Enter the high-glam horror of Frances O’Sullivan’s Halloween world

“I always think about John Waters saying, ‘I get up, think up fucked-up things, and sell it in the afternoon,’” says Frances O’Sullivan. “I think that somewhat depicts what this time of year looks like for me.”

Halloween is a busy season for O’Sullivan. Every year, the artist and director combines her signature high-camp glamour with horror tropes to create a series of macabre images featuring a cast of strange and unusual characters. From hyper-glam zombies and 50ft women, to carnivorous Betty Cooper-esque vampires and mermaids trapped in the bathroom from The Shining, the characters O’Sullivan creates draw from the world of cult film, art and literature but are then twisted into something unique to her, and always different to each other.

“The goal for me has always been to create worlds that are nowhere near each other,” she says. “I want the viewer to feel as though they’ve poked their head into six different screens at the cinema. The main goal being having fun and celebrating unconventional beauty. This, I think, will always be the foundation of this particular series.”

This year’s characters are just as diverse and wide-ranging as always, from a pin-up cactus to a pair of legs to an homage to a scene from Wild At Heart, and while there is plenty of blood and gore, there’s also humour, campness and fun. “I love how Halloween can be a time that isn’t about horror at all, just expressing yourself freely in whatever way you want and this is definitely the common ground that runs through all of my characters,” says O’Sullivan.

Alongside the images, this year she adds a video element to her Halloween universe, creating short, hyper-stylised glimpses into the scenes captured in the images. These videos meant a shift in mindset when it came to fleshing out the worlds, with O’Sullivan working around a narrative rather than just an aesthetic, and meatier character backstories. “Instead of just making a window into a world,” she says, “I was making a doorway which left nowhere to hide.” Here she talks to Dazed about this year’s characters, her creative process and not taking things too seriously.

You’ve been doing your Halloween series for years now, where do you start when planning the looks for each series?

Frances O’Sullivan: In a way, I’ve been doing my Halloween series since I was about nine but just not publicising it. It’s only in recent years I’ve figured out how to share it and let it form a life of its own. In terms of the planning process, I try to spend the preceding months consuming as much classic, camp horror as possible to get myself oiled up, then once it’s time to start writing the characters, they already sort of exist.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters you created?

Frances O’Sullivan: The majority of characters I’ve done this year have been in my back pocket for a while, which tends to always be the case with the series. For example, the inspiration for one of the films came from a painting by a great artist named Amber Carr that I saw a year ago and have been obsessing over ever since.

In general, the series is definitely an outlet for my itch to over indulge in the films I love. I’ve always wanted to create my own version of Diane Ladd’s ‘lipstick’ scene from Wild at Heart because it scared the living hell out of me as a kid. I was obsessed with the soft pink colour palette, blonde wig and absurdity of it all. And I would use absolutely any excuse to make my own slasher.

Your aesthetic has always been very high glamour, but this year they feel a little scarier – were you leaning more into the horror side?

Frances O’Sullivan: I guess it depends on what your definition of glamour is. Shooting Lana Rhoades as a living cactus felt like one of the most glamorous things I’ve ever shot. In terms of the films, I definitely felt like completely leaning into the traditional horror tropes for a few was the best way to go. But I think that no matter how much I venture into the horror genre, there will always be a little humour in there. I think the worst thing you can do is take yourself too seriously.

This year, there is also a video element to your Halloween series – can you tell us about that? How was it to shoot? 

Frances O’Sullivan: It was challenging as hell but just so fun. Everyone who helped make this project come to life was utterly amazing at what they do and the collaborative element along with the sense of achievement on set was by far the best part. I like to do these projects as a way of reminding myself why I do what I do. I find that if my creativity is only being used in the context of work, I’ll start to hate doing it. So I give myself a space to be a kid again that’s still figuratively putting on little shows for my family in the living room.

Lana Rhoades character. Director / Photographer: Frances O’Sullivan, Talent: Lana Rhoades, DOP: Benjy Berkowitz, Make-up Artist: Nika Tan, Make-up Artist: Yunqi Ying, Hair Stylist: Sarah Wood, 1st AC: Angela Kwak, Set Design: Ilana Portney-Preston, Gaffer: Sean Chow, Line Producer: Joe Maskall, Production assistant: Jamie Dolan

Cindy Kimberly character. Director / Photographer: Frances O’Sullivan, Talent: Cindy Kimberly, DOP: Simon Knox, 1st AC: Kit Baker, Make-up Artist: Nimrit Kaur Bhogal, Hair Stylist: Sarah Wood, Wardrobe: Lucy James, Wardrobe assistant: Henry Tom Burnett, Sound Design: Jack Lindsay

Trixie Malicious character. Director / Photographer: Frances O’Sullivan, Talent: Trixie Malicious, DOP: Simon Knox, 1st AC: Kit Baker, Make-up Artist: Nimrit Kaur Bhogal, Hair Stylist: Sarah Wood, Wardrobe: Lucy James, Wardrobe assistant: Henry Tom Burnett, Sound Design: Jack Lindsay

John Foley character. Director / Photographer: Frances O’Sullivan, Talent: John Foley, DOP: Simon Knox, 1st AC: Kit Baker, Make-up Artist: Nimrit Kaur Bhogal, Hair Stylist: Sarah Wood, Wardrobe: Lucy James, Wardrobe assistant: Henry Tom Burnett, Sound Design: Jack Lindsay

Legs character. Director / Photographer: Frances O’Sullivan, Talent: Frances O’Sullivan, DOP: Simon Knox, 1st AC: Kit Baker