I Needed Something “Brain”less…

The last two weeks have been…trying.  They’ve been stressful and frustrating as well.  First my car broke down.  That isn’t SO bad, but then my dad, who isn’t in the best of health, went into surgery for 6 hours for bone spurs on the vertebra in his neck.  Then my mother shared some of her own bad news.

Having dealt with THAT, I needed to get away and enjoy something that would inspire and reinvigorate my creative mind to “boot up” once again.  Luckily, my friend Jennifer told me about the Zombie Crawl in downtown San Jose.  I was so bummed that I had to work the closing shift so I couldn’t get there at the actual start time.

I remember as a kid during Halloween one year trying to figure out what do be.  Several of my friends were zombies (this was around the time of the Night of the Living Dead relaunch) and some were vampires.  I ended up being a stupid ghost and feeling like a total turd.

As to what the actual “crawl” portion of the event is, I do not know.  I believe it’s a route that all the zombies take, but as I am a crawl virgin I am not sure.

In one of the large parking lots downtown, there were a large crowd of people doing various things but mostly milling about and checking out fellow zombies or getting a good spot for the public showing of Shawn of the Dead.  I since I couldn’t find my buddy, Jennifer, I assumed that she was out and about shuffling through the streets of the city.  After I get my initial sweep completed, I take a moment and grab some dinner while thinking of what I wanted to focus on.  Did I want to get a picture of as many of the zombies as possible?  Did I want to only focus on the big companies that were there?  or Should I just focus on what I found the best?

Ultimately, I decided that I wanted to show the ones that I found most impressive. Although there was a very, very tall man dressed up that held a sign saying “Zombies for Equality” which I thought was clever and hilarious.  Get it?  Equality because they’ll eat everyone! hahahaha…

So while some of the pics that follow are not just zombies, but I liked the work that when into their costumes.  But the ZOMBIES?? There were a few that were great, and I want to share.

These four military men are the newest undead “recruits.”

It’s a little steam punk and a little twisted.  I dig the “X”-eyed goggles.  The mouthpiece is pretty cool too.  It’s got a faux jaw on the right side (well, left side in the picture) It looked like it was burned into the leather of the mask.   The puppet is attached to a cane that has a trigger to pull and makes the mouth snap shut.

He offered to slice off a piece of grey matter for me, but I just couldn’t fathom eating brain jello.

While not technically a zombie, I couldn’t tell if this character was dead, undead, or other.  I think I would place him in supernatural.  Either way, still freaky enough where I wouldn’t want to wake up and see this thing. Would have liked it if this person wore some sort of gloves or painted some details on their hands to finish out the character.

She was FABULOUS!!! From the Tina Turner-esque wig to the totally punk rock costume she was completely IN it.   Her jaw pieces are completely hand made by her and are adhered to the area just around her mouth.  The top and bottom teeth are fully independent of each other.  One of the absolute best for sure.  But my favorite zombies of the night were:

These guys were so in character that when I asked for a pic the suit fella just kinda swung his arm to hit the other guy.  An up close look at the make up showed that it was much more than mere makeup.  There was texture throughout the surface and slight peeling.  The blood stayed constantly runny and glossy thanks to a fresh supply in the plaid zombie’s hand.  Good ol’ food coloring and corn syrup make for a perfect fake blood effect.

Since I didn’t have time to go home and get ready, I refused to go in a costume.  If there is one thing I can’t seem to do, it is to just half try to create a character.   I think that one Halloween turd left a left a lasting impression on me that it wasn’t as fun if I couldn’t be as creative as I really want to be.  If I find out when the next Zombie Crawl is early enough, I think I will take the whole day off just to work on my makeup.

Have you gone to an event like this in your city or town?  What was your experience like?  Is it more fun to dress up?  Lemme know what you think in the comment section below!