This is the real ingredient they use to make fake blood in the movies

The world of celluloid is full of a wide variety of special effects. Although, if we move away from the effects created by the computer, with a few ingredients it is possible to create effects that are just as striking or curious.

For example, have you ever wondered what actors drink when they supposedly drink alcohol? Indeed, actors don’t really drink alcohol on set, as it could ruin a good role. On the contrary, juices, teas or soft drinks are used as an alternative. There are even directors who use water with paint to simulate drinks, because they do not foam when served.

But it is true that the effect of blood is usually one of the most striking. It is not necessary to see a good action movie -or horror- to find a trail of blood. The best dramatic film also has its bloody scenes.

Few people know that when blood officially found its way to the cinema and began to appear in the first films, the most important thing was not the color – of course, since these were black and white films – but the consistency.

Taking this scenario into account and knowing that it doesn’t matter if the color is brown or red, the first thing used to simulate blood was chocolate syrup, because it contrasted perfectly with the color of the skin. It was what he used Alfred Hitchcock in his cult film of black and white cinema Psychosisin the famous murder scene in the shower.

And the truth is that it became a common trick until the world of celluloid evolved.

And it is that after the advent of color cinema it was more than clear that it was not possible to continue using syrup or chocolate syrup in the scenes that required it. how he discovers us Eduardo Milt Coronilla in his new book ‘The secret life of the plants’“this trap can’t be used in color cinema,” so the directors and creatives had to figure out how to find the right recipe (not only in color, but also in consistency and appearance).

It was here that the popular recipe for it Dick Smithwhose fake blood we can see in as cult films as The godfather or The exorcist. Known as the blacksmith formula, and according to the recipe of Eduardo Bazo Coronilla, for the preparation, used 25 cl white corn syrup, 1 cc methylparaben, 60 g red food coloring, 60 g Kodak Photoflo moisturizing solution, 60 g water and a few drops of yellow food coloring (to make the tint adjustment). While corn, which is used in the recipe in the form of syrup, is a grass commonly grown as a cereal because it is rich in starch, red food coloring is made from seeds, fruits (such as raspberries), or juices (such as pomegranate) .

However, there was a problem: Smith’s version it was poisonous, since it was composed of Kodak Photoflo, a chemical used to hydrate and minimize streaks or watermarks on film, so it was absolutely unfeasible for those scenes where blood has to come out of the actor’s mouth. Various edible options have been developed for these cases.

In ‘The Secret Life of Plants’ we can also discover and get to know other unique sights related to the world of cinema. For example if you liked it Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doomit’s quite likely that the scene where the protagonists “enjoy” a monkey brain sorbet for dessert will stick with you.

But there was another new problem: the consumption of the brains of some animals can be dangerous to human health, because it can cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Gerstmann-Sträussler syndrome, Scheinker or kuru.

To recreate that particular scene, the technicians used lamsessada. while in the movie face of death (1978), directed by Alan Schwartz, used vegetables to mimic a monkey’s brain…

As we see, the plant kingdom is fascinating. And it is full of myths, legends and hoaxes. Figuring out how many of them are true – and which aren’t – is the goal of the new book on Eduardo Milt Coronillagraduate in Biology from the University of Seville and expert in the dissemination of botany and ethnobotany, recently published by the Pinolia publishing house.

On all pages, it uses botany as a scientific tool to answer many questions, shedding light on widespread hoaxes. And it is that although “the legends continue to triumph in the battle of history” (Sarah Bernhardt), with the help of science we can know the reality of the world around us.

You can read an exclusive chapter of this book on Marie Claire’s website.