Despite being an overall upbeat episode last night, The Walking Dead still had a pretty high body count. You can”t create a cohesive post-apocalyptic community without breaking a few eggs…or something. But just how did the show pull off that one gruesome effect? Executive producer and SFX wizard Greg Nicotero took to social media to explain.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE MID-SEASON PREMIERE OF THE WALKING DEAD BEYOND THIS POINT.
After getting off to a great start – all things considered – everything took a turn for the deadly when Sam lost it mid-zombie escape. The moment spiraled out of control as one after the other, the entire Anderson family went down. The only problem? Jessie was still holding Carl”s hand, forcing Rick to hack his pseudo-girlfriend”s arm off to save his son. The Walking Dead has never shied away from gore and this was no exception. But how did they make it work?
With a high-tech version of the hand-clasped wax hands you can create at your local Renaissance Fair.
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After the cast was made, SFX artists worked their make-up magic to make the replica hands look like the real deal. The results were pretty spectacular. And now you know!
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The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC.