It only makes sense, really. Way back in 1968, George Romero decided to forever cement the concept of zombie as an undead, flesh-craving, reanimated corpse with his masterpiece Night of the Living Dead. He shot it in the Pittsburgh, PA area, and had its premier in our fair city, God bless 'em.
In fact, Its really surprising to me that more people in the city don't embrace our horror heritage. Don't get me wrong, our zombie walks still get an excellant turnout, just wish the subculture was more of the culture, as it were. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there are zombie fans all over the place and I'm just not meeting them, not asking the right questions if I do. I certainly hope so.
Here are shots of my dear wife and I as the undead, make up by me. Enjoy!
This was for a zombie party we went to fairly early in our dating. It was summer, so I airbrushed our arms and legs with purple. I can't stand it when someone clearly spends all their time working on a make up on their face, only to have a normal neck and ears, much less limbs. That being said, the airbrushing was a bit of a pain, rubbing off easily, even if it did look pretty smashing. Oh, and it left my bathroom, where I had done the painting, in a hell of a state. Worth it!
The brain sticking out has recieved quite a few compliments, so here's the straight scoop: it was a latex casting I made from an ice mold I had, slapped on top of my head like a cap. All it needed was to tease my hair all crazy-like around the edges and a liberal dose of my personal fave: gel blood.
For my part, I'm particularly proud of my wife's makeup. It's understated, with great shading. How's that for humble?
This holds a special place for me. We attended a zombie walk in downtown Pittsburgh in October of 2011, and went as an undead bride and groom. I was suitably grey, as you can see, and yes, I do think of terribly uncomfortable places to put fake blood, thanks for noticing. In the photos on this page I have it poised to drip into my eyes, mouth, in my hair, and in this shot, I immortalized my decision to feel like I have boogers hanging out of my nose for several hours. I smarty pants!
Seriously though, this was a week before we became man and wife. :D A photographer for one of the local news channels was going around taking pics of the gathered dead, and asked to get a shot of us. Can't say I blame him; we looked damn(ed?) good. He then asked us our names, and it was the first time I got to refer to us as Mr. and Mrs. Geidel. Like I said, special.
Incidentally, you'll no doubt notice the large, wet, red spot on my beloved's bosom. That was a very real looking stab wound she decided would look cool. She wasn't wrong, even if it was fairly uncomfortable for her. Maybe the lesson is just that it's always going to be a hassle, and if one does not suffer, it is not art.
This was for an open call to be an extra in a super-low budget zombie mockumentary called Spineview. Everybody always goes nuts with the blood for zombie stuff; I tried to be original and go with a burn up the side of my head. I'm really pleased with the look, and still have the damaged tuxedo tee in the hopes of rolling this out again some time.
My wife is a dry zombie, but where she really manages to carry it off is in the performance.
Incidentally, we do appear in the linked trailer above, albeit briefly. Keep an eye out (haw!) for a lineup of the dead misbehaving: the one in the pink is my wife, then fiance, and, yes, we're making out in that shot. As zombies. So, I've done that. Also, when you see a skateboard being banged against a car, pay very close attention to the arm wielding it: totally my arm! A star is born!
Ready for my close up!
Copyright © 2012 by Joseph Geidel. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission.l ri