Summer 2013--Facades FX is cooking up Creatures, Gore, Ghosts, and Sea Creatures

Working Title Poster for
"Black Lagoon" aka "Dead Sea"

This summer Facades FX is working on SFX and Creatures for three genre projects. "Black Lagoon" aka "DEAD SEA", is a sci-fi/horror movie about a Marine Biologist who is assigned to investigate the mysterious deaths of marine life in an inland salt water lake that have been attributed to a creature thought to have been the stuff of legend. We've been tasked with building a modern day sea serpent with real Bite! This movie is in post production.





Bigfoot suit by Facades FX

"BIGFOOT WARS"- returns team Facades FX to the deep woods and reunites us with our furry Sasquatch friends. Directed by "Boggy Creek" director, Brian T. Jaynes, and reunites the creative force for an all out war with the hairy beasts! See what happens when a small town becomes the focal point of a brutal clash between man and a legendary beast. Based on the novels by Eric S. Brown, and from "Boggy Creek" creators.  Facades FX shoots on location in the deep Piney Woods of East Texas in late summer!

"CLINGER" poster

"CLINGER" -the story of a very clingy boyfriend who hangs on even after death, has team Facades FX cooking up some great ghost & gore FX.  Fern Petersen, an independently minded 18-year-old, tries to move on with her life after her overly affectionate boyfriend Robert Klingher dies in an embarrassing accident.

Pickaxe sculpture for "CLINGER"

But when Robert returns from the dead as a romantically frustrated ghost, he has other plans. As he plots to kill Fern so they can be together forever, Fern will have to fight to stay in the world of the living.  Clinger shoots in late July!


Evil Teddy Bear FX in the works by
Phil Nichols

ABOUT THE ARTISTS of FACADES FX

About the artists of Facades FX

 

Facades FX is a SFX make-up lab and Creature Design studio operating in Houston, Texas. The studio was founded in 1985 as Nichols Studios, by founder and Key Designer Phil Nichols. He and his sister, Melissa, became partners in Nichols Studios and in 1988, Nichols Studios was renamed Facades Fx.

The creative force behind the success of Facades FX lies with its artists. For the past 25 years, this hyper creative duo has been diligently working in the motion picture and television industry, and professional live theatre delivering quality SFX on every size budget.
In addition to feature film, television, and live theatre projects, Facades FX is also well known for the commercial products Phil (and Melissa) have designed and marketed, including "Reel FX" (Rubies Costumes), and "Creepy Features."

---

PHILIP L. NICHOLS, JR.

 

SFX Make-up and Creature Designer/Artist- Founder

Biography

Philip L. Nichols, Jr. has been acting, directing, creating monsters, characters, scripts, and creatures since he was 10 years old. He grew up on a steady diet of horror and sci- fi films. A graduate of the prestigious Lon Morris College Theatre School, The University of Houston, and Dick Smith’s Professional Special Effects Make-up School, he creates creatures and designs make-up that is incredibly dynamic while remaining budget conscious.






In 1985 while at The University of Houston Theatre School/Shakespeare Festival he made the prudent decision to “go pro” and formed The Nichols Studio, inviting his sister Melissa to join him.
Paying his dues on many theatre productions, Phil eventually segued into Industrial and Commercial film work in 1988, and renamed his studio Facades FX Make-up Lab (FFX studios).
In 1989 He was given his break by local film maker Warren Chaney on a superhero serial epic “Behind the Mask.” The script called for the type of SFX that would appear in projects such as “Mission Impossible” and “Batman" but there was very little preproduction time, and virtually no budget. Nichols (and his partner and sister, Melissa Nichols) rose to the occasion creating all of the prosthetics, villains, victims and heroes make-up FX. This production opened the door to a lifelong career in special effects excellence.   

In addition to being a master SFX artist for the motion picture industry, Phil is also a world class sculptor of collector busts and protrait masks. From 1996- 2007 Phil was one of the most prolific collector's masks and busts in the world. He retired from sculpting masks and busts for private collectors in 2007, making his existing pieces highly collectable, as they are the only copies in existence.

Professional Associations with SFX/Make-up Artists:

(Either worked with or as personal acquaintance)Dick Smith** (The Exorcist, The Godfather, The Hunger, Amadeus)

John Jackson** (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mississippi Burning, Schlinder's List, Frieda, CSI)

Mattew Mungle** (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mississippi Burning, Schlinder's List, Frieda, CSI)

Howard Berger (Chronicles of Narnia, Dusk Til Dawn)

Greg Nicatero (Walking Dead)

John Carl Beuchler (Troll, Carnosaur)

Jeff Farley (Puppet Master)

Michael Westmore** (Star Trek)

Henry Alvarez (Legend, Hollywood Wax Museum, Alvarez Waxworks)

Jordu Schell

Todd McIntosh (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

Sally J. HarperCheryl P'tak (Batman and Robin,

**-Academy award winners

---

Phil Nichols has worked with some noted Hollywood Directors including:

Doug Mc Henry (Jason’s Lyric, Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Body Count)
Robert Berge (Keaton's Cop, The Dark Dancer)
John Milieus (The Wind and The Lion, Conan The Barbarian, Red Dawn, Clear and Present Danger, Rome)
Victor Salva (Powder, Jeepers Creepers Franchise)Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, Cold Case, The Mothman Prophecies)

Brian T. Jaynes (Boggy Creek 2010, Humans V. Zombies, Bigfoot wars)
Mel House (Psychic Experiment, Closet Space, Imago)

---

Phil Nichols has worked with some noted Hollywood Actors including:

Forest Whitaker	Jada Pinket (Smith)	Alan Payne	Bokeen Woodbine	Anthony "Treach" Criss
Susanne Douglas	Debora Winters	Charleton Heston	Mickey Rooney	Jane Russell
Gene Autry	Peter Graves	Rita Moreno	Sam Bottoms	Karen Black
Francesco Quinn	Shannon Tweed	Andrew Prine	Sean Patrick Flannery	Mary Stienbergen
Jeff Goldbloon	Jim Carey	Tom Berenger	George Hamilton	William Katt
R. Lee Ermey	Sam Elliot	George Hamilton	Chris Noth	Geoffrey Lewis
Gary Busy	Titus Welliver	Mason Gamble	Jeff Bridges	Joan Cusak
Kathy Lampkin	Glenn Morshower	Texas Battle	Damon Lapari	Cory Hart
Denise Williamson	Julin Jean	Frederick Doss	Carl Savering	Shavon Kirksky
Dixie Carter	Selma Blair

Special Skills Relative To Field- Studio Arts, Fine Arts, Creative Arts-full training. Costume History, Design, Construct, Engineer, Fabrication, Molding and Tooling, Chemist, Alchemist (resins & casting materials), Foam Latex Technician, Plastics,
A & B compounds, 3-Part compounds, Carpentry, Anatomy, Paleontology, Critical Analysis, Practical Analysis.

Additional skills- Actor, Puppeteer, Stage Combat, Fencing, Director, Screenwriter, Producer.

Phil is a skilled ventriloquist, having been one of the last students of the legendary ventriloquist master Edgar Bergen. He designs and builds ventriloquist figures and puppets. He is a member of the NAAV (North American Association of Ventriloquists) and practices his art for fun and relaxation.

Check out our IMDb profile page for all of our professional film/TV credits

 

For Facades FX professional film/TV credits, awards and other information, visit our Internet Movie Database profile page!

 

SPAVINE-- FACADES FX cooks up Terror

Terror film written by Tiffany Heath and directed by Edgar Price. Starring Denton Blane Everett, Tiffany Heath, and Jake Austin

 

Plagued by nightmares and obsessive sleepwalking, Darcy Baker can’t purge her mind of the animalistic abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her mother.

 

When Darcy’s therapist Ryan is informed that her family homestead, the very source of her nightmares, has been abandoned, he is eager to get her back there and pull the suppressed memories to the surface in order to start her journey of healing.

While Darcy has no interest in walking through the door to that hell, she does have a deep desire to win the love of Ryan and succumbs to his wishes to return to her childhood home. Upon arriving at the decrepit house, she and Ryan discover that the fear mother ignites in Darcy still lives.

 

Even more unsettling, they uncover the existence of ten-year-old Sam, a feral mute, who keeps his secrets dangerously close to his heart. Ryan admirably risks it all to heal both Sam and Darcy, but is their blood bond thicker than the healing waters he has to offer?

 

Facades FX provided the special effects, gore, blood, rigs and designs for this psychological terror film.

 

FACADES FX - AWARD WINNING DESIGN!

Over the years, the design and artistry of Facades FX has won four Gold Remi Awards, and two Platinum Remi Awards, from the Worldfest (Houston), International Film Festival.
WorldFest was founded over 50 years ago as Cinema Arts, an International Film Society in August, 1961.
WorldFest became the third competitive international film festival in North America, following San Francisco and New York. WorldFest is the oldest Independent Film & Video Festival in the World.



It evolved into a competitive International Film Festival in April, 1968. It was founded by award-winning producer/director Hunter Todd to present a quality film festival for the Independent filmmakers.

Year: 2011Award: Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival- Gold RemiTitle: "Renfield: The Un-Dead" Category: Independent Feature- HorrorRecipients: Phil Nichols - Bob Willems- Poison Apple Films

---

Year: 2013
Award: Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival- Platinum Remi
Title: "Legend of Goatman"
Category: Make-up & Special Make-up Effects Design
Recipents: Lionell Hilliard-Phil Nichols, Melissa Nichols, Facades FX- Black Genie Filmed Entertainment



SFX & CREATURE REEL for "THE LEGEND OF THE GOATMAN"

---

-Also-

Year: 2011
Award: Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival- Gold RemiTitle: "Renfield: The Un-Dead"Category: Best Special Make-up EffectsRecipients: Phil Nichols, Melissa L. Nichols, Facades FX

 

---

Renfield The Undead Trailer

 

 

SFX & CREATURE REEL for "RENFIELD: THE UNDEAD"

---

Year: 2011
Award: Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival- Platinum Remi
Title: "Spoiled Rotten"- Best Horror Short
Recipients: Director Jeff Peeples

SFX & CREATURE REEL for "SPOILED ROTTEN"

---

Year: 2005
Award: Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival- Gold Remi
Title: "How To Make A Monster" - Instructional short Recipients: Phil Nichols - Fiendish DRP productions/ Facades FX

TEASER REEL for "HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER"

FACADES FX in the Online HORROR PRESS

 

---

2013

Exclusive: Rochon, Wilcox join killer teddy bear in “CLINGER”!-Love and a child’s toy go bad in CLINGER, a horror/comedy getting ready to shoot in Houston, TX beginning July 20. We’ve got exclusive word of a couple of genre faves in the cast, comments from the team and a first FX pic to share.

2011

New Poster and updates on Renfield the Undead-The folks behind RENFIELD THE UN-DEAD (see last item here) have a new poster to show us, which you can see below the jump. The Poison Apple Films production has also been chosen by the 44th Annual WorldFest www.worldfest.org as the winner of two prestigious Remi Awards.

First Look at Renfield The Undead's Count Dracula- The independent fright feature RENFIELD THE UNDEAD, a new take on the Dracula saga, is racing toward completion. And now some lobby card-style pictures have come through that give us a peek at Drac himself from the movie; see ’em, along with a new poster, after the jump!

Exclusive Pics from Renfield The Undead-Screenwriter/actor Phil Nichols sent over a batch of exclusive photos from RENFIELD THE UNDEAD, the independent genre feature in which he plays the title role. Shooting just wrapped in Texas on the Champion Entertainment/Poison Apple Films/Renfield LLC production.

---

2013

Dread Central "First details on SPAVINE and sneak peek at the FX by Facades FX"- Word of a new indie project arrived in our inbox this week along with an early look at some FX sculpture work done by Phil Nicholas for the project. Check out the first details on Spavine {Marked by Damage}.

A Sneak Peek of the Creature Sculpt for Phil Nichols' Stage and Film Frankenstein Projects-We previously told you about Phil Nichols' upcoming stage production of Frankenstein at the Country Playhouse in Houston, Texas, and now we've gotten word that he also has a Frankenstein film project in the pipeline with the working title The Sick and Twisted Tale of Frankenstein.

2012

Dread Central "Take your first look at GOAT MAN" We recently heard from filmmaker Lionell Hilliard, giving us a heads up on his new short film Goat Man. The film is F/X heavy with Phil Nichols (aka The Fiendish Dr. Phil) of Facades FX running the show.

2011

Facades FX Launches Creepy Features Line of Prosthetics-Creepy Features "ROTTEN ZOMBIES" debuts Zombie prosthetics line: Just in time for the 2011 Halloween, haunted house, and zombie walk season, the award-winning effects team of Facades FX is proud to present its signature line of professional grade foam latex prosthetics: Creepy Features. The first style line in the Creepy Features collection focuses entirely on those brain-eating, lurching fiends we all love so much: ZOMBIES!

Dread Central's Heather Wixon Interview with PHIL NICHOLS- INDIE HORROR MONTH

2010

DREAD CENTRAL "First Look inside the Effects for Boggy Creek" Facades FX - The first peek at the creature work and gore SFX done by Facades FX for the motion picture "Boggy Creek" (American World Pictures).

 

---

Michael Haberfelner Interview with PHIL NICHOLS of FACADES FX Michael Haberfelner interviews Phil Nichols about his career as an SFX Master, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor and his pusuit to be the "man of a thousand faces" for a new millenium.

---

Igor's Lab review of BOGGY CREEK mentions FACADES FX- FFX images Igor's Lab owner Anthony Crest gives high praise to Facades FX for the creature suit and makeup FX work on "Boggy Creek."

IGOR'S LAB- New "Boggy Creek" trailer/poster and behind the scenes photos from Facades FX. - "Boggy Creek" new trailer, poster and behind the scenes peek. (Americal World Pictures).

Igor's Lab Interviews PHIL NICHOLS about his Indie Dracula movie RENFIELD THE UN-DEAD

Facades FX celebrates Silver Anniversary! 25 years of excellence in FX artistry!

 

Rutherford Cravens with his "head" from
Main Street Theatre's production of
RICHARD III (directed by Guy Roberts).
Facades created this wonderful head prop.

2013 is the 25th anniversary of the founding of FACADES FX as a company. 

To celebrate, we've cut together a new production reel featuring our work from projects past and present. 

Characters, monsters, creatures, animatronics, body suits, prosthetics, Fx rigs, blood, gore and a whole lot more, we've done it all.

 

FACADES FX SILVER ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION REEL: