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#55 – Shaun Of The Dead: An Appreciation

April 26, 2020 By //  by Stuart

The Shaun Of The Dead prosthetic team reunites and talk through the movie effects shots.

The best thing about (SOTD) Shaun of the Dead for me was that I was already a Spaced fan – the TV show from Edgar Wright which had put the cast into public consciousness and rekindled the (at the time) quiet Zombie genre.

Be sure to download this awesome free FX Breakdown to go along with the podcast.

To listen to the podcast, you can stream or download from here, or simply subscribe through your favourite podcast app – we are on many, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, IHeartRADIO , STITCHER , Luminary and Google Podcasts.


To ‘top and tail’ the SOTD experience for me was the fact that a few years earlier, I had applied a fake chest to Simon Pegg for Guest House Paradiso for one of the many gags in the slapstick storyline.

He told me they were editing a show he’d just finished called Spaced, which of course at the time meant nothing to anyone. It went on to be a much-loved cult classic and I urge to track it down if you haven’t seen it!

Within that show was an episode (called ‘Art’, series 1, ep. 3) which centred on the sleep-deprived characters (having spent all night playing Resident Evil) hallucinating and mixing zombie attacks into an otherwise routine day. The glorious sequences helped align the stars and planets to create what became SOTD.

I thought it would be fun to chat with Stuart Conran and Dan Frye, two FX buddies who I have known and worked with for many years on many projects. I rewatched the movie to refresh my memory, and listed the effects in chronological order.


Tim Baggaley as the zombie groom checks the take with cast members at the monitor.
Photo courtesy Tim Baggaley.

Anyhow, the list of effects we chatted through are as follows:

  • Head flips back outside the pub.
  • ‘There’s a girl in the garden’. Mary falls back onto an umbrella support base.
  • One-armed groom beat to (another) death with an ashtray.
  • Hulk and Mary attacked with records and beaten to a pulp.
  • Philips’s head smashed in the now-famous montage.
  • Dead Pete in the shower.
  • Philip neck bite by a zombie – gushing blood.
  • Zombies are seen through a window when fuses flipped.
  • Barbara’s arm bite.
  • Headshots in the pub skirmish with a Winchester rifle.
  • Barbara’s headshot (spoiler alert).
  • David’s gory dismembering and disembowelling after being pulled through the window (my screen debut!)
  • Zombie hordes – out of the kit zombies.
  • Zombie Pete bites Ed’s arm (another spoiler).
  • Pete’s headshot.
  • Pickups at Shepperton (Near Christmas 2003) squibs and out of the kit zombies for the finale.
  • Ed’s neanderthal zombie look (spoiler).

I’d recommend the Shaun Of The Dead DVD, as there are lots of great extras with behind the scenes video clips and diaries. Anyhow, download the free booklet to go along with this podcast episode. Listen here or subscribe on any of the podcast places linked here.

Cheers for checking in!

-Stuart

Stuart Conran’s iconic makeup on Mark Donovan.
It made the Fangoria cover!!!!
Photo courtesy Stuart Conran.

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Filed Under: Podcast

Previous Post: « #54 – Approaching Workshops
Next Post: #56 – Q & A »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. shaunda King

    April 26, 2020 at 4:42 pm

    I am a lover of horror films..George Romero was the king of zombie..But Shaun of The Dead was one funniest take on the genre..super funny and the makeup was tops…Great work!!!! hop

    Reply
  2. Earvin

    April 26, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    I think it’s an amazing idea and will really help alot of people especially beginners like me though I haven’t used latex I just create minor effects.

    Reply
  3. Dee O’Keefe

    April 27, 2020 at 1:19 am

    YOU are an absolute legend! Thanks for sharing Stuart. Best zombie film ever! ???

    Reply
  4. Connie Gallo

    May 3, 2020 at 4:36 am

    What a fun podcast! Thanks so very much for sharing your memories and for the cool booklet!

    Reply
  5. Lina

    June 3, 2020 at 12:33 am

    I love the breakdown ❣️
    Feels Like it’s my birthday, love when you get into details, you explain so well! (Even for foreigners like me) ? excellent didactic skills!

    Reply

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