15 years later, the make-up artist behind Insidious looks back: 'It's black within blackness'

Makeup effects artist Justin Raleigh details the making of an instantly classic horror villain For more than a decade, Joseph Bishara worked as a film composer focused on indie horror films like The Convent and The Gravedancers. Then, in 2011, he suddenly became the actor behind one of the 21st century’s great scary movie icons. Bishara met prolific horror director James Wan while working on another project as a composer, but Wan saw something else in the musician: a monster. As Wan recalled in a 2019 interview with Fangoria, he was “looking for someone who’s lean, thin and bald. So I asked, ‘Joe, if [writer Leigh Whannell] and I make this movie, would you be interested in playing a demonic creature?’” Bishara agreed and would soon become the unnamed Insidious villain fans would come to call “The Red-Faced Demon” and “The Man with Fire on His Face.” However, Wan’s original behind-the-scenes name for the character was “The Lipstick-Face Demon.” According to Insidious’ head makeup effects artist Justin Raleigh, it’s an appropriate nickname. James wanted something that was not subtle. “The concept behind the character was that this demon is basically devoid of color. It's black within

Apr 1, 2026 → Apr 1, 2026