If the makeup world of film was Star Wars - Greg Nicotero would be comparable to Yoda. If not Yoda - then maybe Darth Vader considering his specialty on working on many horror film sets.
Nicotero's company KNB EFX is working behind the scenes for the upcoming zombie saga set to debut this October and he had a chance to talk about some of the visual effects that look to set these zombies apart from most of the herd.
Nicotero said they want to remain true to the source material in that these zombies will degrade over time, which is why they are casting more and more tall and thin extras - to show a sort of 'starved' look.
Here's an early photo of Nicotero standing beside 'Bub' from the classic
Day of the Dead, Nicotero has been a huge part of the zombie world since the very beginning when Romero was defining the genre.
One of the most horrific scenes early on in the series and probably the pilot episode - is when Rick's horse (spoiler alert!!!!) gets attacked by a hoarde of the undead. Nicotero talks about that scene.
"It’s almost like a Piranha attack – it really was like a feeding frenzy. We had thirty extras leaning over this prosthetic horse that we created, and they started ripping its insides and its entrails out and going crazy. They were sticking their heads in it and their hands in it." said Nicotero.
Nicotero talked about how he had to get the show's director - Frank Darabont rolling as to not miss the 'moment' in which the undead extras were about to unleash bananas.
"I kind of whipped them into a little bit of a frenzy before we shot, and it was funny because at one point I walked over to Frank (Darabont) and I’m like, “Dude, these guys are so amped up you better shoot this quick before they tear the horse apart!”, said Nicotero.