‘The Mask’ Was Supposed to Be a Horror Film, Says Director Chuck Russell, but ‘It Would Be Too Much Like Freddy Krueger’

Legendary Hollywood director and producer Charles ‘Chuck’ Russell says that the breakout film “The Mask” was originally conceived by New Line Cinema as a horror movie.

Instead, the 1994 action comedy went on to be a career-defining picture for Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz, a global box office hit and a defining moment for the use of VFX in comedy films.

“I’d directed ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 3’ and made friends at New Line. Then I did ‘The Blob’ and New Line wanted another shocking horror film. The was a comic book of ‘The Mask’ that was quite terrifying,” said Russell. “I said its going to be too much like [‘Elm Street’ character] Freddy Krueger. It’s going to be horrible. But there’s this guy named Jim Carrey who has just come out in living color.”

Russell was speaking on Wednesday as part of a master class at Film Bazaar, the industry component of the International Film Festival India in Goa.

“It was the only time in my career when it was very hard to explain to others what was the potential with this particular actor,” Russell said. But with a background in live theatre, Russell said he was confident that Carrey had the talent to pull it off.

“He was a one-man inspiration. I got the script to the point where it lived and breathed Jim Carrey. After he read it, he said to me ‘If I do this, I’ll be doing this character at grocery store openings when I’m 80-years-old,” said Russell.

Later, “‘The Mask’ comic books had to be redrawn to look like Jim Carrey,” said Russell.

Russell explained that the film was made with a production budget of $18 million, of which $7 million was spent on effects. But neither the limited budget, the little-known stars or the heavy dependence on VFX were off-putting to Russell, who says trust in one’s own instincts is one of his guiding principles.

“I took the concept of an independent, low budget film. Everything in ‘The Mask’ is a normal location. The only stage set in the whole movie was a small bedroom, because I had to trash it. [..] It was the fun of independent films is and the spirit of a team that’s us against the world. We’re going to make a movie at a certain budget and put all the money on the screen.”

“I was working very closely with the worst team at ILM [visual effect provider Industrial Light & Magic]. They were the kids in the basement and they did such a terrific job that all the top people at ILM started coming to our dailies every day,” said Russell.