Jason Voorhees’ signature hockey mask inspires the best custom made movie face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
Special effects artist Tom Savini drew some positive inspiration from Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhees and made face masks resembling Jason’s hockey mask for protection during the coronavirus pandemic. The horror movie villain has inspired many to recreate his signature look – mostly gory Halloween costumes – comprising of a hockey mask, tattered clothes, and a machete. But now face masks have become an essential item in these trying times and people are customizing their masks to match their style and personality.
Jason is one of the most recognizable horror movie characters of all time. Unlike most, Jason’s look has remained almost the same since he first appeared in the 1980 Friday the 13th movie. However, he didn’t start rocking the trademark hockey mask until Friday the 13th Part III. In the movie, he retreats to a resort to recover from his injuries. There, he kills anyone who comes to the shed where he’s hiding then takes a hockey mask from one of his victims to wear as a disguise. Though the origin of the hockey mask is revealed in the 1982 movie, many fans have come up with their own theories about the mask. One theory suggests that Jason was a hockey player (a goalie, specifically) as a child, since there are hockey trophies in his bedroom. He took pride in winning until a bad line change led his team to lose the championship. The loss, along with Jason’s bad temper and tragic death, led to his killing spree and he may have picked up the mask to remind him of his traumatic childhood.
Special effects artist Tom Savini, who worked on Friday the 13th Part I and IV, posted on Twitter announcing that hockey mask-inspired protective masks were available. This came after he noted a huge demand for the Jason-inspired masks. He posted a series of pictures of himself wearing the custom mask and some on a mannequin in his workshop.
Fans were excited to get a Savini-made mask, with many asking how they could buy it. However, in the same tweet, he referred to a fellow special effects artist, Jason Baker, for any inquiries about the mask. Savini had also tweeted a picture of himself wearing the same mask a few days prior to this tweet thanking Baker for the custom-made mask. This means that Baker is the actual artist behind the Jason-inspired mask and not Savini.
Savini has inspired many creatives through his work over the years, and is now encouraging everybody to channel their creativity into making art during the pandemic. He has contributed to some of the best films, including Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Night Of The Living Dead, as a special effect artist and a director. He also runs a special effects program that teaches people how to make faces out of clay.
