By day, Gina Duckett is a psych examiner for the R-I School District. She also moonlighted as a professional zombie for Framework Productions’ horror flick “HERD,” which filmed in Poplar Bluff throughout April.
Early in the shooting process, the Daily American Republic and Poplar Bluff Realty organized a drawing with Framework Productions for the prize of a free zombie makeover. Duckett, who noted she rarely has luck in contests, was shocked and excited to win.
“It was definitely a once in a lifetime chance,” she said.
So on the dark and eerie night of April 7, Duckett joined a swarm of around 30 extras at Framework Production’s staging area in the Daily American Republic building for the first round of downtown filming.
Their transformation began at 6 p.m. with a trip to the wardrobe department to give everyone’s clothes a layer of grime and fake blood. The makeup process itself, which included latex facial prosthetics to illustrate the zombie sickness, wrapped up around 11:30 p.m.
Duckett was impressed with how lifelike the prosthetic facial appliances were, but also found out why zombies avoid emoting.
“If you moved your facial muscles very much they would come loose, so of course zombies don’t smile very much,” she said.
Duckett was given a crash course on zombification before the midnight filming began and soon found herself shambling with the pros. She may even have made it on film, which goes beyond the original makeover prize. Extras in full makeup and prosthetics — like Duckett — were directed to the front of the pack to make the most of their grisly appearance.
“When we were shooting, they kept saying ‘Anyone with prosthetics, get up in the front’... So it’ll be interesting to see if I’m actually in the movie,” she said.
The entire experience gave her a new appreciation for the effort poured into movie productions, something audiences cannot always understand from a theater seat.
“One major thing that I learned from this experience: people sit down to watch a movie, and you’re sitting there maybe an hour and a half, two hours, and it’s over. And they (the filmmakers) make it flow. You don’t think about everything that’s involved in making that movie,” Duckett said, adding a scene might require 15 takes but the audience only sees the final cut. “I just never really thought about how much time, money that it takes to make a movie. It’s a long process.”
The horde of local residents who participated on and off camera, Duckett included, are eager to see the finished product. Duckett said her time on set was truly unforgettable.
“I had a wonderful time,” she said.
“HERD” is currently filming in other areas of Southeast Missouri and is scheduled to release online next year.
The central story of the film involves a woman trying to outrun her past, and becoming trapped between a zombie outbreak and warring militia groups in her hometown. The cast includes Corbin Bernsen of ‘L.A. Law’, Amanda Fuller of ‘Last Man Standing,’ Ellen Adair of ‘Bull,’ Timothy V. Murphy, who has had roles on ‘Sons of Anarchy’ and ‘NCIS: Los Angeles,’ and Jeremy Holm, who has been on ‘Blue Bloods,’ and ‘Madam Secretary.’
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