Top 5: Most Realistic Corpses (as seen by a deputy coroner) in Horror
List by Anthony Cleveland
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This is an extremely tough article for me to write. I feel like I'm walking a wire thin tight rope with this piece...
I am a coroner deputy and also a horror film fan. Realty and fiction is a defined line to me. So, talking about one topic and the other at the same time is difficult for me; there's a big difference between food-colored corn syrup and what's leaking out on the pavement after a tragic accident.
I begin this article with respect and solace to every case I have investigated.
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Okay, so, horror movies are generally the furtherest thing from reality. It's partially what draws our ass to the genre. But, zombie movies, now that's got to be even further from reality, right? Well, yes and no. There's still some films out there that strike a nerve with this coroner. Check the list below:
- 5: Return of the living dead
I'm giving it to the script here, not the zombies. I still have no fucking idea why the first zombie is yellow. But there's a dialogue exchange that made me keep the lights on when I was younger: "Why do you eat humans?" The answer: "Because of the pain of death. I can feel myself rotting." The line is creepy enough to me. A zombie explaining why they crave human flesh (or brains in this case) is unnerving. The zombie itself looks fake -- I think the idea of interrogating a corpse with a condemnation to the living in my workplace makes me cringe. Clip of the mentioned scene below:
- 4: Frankenstein (1932)
Yeah, this is where the reader rolls their eyes and just scrolls through the rest of the list... Anyone that's still with me just hear me out. Its Karlof's close ups that sell it. There's 1,000 yard stare in that performance. When he moves he's weighed down by 22 pound boots. The guy moves like a corpse with a purpose.
2: Fulci's Zombie (Technically, Zombie 2: The Dead Are Among Us)
I'm going to get some shit from this one too... This is the zombie vs. shark film, after all. What sells their performances is that their eyes are always shut and they paint over them with black make up. They have no fucking clue where they're going, but by doing that they move in a supernatural/instinct like way. That's what sells it and gives me nightmares.
- 3: Reanimator
This make up crew did their research. When a body's blood pools, it causes lividity and blood bruises the body because of gravity. The morgue zombies have this all over their back sides. Plus, in the finale the zombies are all naked. Realistic naked corpses in a realistic non-CSI looking morgue. Yeah, this one gets me still.
1: The Night of the Living Dead remake
I can already feel the eyes roll at this one, but this one is the closest to a walking corpse I can think of. The fresh skin color. The corpses walking with stiff rigor. They also never look at their targets; there's no eye contact. It's all just pure motorized instinct. Tom Savini, who directed this film, was a combat photographer in Vietnam and a portion of his duty (like mine) was to photograph corpses. He took his experiences and used them to creature monster FX in films. With this film, it comes through. You can really tell that Savini's seen some disturbing shit.
Honorable mention:
- Dawn of the Dead remake:
Holy shit, there are some zombies that hit close to home! I've dealt with one too many corpses that look like the obese woman. Props to making the zombies decompose through time; although, decomposing corpses running is too much of a plot hole to forgive. In my ideal zombie movie world, fresh corpses can run, absolutely. After 8-16 hours corpses develop rigor, so this isn't really plausible. They could, however, move stiffly to break the rigor out. If they broke the rigor, they could move faster, but not in the way depicted in film. It's only be a shuffle, or a stiff scoot stiffly.
Overall less is more with zombies. Depend on your actors rather than the make up. Let their movements be creepy by moving in ways a living person wouldn't. Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below.