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| Professor Ed prepares his class for a lesson in fear |
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| Reason for revenge |
As a horror fan, part of me is fascinated by how horror effects are done. Movie magic can be amazing to see develop in behind-the-scenes special features. Another part of me perhaps wishes movie magic would stay just that: magic. In a film like After Midnight (1989), in a bit of "clever magic to scare his students", Professor Ed uses a blood squib gag to freak out his audience. He had loaded a gun with one single bullet he presents to the class. Pointing the gun to a particular student, a jock who is opinionated and rather snarky when it comes to what he "most fears", Ed makes an example out of him. This would be the catalyst in what transpires during the wraparound. Anyway, once the jock pees his pants and leaves class, the professor proceeds to put the gun to his chin and pulls the trigger, with supposed blood from the back of his head spreading all over the wall behind him. Flopping to the floor, the student are awestruck in silence, until Ed smiles and removes the mechanism that released the blood in the first place. What this does is remove a magic trick so effective in previous films prior to its reveal as that a trick. So you watch Dawn of the Dead or some gory action flick which shows the same head shot gag and knowing exactly how its done kind of ruins the impact. Of course, the special effect can be admired for the talents of those behind how its done, but calling it out in a film and saying, "this is just a fake trick, and I fooled you" foils its power for the future. See how its done right here, and all that jazz.
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