Whither the unshaven dead?

January 9, 2013 6:17 PM

Can you think of any movies or tv shows that feature bearded zombies? Unless facial hair confers some sort of protective powers against post-death reanimation, it seems that there should be plenty of examples, but scanning Walking Dead images, I can't find any. (There are lots of Halloween costumes of bearded guys in zombie makeup, but I'm specifically looking for zombies from film and television.)
posted by roger ackroyd to media & arts (12 answers total)

Helicopter zombie from Dawn of the Dead maintains a cult following
posted by Mothlight at 6:20 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]

I realize I probably should have linked up the supporting YouTube evidence for that last one. I'm sure there must be others.
posted by Mothlight at 6:22 PM on January 9

The Walking Dead had this guy.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:29 PM on January 9

But frankly, it's because having a beard makes it harder to apply makeup, and applying a fake beard is just an extra step that's not strictly necessary.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:33 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]

I think there's at least two in the Shaun of the Dead zombie crowd shot found in this article.

Reasons for this phenomenon include a) a lot of people already don't have beards b) makeup is difficult enough, particularly for mouth prosthetic work, which you'll see on a lot of closeup zombies c) people with beards don't want to get fake blood and goop in them, so they shave them off.
posted by zamboni at 7:06 PM on January 9

The head zombie from Day of the Dead, Big Daddy.
posted by zamboni at 7:21 PM on January 9

My housemates tell me there is a bearded man in the farmhouse scene of 28 Days Later, and some bearded zombies in 28 Weeks Later. I can't confirm this, but hope that helps.
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:09 PM on January 9

A bearded, ginger not-super-zombie-looking zombie in Game of Thrones, Season 2 finale. Technically, he's a wight but whatever. He's a reanimated dead guy. The guy on the horse also has a beard, but he's supposed to be a white walker not a wight/zombie.
posted by mhum at 11:59 PM on January 9

Just as a random bit, I try to do pretty involved make-up effects/costumes for Halloween (this year involved having half of my face torn off, for example). Halloween, and for the week after is the only time of the year my goatee goes on vacation, as the workaround for latex effects over facial hair is just too big a hurdle for this amateur.
posted by Ghidorah at 1:31 AM on January 10

The twins from Shaun of the Dead
The main zombie from The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
The plumber from The Beyond
At least one in George Romero's Survival of the Dead
posted by permafrost at 3:41 AM on January 10

There's Professor Woodchuck Walker from the Walking Dead.
posted by donpardo at 6:42 AM on January 10

One of the SotD twins even makes it into the promotional material, with beard.
posted by biffa at 7:15 AM on January 10