'The Ren & Stimpy Show' was a surreal animated series that ran from 1991 to 1995, and followed the ridiculously odd adventures of best friends Ren the chihuahua and Stimpy the cat. From the beginning the show was ahead of the curve, pushing the boundaries and limits of what was socially acceptable for an animated series. There was violence, sexualised themes and a lot of incredibly creepy close-ups.
And now, the glory of those close-ups has been immortalised once again with the most horrifying Ren and Stimpy masks. Behold, the horror:
They're the work of a man named Andrew Freeman, one of the creators and founders of Immortal Masks, a company that specialises in silicone masks and creature creation. Freeman spoke about his creations, noting that he wanted to draw from the emotions the cartoon made him feel as a child.
Feelings which, judging by the masks, were likely a mixture of horror, disgust and fear.
The two masks only took Freeman a week to make, but the detail behind them conveys so much about the show and the two surreal characters. "If you remember 'Ren & Stimpy'," Freeman said speaking to Tested, "there are those tight shots where you would see close-ups of their faces. They would have the whiteheads, stubble, veins in their eyes, and broken blood vessels in their face and I kind of implemented those details all over each character."
While most of the masks are silicone, Freeman said the hair was most likely yak hair, which has the perfect texture to "convey the gross, creepy qualities".
If accentuating creepy qualities was the intention, then he'll be pleased to know the mission was accomplished.
Due to the way the masks were created, at this stage they're not wearable, however the creator said that doesn't totally rule it out. So, a terrifying Ren and/or Stimpy may be coming to a nightmare near you.
ALSO ON HUFFPOST AUSTRALIA