If you’re scared of the dentist, look away now, because Matt Alavi’s new short film Bad Tooth is taking things to the next level. FANGORIA is excited to reveal an exclusive behind the scenes look at how the short brought its interior mouth shots to life completely practically, with some help from some of the folks at Legacy Effects, the company responsible for bringing monsters like Alien: Romulus and The Shape of Water to life.
The film, which just premiered at this year’s LA Shorts festival, stars Joshua Burge as “Alex, a burnt-out freelancer with mounting pressure from every side, faces a relentless toothache that won't go away. As he desperately needs rest before a job interview, his sleepless night morphs into a surreal nightmare. The ache transforms into something monstrous – a creature born as much from his decayed tooth, as his self-neglect and insecurities. Forced to confront his fears, Alex's battle with the creature “Chip” becomes a twisted allegory about one's self-destruction in the face of life's pressures.”
A standout shot in the film’s trailer is a POV shot from the back of a mouth, created with a fully built prosthetic set piece made as a scaled reconstruction of Burge’s mouth, without the use of any CG or AI — which, in a world increasingly filled with slop, is a welcome difference.
Written and directed by Alavi, a special effects artist who’s worked on films like Lisa Frankenstein and The Suicide Squad, Bad Tooth is produced by animatronic designer Peter Clarke and Legacy Effects’ Damon Weathers, who also serves as first assistant director, with associate producers Cole Taylor and Caroline Heinle.
Stephen St. Peter serves as cinematographer on Bad Tooth, with Darnell Isom as creature effects supervisor, Pedro Henrique Santos as VFX supervisor, Nicholas Winstead as the film’s special effects artist, and Adam Milan Milicevic in charge of production design.
Bad Tooth has not yet set a release date, but will screen at the Sitges International Film Festival in October. Check out some behind the scenes images of the film’s crazy practical effects down below:
