Help – vegan zombies! I spent a day in a field with the undead, and survived

I am standing in a field surrounded by gore-soaked zombies.

As the ranks of the undead stumble towards me, I reflect that this isn’t a typical morning in York. But any fear leaves me when the lunch order comes around. Most of them are vegan…

Zomblogalypse is York’s upcoming endemic zombie movie, following the journey of three mismatched survivors struggle against the hardships of the apocalypse.

I joined the team from MilesTone Films, the York-based film company behind Zomblogalypse, on location at York Maze to see how the movie is made.

Rolling in the dirt

The make-up team began working at 8am, working in the open air under a gazebo.

Leading the way is Donna Sayce, a zombie makeup and extra specialist, who co-runs the Otley Zombie Apocalypse charity event group.

Four women and one man were busy pasting latex onto the zombies’ faces and then covering them with pots of fake blood.

The process took around 30 minutes to complete. Then some of the zombies rolled around in the dried dirt on the ground to complete the dead-for-a-while look.

This left the extras with a couple of hours to spare, giving them time to prepare for their performances.

Jake, one of the zombies, said: “It’s quite easy acting as a zombie. You just need to remember that you woke up at 5am to get here.”

Magnificent moaning

One zombie decided to read a book, whilst another taught some humans how to juggle as he waited for a take.

Before going on set, the zombies refreshed themselves with the innocent carcasses of vegan burritos; a natural substitute for cannibalising human brains.

When altogether on stage, the diversity of zombies was displayed in its fullest. Stumbling around were people of all ages, shapes and genders moaning in monstrous magnificence in their quest to eat the stars’ brains.

As the actors waded in and out through the zombies, lucky ones would be hit by a bat or shot by a gun, enjoying the complete undead experience.

Co-creator and director of Zomblogalypse Miles Watts, said: “The thing I love most about this project is people coming out in such large numbers and enjoying themselves. I really never expected such a huge uptake.”

He added:

• If this was my groundhog day, I’d manage.

  It’s a lot of work and seeing so many people every day may get tiring, but I’m doing what I love and my girlfriend and dog came to visit.
  

The film is set to be released in 2019. Find out more at the movie website here.