Special Effects

Title: Special Effects

Author: Terry Beatty and Wendi Lee

Date of First Publication: 1993

Place of Publication: Frankenstein: The Monster Wakes

Type: Short Story

Critical Summary: Special Effects centers around special effects makeup artist Daniel Cherkas, who has recently been tasked with coming up with a new take on the monster makeup for Frankenstein’s monster. Cherkas comes to his studio only to find that the door is open. He walks in and hopes that nothing has been taken. While attempting to come up with a design, someone suddenly speaks to him. As it turns out, the creature was not just a figment of Mary Shelley’s imagination—he’s a real thing. He tells Cherkas that he has gone to some of the movies involving himself, but he has to go to the theater bundled in clothing, so no one can see his face. He tells Cherkas that he will be his model for his makeup, but under one condition. The story then jumps to Cherkas winning an award for his rendition of Frankenstein’s creature’s makeup. This is where the reader learns that Cherkas used his skills to create a prosthetic face for the creature to make him look like an actual human.

The only thing that Frankenstein and Special Effects have in common is the creature. None of the other elements of the story really match up with Frankenstein. However, they do share a theme, namely, the sympathetic monster. As readers, we feel bad that the monster has lived all this time as a recluse because of his grotesque appearance. But when Cherkas gives him a human face we feel a sense of glee knowing that the creature can experience at least one moment without having to worry about someone being scared of his appearance. In a sense, Daniel Cherkas is the reverse Victor Frankenstein, because instead of creating a monster out of humans, he turns a monster into a human.

Administrative Notes: Sydney Laning, CSUF; Andrew Ruvalcaba (editing)