Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Horror Movies

The shonkiest zombie FX we've ever seen

Features
By Total Film published 27 October 2008

Less low budget gore, more no budget

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

For more horror content check out our Horror Week 2008 Hub

First up in horror week, the worst special effects we've ever seen in zombie films. It's a bit of a no-brainer given that the majority of films made about the undead were part of a canon of exploitation pictures made in the early to mid-Eighties by Italian mentalists with about 100 lira to spend on fake blood and pigs snouts.

At the time these gross out films were the hushed talk of the schoolyard, now they look like they were made by people of school age. Revel in their local hardware store production values and use them as a benchmark of the quality of the upcoming Horror Week content. More to come later...

Zombie Holocaust (1980)

Intended effect: Zombie gets his head caved in with an outboard motor.

What it actually looks like: A catering-sized hand blender being driven into a piece of pottery filled with melted chocolate.

Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)

Intended effect: A a zombie has an underwater fight with shark and gets his arm ripped off.

What it actually looks like: A man in a big fish tank, trying to ram a fake meat arm into a slightly bemused-looking shark's mouth.

Night Of The Zombies (1981)

Intended effect: Not really sure. Something to do with plastic skeletons and bubble bath.

What it actually looks like: Plastic skeletons being sprayed with bubble bath.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Zombie Lake (1980)

Intended effect: Zombies get cooked with a flamethrower.

What it actually looks like: Some men with a lot of lighter fuel on their jackets either sitting down or falling over, really slowly.

City Of The Living Dead (1981)

Intended effect: A woman is forced to puke up her intestines through mindpower.

What it actually looks like: A woman spitting out a big pile of pigs innards. The most shocking thing about this effect is that the poor actress had to hold that stuff in her mouth for any length of time.

Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)

Intended effect: A girl gets a big splinter in her eye.

What it actually looks like: A piece of wood being driven into a soft boiled egg. This 'notorious' scene of ocular trauma was considered so shocking by the British censors that it was cut from every release of this film until 2005.

Total Film

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Horror Movies
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
The Bride bombs at the box office with $13.6 million opening against a $90 million budget
 
 
Midnight Mass (2021)
Mike Flanagan's Exorcist movie adds 11 familiar faces from the Flana-verse
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem Leon actor says he's "cautiously optimistic" about upcoming film adaptation from Weapons director
 
 
Nina Kiri as Evy in Undertone
Undertone releases another creepy teaser, and it looks like there's more to the upcoming horror movie than we thought
 
 
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
The Bride earns mixed first reviews, as critics call it everything from "a modern classic" to "unholy mess"
 
 
M3GAN post dog attack in M3GAN 2023
After being pulled from the release schedule, M3GAN spin-off SOULM8TE sparks back to life with an R-rating by the MPAA
 
 
Latest in Features
Underside of Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop with glass viewing window and RGB fans
We could get a shock when 2026 gaming laptop prices are unveiled, here's what you need to know about buying this year
 
 
In Hitman World of Assassination, Agent 47 sits at the departure gate in an airport during the loading screen
After weeks spent locked into Hitman's Freelancer mode, I realize there's one vital thing 007 First Light needs to learn
 
 
Mario gadgets, accessories, and games on a blue background
The ultimate Mario Day starter pack, kit up for the plumber's big day
 
 
Glen Powell as Becket in How to Make a Killing
How to Make a Killing is Glen Powell's latest mid-budget movie, and I hope he never stops making them
 
 
Jensen Huang next to AI robot on stage at GTC 2024
Nvidia's CEO says "we created the modern video game industry," but all its push into AI upscaling has done is destroy good game optimization
 
 
Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby walking in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man ending explained: does Tommy Shelby die and will there be a new season?
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Battlefield 6
    1
    Battlefield 6 designers say developers have a "responsibility" to make games intuitive
  2. 2
    "The first track spoils the whole game": Clair Obscur Expedition 33 dev confirms it was filling your ears with spoilers
  3. 3
    Super Mario Galaxy Movie reveals Donald Glover as the voice of Yoshi and more new casting in a star-spanning trailer
  4. 4
    Reacher star Alan Ritchson says season 4 is coming this year: "It's by far the best season we've had yet"
  5. 5
    Clair Obscur Expedition 33 took inspiration from a surprising anime - Soul Eater creator's Fire Force

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...