If you’ve ever wondered about the deliciousness of the fake blood in your favorite scary movies, wonder no longer. This is a list of the different types of food used as fake blood in movies.
Real blood can’t be used (duh) so some of your favorite foods are the next best things for the silver screen. We’ve got sweet blood, savory blood, and even edible blood recipes! This will answer your burning questions about the red stuff in cinema and/or help you up the fear factor at your Halloween party this year. Read with caution if you scare easily or if you’re incredibly hungry.
Ketchup
While ketchup isn’t used in major motion pictures as a replica for blood, it has certainly been used for years in low-budget scare flicks. It makes sense: It’s cheap and easily accessible. Plus, you can use the leftovers at a BBQ. A few years ago, Heinz even had a competition calling TikTok users to make gorey videos using their ketchup as fake blood to honor campy, independent B-movies. Forget gore. Does anybody have french fries?
Corn Syrup
Corn syrup is still used by industry professionals as the base of many recipes to create edible blood. I find this ironic because corn syrup has been made an edible villain in America. Products often boast that they contain no corn syrup, even though they might contain other sweeteners and/or chemicals. People really hate corn syrup just like they hate the villain in a horror movie! Okay, back to what we’re actually talking about: If you’ve ever seen or touched corn syrup, you know that it has a thick but loose consistency that makes it perfect for recreating blood along with some red dye or food coloring.
Chocolate Syrup
People often think of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho when they think of using food as fake blood. This Oedipal film contains tons of edible blood. Film fans know that chocolate syrup was used in the iconic shower murder scene. They essentially turned that bathroom into one giant egg cream to make one of the most famous movie scenes of all time.
Red Food Coloring
Duh. Of course. In what world would red food coloring not be used for fake blood? Blood is red!
Cocoa Powder
While it’s obvious that red food coloring is used to make edible blood, you might not know that cocoa powder is a popular ingredient in most recipes to create fake blood for movies. Mixed with red food dye, the brown powder becomes the perfect deep red color.
Looking for an exact recipe to make your own fake blood at home? Follow Hollywood makeup artist Erik Porn’s (yes, Porn) directions here!
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!