Hello. We're Macey, Casey, Keely and Erin. We're just four super normal chicks with one thing in common: We're secretly horror movie superfreaks who long to be zombies.
So when the chance came around to have two professional horror movie makeup artists transform us into zombies, we all jumped at the chance to, at last, be transformed into our true selves.
This is Mark Coulier, makeup artist and prosthetics designer. Here he is with his TWO Oscars, in 2015 for Best Makeup & Hairstyling Award for The Grand Budapest Hotel, and in 2012 for The Iron Lady.
Mark also has two BAFTA Awards. Tragically, there aren't any pictures of him kissing them.
And this is Dan Gilbert of Necessary Evil FX. Mark and Dan would be the evil geniuses who transformed us into zombies.
Macey was just downright excited to become the living undead, no nerves at all.
Casey was ready to have a bloody, gory spa day.
Keely wanted to look like one of the worms from Tremors.
And Erin was just super ready to let her inner psychopath out at long last.
Mark and Dan got to work. First, they trimmed eerily flesh-like prosthetics to fit our individual faces, and then glued them on.
Then they did a ton of detail work over the prosthetics, and over our uncovered skin as well. They used spray guns, all colors of makeup, temporary vein tattoos, and fake blood.
The time and attention they put into each brush stroke was phenomenal.
It took a little over an hour for one person to get the full zombie transformation.
Then Mark and Dan finished off our new, rotting looks with a sheen of K-Y Jelly, the "one thing a makeup artist should always have on-hand."
And it totally worked. In the end, we all looked fucking disgusting.
Zombie Macey felt like a walking piece of art.
"Mark's work was so detailed and perfect that I felt bad taking it off – I was very close to keeping the prosthetic. To be honest, not a lot of people in the office noticed my rotten/drippy face, which was maybe/definitely because they were working and not looking around for zombies. I almost left it on to drive in LA traffic to pick up and scare my boyfriend, but decided that I didn't want to cause any accidents or scar any young children. The removal was a little difficult and time consuming, but it was all worth it. At a certain point I couldn't feel the difference between my skin and prosthetic, which was terrifying. Mark, FTW!"
"Mark's work was so detailed and perfect that I felt bad taking it off – I was very close to keeping the prosthetic. To be honest, not a lot of people in the office noticed my rotten/drippy face, which was maybe/definitely because they were working and not looking around for zombies. I almost left it on to drive in LA traffic to pick up and scare my boyfriend, but decided that I didn't want to cause any accidents or scar any young children. The removal was a little difficult and time consuming, but it was all worth it. At a certain point I couldn't feel the difference between my skin and prosthetic, which was terrifying. Mark, FTW!"
"Mark's work was so detailed and perfect that I felt bad taking it off – I was very close to keeping the prosthetic. To be honest, not a lot of people in the office noticed my rotten/drippy face, which was maybe/definitely because they were working and not looking around for zombies. I almost left it on to drive in LA traffic to pick up and scare my boyfriend, but decided that I didn't want to cause any accidents or scar any young children. The removal was a little difficult and time consuming, but it was all worth it. At a certain point I couldn't feel the difference between my skin and prosthetic, which was terrifying. Mark, FTW!"
People wanted to take selfies with Zombie Casey.
"Honestly, no one realized that anything was wrong with my face until I made a point to go sit in an empty chair near some of my co-workers. (Thanks, everyone.) But once they realized that I was a freakin' zombie, they loved it. Everyone wanted to take selfies with me, and as we all know, that's the true sign of love and respect. (And apologies to one co-worker who looked like she was going to vomit in her mouth when Keely and I started peeling off some of our prosthetics in a meeting.) As far as taking the stuff off goes, it was a nightmare. Like, if I had a nightmare about zombies, the zombies wouldn't be the scary part, it would be the process of taking glue off of a fake zombie's face."
"Honestly, no one realized that anything was wrong with my face until I made a point to go sit in an empty chair near some of my co-workers. (Thanks, everyone.) But once they realized that I was a freakin' zombie, they loved it. Everyone wanted to take selfies with me, and as we all know, that's the true sign of love and respect. (And apologies to one co-worker who looked like she was going to vomit in her mouth when Keely and I started peeling off some of our prosthetics in a meeting.) As far as taking the stuff off goes, it was a nightmare. Like, if I had a nightmare about zombies, the zombies wouldn't be the scary part, it would be the process of taking glue off of a fake zombie's face."
"Honestly, no one realized that anything was wrong with my face until I made a point to go sit in an empty chair near some of my co-workers. (Thanks, everyone.) But once they realized that I was a freakin' zombie, they loved it. Everyone wanted to take selfies with me, and as we all know, that's the true sign of love and respect. (And apologies to one co-worker who looked like she was going to vomit in her mouth when Keely and I started peeling off some of our prosthetics in a meeting.) As far as taking the stuff off goes, it was a nightmare. Like, if I had a nightmare about zombies, the zombies wouldn't be the scary part, it would be the process of taking glue off of a fake zombie's face."
Everyone was freaked out by Zombie Keely's neck veins.
"I was deeply satisfied with the results, I finally felt my real, authentic self. People were most freaked out by the infected-looking veins Mark tattooed on my neck. Casey and I did learn, however, that peeling your zombie makeup off your face mid-meeting can create a hostile work environment. I had zombie glue stuck to my skin for the next 48 hours, but I would still highly recommend the transformation to all horror enthusiasts and/or girls who are looking to overcome traumatic prom makeup memories."
"I was deeply satisfied with the results, I finally felt my real, authentic self. People were most freaked out by the infected-looking veins Mark tattooed on my neck. Casey and I did learn, however, that peeling your zombie makeup off your face mid-meeting can create a hostile work environment. I had zombie glue stuck to my skin for the next 48 hours, but I would still highly recommend the transformation to all horror enthusiasts and/or girls who are looking to overcome traumatic prom makeup memories."
"I was deeply satisfied with the results, I finally felt my real, authentic self. People were most freaked out by the infected-looking veins Mark tattooed on my neck. Casey and I did learn, however, that peeling your zombie makeup off your face mid-meeting can create a hostile work environment. I had zombie glue stuck to my skin for the next 48 hours, but I would still highly recommend the transformation to all horror enthusiasts and/or girls who are looking to overcome traumatic prom makeup memories."
And Zombie Erin literally repelled her coworkers.
"I was hoping to freak people out, and it did not disappoint. One coworker could not look at me and had to move away to a corner, so I felt pretty proud of how gnarly it all came out. Admittedly, taking the stuff off was not the best Monday I've ever had (though, also not the worst). And I found glue embedded in my scalp the next day. Still, 10/10 would become a zombie again."
"I was hoping to freak people out, and it did not disappoint. One coworker could not look at me and had to move away to a corner, so I felt pretty proud of how gnarly it all came out. Admittedly, taking the stuff off was not the best Monday I've ever had (though, also not the worst). And I found glue embedded in my scalp the next day. Still, 10/10 would become a zombie again."
"I was hoping to freak people out, and it did not disappoint. One coworker could not look at me and had to move away to a corner, so I felt pretty proud of how gnarly it all came out. Admittedly, taking the stuff off was not the best Monday I've ever had (though, also not the worst). And I found glue embedded in my scalp the next day. Still, 10/10 would become a zombie again."
Mark and Dan seemed very pleased with their handiwork.
But not nearly as pleased as we, four seemingly normal chicks, in our true forms at last.
Zombie lyfe 4ever.
To see more of Mark's amazing zombie transformations, check out Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, available on DVD and Blu-ray now.
