There I was minding my own business on social media, when I came across a post that was as jolting and welcome as a good jump-scare. I saw the distinct eyes of the King of Splatter in my feed. Tom Savini, of special effects and makeup for Friday the 13th (1980) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) fame (among other staples to the horror genre) is making PPE masks in the style of the famous Jason Voorhees hockey mask. The need to buy one was just lumbering toward me with the purpose of an unstoppable killer. I had to have this mask. I couldn’t escape.
For obvious reasons, more personal protective equipment is being advertised online. It’s easy to understand how the new fashion in PPE masks became an opportunity to express ourselves. So I passively shopped, waiting for the right ad to show up. None seemed right. Then Tom Savini came along, and with artist and production designer Jason Baker’s help, they created the ideal PPE mask. Best of all, it’s a collector’s dream. It’s a hard cast mask that’s actually the lower half of Jason Voorhees’ hockey mask! “Look what you did to him. Look what you did to him!”
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The mask took a few weeks to arrive as they are made to order by hand. The quality is beyond expectation and the custom paint job makes each one unique, yet uniform. The slide release, heavy duty plastic strap adjusters make the mask easy to fit to your head. And, it’s surprisingly comfortable! The hard outside surface gives it an authentic weight and feel, while the cotton fabric inside allows you to wear it snug without compressing your face. You will need that kind of comfort when you’re out and about looking for camp counselors who are breaking quarantine.
You can choose a signed version for a few bucks more, and I recommend it. There will be countless mementos from this unprecedented time, but this is the one I will treasure the most. It’s movie prop quality real, and it’s fantastic. When it arrived, I put it on right away to show my wife. Her response was, “Oh, my God. Oh, God. Oh. My. God. You are not wearing that thing around me.” That’s how I knew I had the perfect PPE mask. I feel safer already!
Contact Jason Baker directly on Twitter @bakingjason for details.
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