R.I.P.: Special effects artist John Vulich has passed away at age 55

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

In some ways, 2016 has been an absolutely awful year. It's been a year packed with a constant stream of the tragic, shocking losses of people in the entertainment industry, from movies to music and even the podcasting world. And it's not done taking away from us yet.

Yesterday, the horror genre lost another one of its greats with the sudden passing of special effects artist John Vulich. 

Vulich's name first came to my attention through the work he and his company Optic Nerve Studios, which he co-founded with Everett Burrell in 1993 (the company is now owned by Glenn Hetrick), did on the first several seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Soon after that, I came to realize that Vulich had a hand in creating effects for several classic films, including some of my personal favorites.

Listed among Vulich's credits are FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER, George A. Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, GHOULIES, FROM BEYOND, DOLLS, THE LOST BOYS, Tom Savini's 1990 remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE DARK HALF, CASTLE FREAK, and many more. He was an Emmy award winner for his work on Buffy, The X-Files, and Babylon 5.

In addition to being an incredibly talented artist, Vulich was also by all accounts by a kind and cool person, a good friend and a great guy to be around. I only got to meet him once, at a convention in 2012, but I remember him being very nice during our brief interaction.

Vulich was born on October 10, 1961. He passed away just two days after celebrating his 55th birthday. He will be deeply missed, and he leaves behind more than thirty years of special effects work that will continue to be appreciated for a long time to come. If you're looking for movies to watch for Halloween, you can find a lot of excellent choices on John Vulich's résumé.

Behind the scenes of DAY OF THE DEAD