The Fine Art of Zombie Design in Film (Or: Zombies Can Be Heroes Too!)

We all know that everyone loves zombies. That just goes without saying. And as a result, the number of zombie movies, shows, games, and events has skyrocketed over the past few years. Some of them are really really amazing, but unfortunately a lot of them just... well... aren't. There are a few things that go into making a zombie movie just bad. The first and most important thing, is story. It's ALWAYS story. I don't care what film genre you are talking about... if your story sucks, your movie suck... period. Fact of the matter is, by now, your story JUST being about zombie is boring. i hate to say it, but it is. While the walking dead are awesome and all, they are nothing more than a vehicle anymore. The idea of the whole point and only drive of your story being a zombie apocalypse just aint gonna fly! It's been done to death already and there's really nowhere to go with it. All of that being said, we are not here to discuss story. We are here to discuss design, and so we shall...

The second largest problem plaguing bad zombie movies now a days is boring zombies. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones that are really just people with grey face paint. Does every zombie need to be covered in blood and completely falling apart? No. But that doesn't mean that some grey grease paint is gonna cut it either. One of the most important concept of good creature design (this includes zombies) is balancing out the overall design of your horde of creatures. In other words, don't blow your whole creative load on 2 or 3 zombies and have the rest of them be pasty people with some blood on their shirt. No doubt that in a zombie story, there has to be a LOT of zombies. So when dealing with a group of monsters that big, you have to think of the design on a whole, not JUST individually. The goal is to have a varying group of zombies, some a bit more freshly dead and some having a bit more rot to them, and everything in between. Think about the location of said zombie horde. In a mall they would be more on the fresh side, near a graveyard, hospital or morgue you would find more rotten, falling apart ones. Once you have established the overall feel to your horde of the undead, you need to consider how the group is to appear. Does your scenario focus on any individual zombies at all or are you deal with nothing but massive field of flesh eaters? This is where the idea of "hero zombies" and "filler zombies" comes into play. A hero zombie is a specific zombie which may have more screen time or play a specific role in a plot point or a twist. This is the time to have a really interesting, unique design that will stand out and stick in the audience's mind. Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about...

This is a character many fans of Day of the Dead have come to call "Dr. Tongue". A VERY unique design, especially for the time the film was released.

This is arguably one of the most famous hero zombies in horror film history. This is the graveyard zombie from the original Night of the Living Dead. Bill Hinzman played the character in the film. This is the zombie that starts the whole story rolling in the film.

This guy is from Lucio Fulci's game changing film "Zombi".

This is the "Tarman" from the cult classic Return of the Living Dead.

And most recently, The Bicycle Girl zombie from AMC's The Walking Dead.

All of these zombies have a very striking and individual design. They all played into key moments of each film or series story line. And they have all made their niche in horror film history. Many of them even have their own masks, toys, models, statues, etc. Unfortunately, most film budgets don't allow for time and expense to make every zombie in it look as good or as striking as these show stealers. Because of that, there is the important roll of the filler zombies! Filler zombies are the ones that are more generic and plain and are used to bulk our the horde. In the film industry they are usually just extras that are given to junior level make up artists to paint up to bulk out a scene... like these guys....

The problem is, a lot of zombie movies and games (albeit the lower budget ones mostly) ONLY have filler zombies! They only have guys in grey paint with some blood on them. Or the cake their face with tissue and liquid latex and then paint THAT grey! Not all zombies are grey, fresher ones will still have some color in their skin, some will have some sever veining going on in their flesh, others not so much. There needs to be a certain level of randomness in any scenario, and by featuring a few hero zombies, it can almost instantly add that level to it. But if all of your creature are too plain, or too similar on an overall design (i.e. all of them have all their limbs, all of them are the same color, all of them are dressed basically the same, etc.) any level of detail and/or realism is thrown out the window.

This has nothing to do with the quality of the makeup or how seasoned the designer and makeup artist is, this comes down to understanding a concept and having a level of pride in your finished product. Don't just be satisfied in an army of grey people... accept nothing less that a truly terrifying horde of the living dead!