Serbia's First Zombie Walk
This Saturday saw the first Serbian zombie walk take place in central Belgrade, promoted under the name “The Day of the Walking Dead.” Organised as part of the three day long Festival of Serbian Fantastic Film that hit Belgrade this weekend, the zombie walk was its most public event. A team of local experts who work on horror movies in Serbia gave the special effects zombie treatment to around a hundred and fifty people, who stepped forward to be squirted with blood for an anti-makeover that's fresh from the crypt. The walk commenced in the city's main meeting spot, Republic Square, and then took a circular route which saw zombies of all descriptions staggering and moaning through alleyways, flooding escalators, and crawling out of subways.
Bystanders were treated to the spectacle of a zombie swinging a chainsaw; an exploded jaw hanging with seared flesh and dripping blood; another undead carrying their exposed intestines while giving them the occasional nibble; and a tomato-eating zombie-scientist who drew the crowds outside the Dom Omladine cultural centre and got them cheering with her bulging eyes and enthusiastic feeding performance. Shop assistants along the route reacted either with a smile or with dismay. Around the midway point, low growling cries of “Popcorn!!”rose up as the sea of entranced zombies surged towards one of Belgrade's popular popcorn stands, forming a crowd around it with their emaciated purple arms waving in the air. It was a traffic-stopping sight and a new form of live entertainment for the people of Belgrade, but one that compliments the horror films being produced in Serbia in recent years.
Still and motion footage of the action from within the crowd was captured for use by FOX as part of their promotion of the latest episodes of TV series “The Walking Dead.” Similar zombie events have been held worldwide in recent years, including in Latin America, the UK, Slovenia and the USA. Aleksandra Mitrovic, special effects artist, said: “It was really hard work making up 150 people in the limited time, so some zombies looked better than others. But the effort was well worth it – when we went outside at the end to scare people that was cool. I hope that the zombie walk will continue every year, and that the next one will be a longer walk with more participants... we're aiming for 9000 zombies!”
Photographs courtesy of Vlad J
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