remains a perennial favorite for its camp charm, Crampton also has that timeless quality about her.
Even Freedman seemed particularly taken with how her makeover turned out, as he writes for Fango:
"The idea was to take Bride's look out from the dark shadows and give it the oh-so-Hollywood magazine cover treatment. I knew Barbara would be gorgeous in the look...but what I didn't expect was how fully she would embody each character. I figured the makeup, hair and clothes would sell it just fine. I learned that the body language, vibe and commitment of the actress would bring it all to life with even more depth."
While it may be too much to hope for Crampton to actually land the role in a new movie version, one can hope. As it stands, producer Amy Pascal was still trying to get a modern "Bride" reboot off the ground last year, possibly with "A Quiet Place" helmer John Krasinski directing and the long-mooted Angelina Jolie to star.