Best zombie makeup and effects

[fulci fan]

Just wondering what everyone thinks is the best makeup and effects in a zombie movie. Don't worry about story or acting. Strictly Makeup effects.

I think everyone knows what my answer is :)

[Ghost Of War]

I'd have to go with Day Of The Dead. The zombies just look so terrifying, and at the same time there is this childishness about Bub.
Honourable mentions go to Night '90, Zombie Flesh Eaters, and Cemetary Man. I love the way they look in Cemetary man, they look just like dead bodies that have climbed out of the grave...kinda the point, like, but they still look cool.

[clanglee]

Yup Day for me too. . . .And Night '90 had a great look as well. Land's zombies tweren't bad either. I actually like the look of the Zombies in Return of the Living dead too. The whole EC comic nod was great

[krakenslayer]

Day, I reckon, with same honourable mentions given elsewhere. Zombie Flesh Eaters would have clinched it were it not for the "cracks" in the illusion, e.g.: healthy masculine torsos visible on corpses that have spent 400-years in worm-infested mud.

[major jay]

I'm not that crazy about Day's zombies because they look like cro-magnon men.
I guess I'd go with the original Night because they look more like zombies should, like us. Having everyday people playing the parts helps too.

[AcesandEights]

Day, for me, as well.

[bassman]

Dawn. :lol: Couldn't say that with a straight face...

As far as how the zombies look? Probably Night 90. Those looked the most realistic , imo.

As for the gore effects? Definitely Day. Hands down. Nobody has done it better and I doubt anyone will.

[sandrock74]

The zombies in Day seemed to be the most scary looking and threatning overall. An honorable mention should go to Night '90 for the next best looking and acting zombies (they were "fresh" zombies, so didn't look as scary as the "rotted" ones in Day).

[bassman]

The thing that really throws me off about the look of the dead in Day are the eyebrows. Why in the hell do most of them have the huge caveman unibrow? Looks silly.

[AcesandEights]

The thing that really throws me off about the look of the dead in Day are the eyebrows. Why in the hell do most of them have the huge caveman unibrow? Looks silly.

I assumed it had to do with a desire to bring a 'sunken' look to the facial features.

[darth los]

Day of the dead.

Just look at a movie made 20 years later: Land of the dead.

It's amazing how day's effects are superior to a film made 20 years later.

:cool:

[bassman]

#9's hole in the cheek was pretty damn impressive. Other than that though..... Day still holds the crown.

[krakenslayer]

#9's hole in the cheek was pretty damn impressive. Other than that though..... Day still holds the crown.

Yeah, I could never figure out how they did that without CGI. Usually prosthetics add material, but in that movie part of her cheek is actually missing. It's seamless, those are her real teeth underneath by the looks of things.

The only thing I can imagine is that there is some kind of hook holding her lip back with prosthetics around it to create a ragged look. But then you'd expect the rest of her face to stretched out of position, which it's not. It's weird, man. :shifty:

[darth los]

#9's hole in the cheek was pretty damn impressive. Other than that though..... Day still holds the crown.

You know how she got that hole right? :elol:

:cool:

[bassman]

I've always thought it was similar to "judge" in The Frighteners. Fake cheek and jaw, black material on the real cheek to make it look like the inside of the mouth.

Although it's probably something holding back a large portion of her mouth. Seems like I remember Nicotero talking about them using that look around that time. Sucking the lips back to show the teeth and such.

[Ghost Of War]

I've always thought it was similar to "judge" in The Frighteners. Fake cheek and jaw, black material on the real cheek to make it look like the inside of the mouth.

Although it's probably something holding back a large portion of her mouth. Seems like I remember Nicotero talking about them using that look around that time. Sucking the lips back to show the teeth and such.

Yep, on the extras on Diary, he talks about that. If I remember, he was the doctor zombie, and he had this clear molded thing in his mouth to draw the lips back.

I know it's not a movie, but the zombies in Michael Jackson's Thriller looked awesome. The fat one scared the shit out of me when I first watched that.

[fulci fan]

Number nine's makeup was achieved by making her dentures come out past her lips. So the dentures went out of her mouth and along her cheek. I would have done a life cast on her with the teeth in and then sculpted my prosthetic design over that in clay. Then you take a mold of that (I would do it in stone). De-mold, clean the clay out, then cast it in silicone (they might have used foam latex for her because alot of the hero zombies did). The result is a piece that fits her face and fake teeth perfectly. Since it is a platnum (can not be tin) based silicone, it will act,feel, and look like real flesh. You might even see a makeup like this in a possible upcoming film. ;)

I think the zombies in notld 90 are very scary especially the "Greg Funk zombie (cemetery zombie). Optic Nerve really did a good job.

[AcesandEights]

That description makes a lot of sense, Fulci fan!


You might even see a makeup like this in a possible upcoming film. ;)

!!!

???

[krakenslayer]

Number nine's makeup was achieved by making her dentures come out past her lips. So the dentures went out of her mouth and along her cheek. I would have done a life cast on her with the teeth in and then sculpted my prosthetic design over that in clay. Then you take a mold of that (I would do it in stone). De-mold, clean the clay out, then cast it in silicone (they might have used foam latex for her because alot of the hero zombies did). The result is a piece that fits her face and fake teeth perfectly. Since it is a platnum (can not be tin) based silicone, it will act,feel, and look like real flesh. You might even see a makeup like this in a possible upcoming film. ;)

Sounds like a major pain in the ass. They should just stick to randomly slapping shit on actor's faces like in your Nightmare City avatar. :lol:

[fulci fan]

Sounds like a major pain in the ass. They should just stick to randomly slapping shit on actor's faces like in your Nightmare City avatar. :lol:

Hey buster, that is a classic! I don't know why, but the makeups that people hate, I end up loving. Since I am a makeup artist, I appreciate and know what is good but for some reason, I love the Italian stuff.

[rongravy]

Although I like the zombies in Resident Evil 3, the scariest zombie make up for me would be the first guy in Return of the Living Dead 3. The first time I watched that was alone in my apartment. If he'd have come from around the corner on me then, I would've shit my pants. I heard somewhere he was some homeless guy or something. Skinny as a rail. Scary as fuck.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Day.

Not just the makeup but their filthy cruddy clothing really added to the monstrous looks of those things.

[Mr.G]

Day in a landslide. Show anyone a quality copy and have them guess the year it was made... and I doubt many would believe the film was 25 years old.

---------- Post added at 09:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 PM ----------


Day in a landslide. Show anyone a quality copy and have them guess the year it was made... and I doubt many would believe the film was 25 years old.

Whoa! Now that I think about it....how could my parents allow me to watch this as an 8 year old!!!

[bassman]

There's one thing that definitely gives away the decade in which Day was filmed. The score. It just screams 80's. Pretty much everything else is timeless, though.

[Mike70]

it's day hands down. all others are mere pretenders.

[fulci fan]

There's one thing that definitely gives away the decade in which Day was filmed. The score. It just screams 80's. Pretty much everything else is timeless, though.

I love the soundtrack. I think Goblin would have done a good job though. They should have done what they did with Dawn and have different versions.

[Yojimbo]

NOLD 68. Russo's "don't look at it" ghoul scared the crap out of me back in the day. Guess it hit me at the right time.

[MikePizzoff]

I don't know about best but my favorite is the zombie in The Gate.

Thriller had some badass zombies, too.

[jded]

For Romero flicks I go with Day.

The ones in Zombie are awesome, old and dirty looking. I love the one coming out of the grave and how they put the camera underneath the dirt. The maggots and worms added a special icky feeling.

I also like how they did the zombies in Planet Terror. There was not many closeups and they always seemed to be somewhat far away, and then they'd zoom in and it felt like they were devouring you. And when they seemed to be upon you they looked quite scary and hideous.

[fulci fan]

Okay, well, I have to chime in. Zombi 2 has the best zombies and effects in any movie hands down. The techniques were so simple yet they can't be matched. How the makeups and effects were actually done are still shrouded i mystery.
I actually am making a tribute mask for zombi 2. Every worm eye zombie mask or bust I have seen has never got the likeness down. My goal is to make a mask of every featured zombie in the film. I really like the zombie that Al Cliver shoots in the window. It is so mean looking. :evil:

[Minerva_Zombi]

1. Day of the Dead
2. Zombie
and no one's really mentioned this one but what about Re-Animator? Pretty good effects. Same for Dead Alive.

[krakenslayer]

1. Day of the Dead
2. Zombie
and no one's really mentioned this one but what about Re-Animator? Pretty good effects. Same for Dead Alive.

Good points, man!

[triste realtà]

Return II, Creepshow, certain Day standouts like the weed strewn green one, City of the Living Dead (mostly Father Thomas' family), Horror Rises from the Tomb and Zombi Holocaust (honorable mention for absurdity).

[fulci fan]

You forgot Burial Ground ;)

[krakenslayer]

You forgot Burial Ground ;)

Burial Ground crossed my mind, then I remembered the wobbly masks with rubber teeth and the actor's real lips and teeth visible behind them. :lol:

[Neil]

Day of the Dead, but Night 90 needs to be mentioned!

[major jay]

Horror Rises from the Tomb


I forgot about zombies being in this. Very cool flick, great atmosphere and sets...pretty violent too.

[fulci fan]

Burial Ground crossed my mind, then I remembered the wobbly masks with rubber teeth and the actor's real lips and teeth visible behind them. :lol:

Nah, that was all decay. ;)