2:30 Makeup: Little girls from The Exorcist will scare you in Devotion

In David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist – Devotion, not one but two little girls are possessed by a demon. Young Angela (Lydia Jewett) and Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) who secretly go to perform a ritual in the forest return 3 days later with no memories. The latter are demon-possessed. So their parents call on Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) to help them.

Linda Blair recommended the role of Regan, a little girl in William Friedkin’s film, to the young actresses during the filming of the possession scenes.

David Gordon Green explained on this topic on the microphone of the site Fandango :”It was great to have Linda as a consultant. He helped us a lot in understanding the psychology of our young talent. Lydia and Olivia were wonderful young actors to work with — and we’re asking them to go to very dangerous, very provocative, very spiritual places. Psychologically, we wanted to do it as safely as possible…the fact that Linda had already experienced it helped a lot because it allowed us to have a healthy way to go through the places she was. unhealthy.

The team took all measures so that the young actors could endure some traumatic scenes in the film. The director announces to the press team: “IWe had to make sure that they were very aware that they were trying to travel emotionally because their characters were in extremely difficult situations. We wanted them to be surrounded by caring people on and off set. We brought in their families and their parents, who were very supportive, as well as psychologists and educators..

This was absolutely necessary, not only because these two young women had to memorize their lines and act like they were possessed by a demon, but because they had to put on makeup for 2.5 hours a day, keep up with their normal studies and shrug. Making a movie on set with a whole team of excited people! Therefore, it is an incredible psychological challenge for any aspiring actor!“

Different stages of possession

Lydia Jewett (Sarah in the TV series Good Girls) and Olivia O’NeillOne who takes his first steps on the screen must express through his acting the various stages of possession, as the demon only gradually takes control of their soul and body.

Lydia Jewett explains in the press kit: “David explained what he meant by the different stages of ownership. He told us how crazy we could go in each scene. This is what allowed us to better visualize situations. For certain sequences, he wanted me to adopt a stoic attitude. Sometimes he wanted my character to be gentle, and sometimes he wanted it to be extremely aggressive“.

2.5 hours of makeup per day

David Gordon Green also revealed that the two young actors spent more than 2.5 hours on make-up before filming the possession scenes.

He explains: “We are dealing with infections, inflammations – all these horrible physical symptoms that result from this possession. It was hard to get two and a half hours of makeup from these young artists…if they didn’t have that energy, that sense of a job well done, and that understanding of what we go through to make this show, it would be. It would be a nightmare. But Lydia and Olivia were incredible, they rose to the challenge and really nailed it.”

To implement makeup and special effects, Jason Blum and David Gordon Green called Christopher Nelson, with whom they had already collaborated on the Halloween saga. For Suicide Squad makeup in 2017, Oscar winner Christopher Nelson and his team had to work on several makeups that represented different stages of possession.

It is impossible to go so far!

The director specifies:In the first stage, the girls are evil, then in the second, they become evil, and in the third, they become monsters. The fourth stage became synonymous with “never” because it was impossible to film. We put make-up on the girls and then we said “no, it’s impossible to go that far”“.

David Gordon Green then explains:In the first stage, we only have the feeling that the girls are not in a normal state. something is wrong. It could be their red eyes, scratches, a pale face or a slightly receding hairline.

In the second stage, violence increases. Girls may cut their heads, scratch themselves, grow their hair, and their physical features, like their faces, take on a more threatening appearance.

The third and final stage is disgusting. At a moment when the tension is at its peak, the two young girls are no longer bathing, no longer eating healthily, and they are the victims of increasingly violent outbursts of anger. The most extreme physical frustrations had to be revealed in them and it was during this phase that we got prosthetics and make-up and the physical characteristics of the two characters became hideous.

makeup technique

Christopher Nelson, makeup artist and visual effects manager, also describes the steps and various techniques on the site microphone. Soon.

“The first stage involves staining, fading and darkening of the eye area and skin discoloration. Then from the second stage we started using dentures, small dentures and also dentures to whiten the teeth. We also started using contact lenses for bloodshot eyes. Transition from normal eyes to possessive eyes.

I didn’t want it to just be a big leap in imagination, so we had to gradually go with the discolored eyes, the bloodshot eyes, the dilated pupils…

The third stage is heavier dentures, even more discolored dentures, more intense contact lenses. For the final, we had to cover their entire body with prosthetics and put them in wigs.”

But the addition of prosthetics, make-up and choreography did not scare the teenagers. Olivia O’Neill On the contrary, he claims to have used these steps to create his character: “Lydia and I worked together. We sat back to back and imagined different gestures and situations. No take was like the other, especially in the third phase. I loved it because I felt like I was experiencing the first stage moments, but on amphetamines! And the character really took shape in these scenes“.

Exorcist – Loyalty Must see in cinema.