With a budget more than twice that of Dawn, Tom Savini was able to create special effects to match, pulling off some spectacular gags. Below you will find a SFX breakdown of all the major gags, including pictures where possible.

DR TONGUE

One of the more memorable zombies in Day was the one dubbed Dr Tongue who appears over the film's title. Savini said how he wanted to create a zombie unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, which it was, although the way it was shot dampened its impact. Shot against the sun, it is hard to make out any real features and instead just looks like a bloody mess. The zombie was an articulated puppet, operated by 5 men who controlled the facial movements with the head based on a mould of Savini's himself!

SHOVEL SEQUENCE

This cool effect was executed in virtually the same way as the machete was done in Dawn of the Dead. Blood tubing was placed through the handle of the shovel and came out at the bottom. The actors head was measured and the desired section of the shovel cut out, so that it would fit neatly around his head. For the first shot, the spade was drawn away from the actor quickly and then played in reverse; the second shot of the blood gushing from the zombies head was done (no prizes for guessing) using the blood tubing.