Creator of Movie Monsters Uses Them as Creature ‘Comforts’ for Scared Children

Mel Slavick, 24, is well equipped to dispel notions of the earthly existence of Halloween goblins and ghosts as well as horror-movie characters, since he created many of them in the garage of his home in Orange.

The home has become a hangout for adventure-loving kids as well as for some of his older neighbors enchanted by the special effects he makes, such as the gang of foam-rubber alligators sitting on his front lawn.

“When we let children touch and try on the foam-rubber parts we make, they can see it’s not real and shouldn’t be afraid of them,” said Slavick, who is about to depart for Bangkok with the alligators for a horror film there,

He said he decided to host visits by children following his success with a young girl who became terrified after seeing a monster movie.

“We brought her to my house and showed her how harmless everything is,” Slavick said. His home is a storehouse of such creations as foam-rubber human and animal heads, hands and feet, a craft that began with a one-semester makeup course at Fullerton College.

Dr. I. Lee Gislason, director of child outpatient psychiatry at UC Irvine Medical Center, said he sees value in the hands-on experience for normal children over 10, “but not for very young children or those with nervous problems.”

In any event, he said, those children under that age shouldn’t even be seeing that kind of movie and, if they are, “there’s something wrong with their parents.”

Slavick’s concern, however, is for the feelings of children who follow the current rage of monster films.

“This is also the way I make my living and I want the business (Generic Effect Studio) to stick around for a while,” he said. “I figure if I start bringing children to my house, maybe it will catch on with others in this business and follow my example.”

Besides characters for films, Slavick created models for the electric parade at Disneyland, where he met his wife, Carol, 20.