Southern Haunts was lucky enough to catch up with Matt Garcia Valentine the CEO of Global Fear Enterprises between projects and get a rare glimpse at some of their latest work. We also talked to Matt about the psychology and inspiration that helps shape the signature Global Fear style. The Austin, Texas based production company is literally a one stop shop for everything from marketing to fabrication. Visit their website at www.globalfearenterprises.com and be sure to add them on FaceBook here: www.facebook.com/GlobalFearEnterprises.

Matt & Michael Garcia of Global Fear Enterprises

Southern Haunts – “Matt, describe some of the services that GFE offers to the Haunt Industry.”

Matt Garcia – “We are a multimedia production company that offers video production, graphic design, art direction, set design and costume/prop fabrication.”

Southern Haunts – “Being well known for your graphic design & Video production style, what influences shaped your signature look?”

Matt Garcia - Most designers in the haunted industry draw from horror films or predisposed fear. We saw that there was a lack of innovation and the primitive primal essence of fear missing from the haunted house scene as a whole. We wanted to get away from the cliché of Freddy, Jason, homicidal clowns and chainsaw wielding rednecks that most haunts acquiesce to.

With the current desensitized state our society is in through video games, films and television we’ve become a culture of death. Where death is glorified and portrayed as sexy cool and stripped of its true meaning. We see little kids all the time walking around wearing death head skulls on their shirts and cryptic symbols that they don’t even understand. It takes a great deal to scare people these days and that’s why we’re changing the game. As far as the beginning of time man has been afraid of the unknown, darkness, the big Sabertooth in the cave and the teeth in the dark. Fear is a natural defense mechanism and there’s a small almond shaped structure deep inside the brain called the amygdala (the container of fear) this is where all the magic happens.

We like to refer to our style as Xenophobic, fear of the unknown. Confusing the eye with an image foreign to it mixed with a subliminal sexual disturbing flavor causes the brain to reject it, thus inducing fear and sometimes anger. So just knowledge of basic biology makes up 25% of our fear ingredients. We receive a great deal of inspiration from the esoteric and the Babylonian mystery school teachings. We also draw from the works of Francis Bacon, Joel Peter Whitkin, Aleister Crowley, Albert Pike and Adam Weishaupt to name a few. So in the end invention is 93% perspiration, 6% imagination, 4% abomination and 2% butterscotch ripple.

Southern Haunts – Tell us the back story about GFE’s newest video “The Answer to 1984 is 1776”.

Matt Garcia – We mainly do production work for those in the horror industry but we also have done some mainstream work as well. The Answer to 1984 is 1776 video was a short we created for Alex Jones at Infowars.com. We wouldn’t say we’re very political in the left right paradigm sense but we are believers in upholding our civil liberties and unalienable rights. That video is our salvo contribution to the patriot movement using art as a weapon. That wouldn’t be the first time we used politics in our art. Our business name and brand itself is a direct case of art imitating the current climate of our country.

Southern Haunts – GFE has created some of the most striking and popular Icon characters in the industry, what basic elements go into the creation of an original Icon character.

Matt Garcia – Our costumes are created as if they are attractions unto themselves. With the correct showman under the cowl, the performance can be endless. Personality wise, we believe that the best characters are a hyper amped up extension of yourself. It’s the little person inside you wish you could be 24/7 without ridicule, judgment or fear. It’s funny how liberated people become when they are behind a mask. We create many different types of characters for different needs in the industry. An Icon character has to be flashy, energetic and know how to electrify the crowds.

GFE are known for their exceptional level of detail.

He represents your brand and the product your selling so he’s more of a mainstream PG 13 character. Everyone knows in marketing that you have to touch your clients on an emotional level and memories = money. So having an icon that children and adults can relate to is just logical. Every Haunt needs a Mickey Mouse. You always need sweet with sour which is where our other creations come in.

We strive to make the client think “what am I looking at and why can’t I take my eyes off it?” We work with more abstract and obscure shapes and influences to create our Xenophobic characters. It’s a filthy abominable muck of s and m sexuality, prophetic scripture and man’s carnal hedonistic desires dipped in liquid latex, airbrushed, glossed and wrapped in a pretty package. One secret we can reveal is that were into neuro linguistics and the subliminal imprinting of the mind so we tend to hide things in our work that may affect some on a subconscious level. Just don’t listen to Lady Gaga backwards while wearing our costumes. We do create custom work for our clients as well so they are not just limited to our existing product line.

GFE's Latest addition to the family - Pestilence.

Southern Haunts – What current or upcoming projects can you tell us about?

GFE Body Sculpt

Matt Garcia – We are currently working with clients in and out of the haunted industry. At this moment were working on some custom characters for a few haunts and producing video. We also have our hands in local businesses helping them put on events this Halloween season. As for the near future we know next year is the end of the Mayan calendar. There are strange signs in the sky and through our collective consciousness we all know there’s an uneasy change coming in the air. We recommend you all stock up on food rations, build a bomb shelter, invest in gold and prepare yourselves spiritually and mentally because in 2012 Global Fear Enterprises is coming to Transworld.