Xtro 3: Watch the Skies (1995)

(Note: I would like to thank Suzana P. Rupe for having helped out by sending photographs of her special makeup effects work on Xtro 3, as well as adding context on how she made them!)

On the third Xtro film, which he wryly referred to as 'The Dirty Dozen meets Predator', director Harry Bromley-Davenport wished to have a different alien than those seen in the original Xtro or the loathed Xtro II. As Xtro 3's screenwriter Daryl Haney remembered;

'The alien is substantially different from the way I imagined it. But I described it very loosely, and Harry felt that if the monster wasn't humaoid enough, people wouldn't be able to relate to it. I thought that was a legitimate point to raise'

The alien was realized by David Barton's Modus EFX, with a sizable team working underneath Barton to realize the alien creature. The art department included Jordu Schell, Duke Cullen, Richard Mayberry, Rick Lalonde, Rob Henderstein, Steve Stewart and Mike McCarty.

Also working for Modus EFX for Xtro 3 were Mark Rappaport, John Deall, and Evan Brainard in the animatronic department, and Bernhard Eichholz, Kevin Marks, and Garland Smith as lab technicians.

Barton's Modus EFX crew created two alien puppets. The first was a full body puppet with a plastic frame and a foam rubber 'skin', and the second was a head-and-torso puppet constructed for close-up shots. The head-and-torso close-up puppet was fully mechanical, with motors and levers under the foam rubber 'skin' to provide the facial expressions.

Barton recalled to Fangoria; 'One thing Harry was adamant about was not having a man in a suit. That probably would have been cheaper, but with the creature's shap, it was necessary to operate it as a puppet with the right apparatus. It should be obvious that this is far from being some guy zipped up in a costume.'

Paul Sammon, who was Xtro 3's optical FX supervisor, stated about the puppet; 'It's not your stereotyped big-eyed, blank-faced monster at all. It's capable of a lot of expressions. It's radio- and rod-controlled, able to roll its eyes and grimace. It's a large, full puppet, manipulated by guys in blue suits who I digitally erase while I introduce the background.'

The 'big-eyed, blank-faced' quote was possibly a reference to the iconic Grey alien design popularized by Ted Seth Jacobs' cover art for Communion, a look avoided for Xtro 3's alien. Barton recalled the intention for the alien's look; 'The alien is very quick and nervous. It's not sloppy. It knows where it's moving and why. It's efficient'

I don't know if the dissected alien during the autopsy sequence was a reuse of the close-up puppet, or a dummy prop fabricated by Modus EFX. However, an alien fetus sculpt was definitely fabricated by Modus EFX for the scene.

Xtro 3 was far gorier than the previous sequel, with the various bloody deaths provided by makeup artist Suzana P. Rupe. Rupe's most elaborate effect was for the demise of Daryl Haney's soldier, having been vivisected alive by the alien.

Rupe told me how she achieved the effect, 'For the (vivisection) I made a gelatin prosthetic. Anatomically correct! My mentor Rob Burman was the best teacher ever!'.

Rupe also handled the other graphic deaths, such as a spine pulled through a man's back, an upper ribcage being exposed, and a head wound showing an exposed brain. All three were achieved as gelatin appliances, with the spine wound makeup being the most elaborate.

The spine wound makeup being applied

The chest ribcage wound makeup being applied

Rupe also was tasked with the more mundane wound makeups, such as bullet holes and burn markings, and also made the assorted 'webs' created by the alien to ensnare victims. Rupe even devised her own formula for the fake blood!

Assorted photos of the fake webs.

Suzana Rupe in front of the fake webs she made.

Rupe approached the job with enthusiasm; 'I love what I do and hopefully it reflects in my work. I like invoking emotional responses. I've done a lot of beauty makeup on films, but I prefer to work with the effects. That's where you can get creative. This takes a passion'.

Sources:

• Fangoria #146 'Xtro 3: Watch the Skies ... for Alien Terror'
  

• Cinefantastique Vol. 27 No. 2 (November 1995)