10 More Unexpected Transformations In Zombie Movies
9. Tarman - The Return of the Living Dead
George A. Romero may be The Zombie King, but Dan O' Bannon's The Return of the Living Dead deserves love, too. Rather than relying solely on actors to play the undead, the film crew used animatronics and puppets to make the brain-munching creatures look like pure nightmare-fuel.
However, nothing beats the design or big reveal of one zombie in particular. In the prologue, a toxin is released on a sealed cadaver, melting him down to the bone. After the toxin starts reanimating corpses, it isn't long before the whole town is infested with zombies.
During the third act, it's easy to forget all about the first infected corpse, making his reintroduction all the more disturbing. As Tina heads down to a warehouse basement where the toxin originated, she turns to the doorway after hearing a noise.
To her horror, Tina sees zombie zero, dubbed Tarman, leering at her. Reduced to a skinless glob, the bony revenant is undiminished in his pursuit for "brainssss".
The close-up of Tarman only lasts two seconds, but watching slops of gooey skin drooping off his face is a visual that nobody is likely to forget.