Gore maestro Greg Nicotero's zombie makeup works to chilling effect in The Walking Dead, giving the highly anticipated television show's lumbering parade of reanimated corpses a hideously haunting look. The series debut, which airs Sunday on AMC, proves long on pokey exposition and short on surprises, but delivers the gruesome goods every time the zombie action lurches into high gear. The Walking Dead's post-apocalyptic landscape shines thanks to movie-quality cinematography, especially when the camera pulls back to reveal car-littered freeways reminiscent of The Road. And although the near-catatonic state of shock exhibited by lead character Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln) wears thin, new characters introduced in the pilot's third act suggest the show could gain momentum as it delves deeper into the source material provided by Robert Kirkman's graphic novel series. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the zombie stars of The Walking Dead, which airs Sundays at 10 p.m./9 p.m. Central on AMC. (Spoiler alert: Minor plot points follow.) Above: Zombie Close-Up This zombie features makeup by special effects artist Greg Nicotero, consulting producer on The Walking Dead.

Female Zombie Why is this zombie hungering for human flesh? In Episode 1 of The Walking Dead, titled "Days Gone By," cop Rick Grimes wakes up from a shoot-out to find himself in a deserted hospital surrounded by corpses. Venturing into the wasteland outside, he looks for his missing wife and son but instead finds wandering "walkers." The show skips explanations for the outbreak.

Evolution of a Zombie, Part 1 Makeup artist Greg Nicotero and his team often arrived at dawn to apply makeup to the Walking Dead actors in time for the first shoot of the day.

Evolution of a Zombie, Part 2 Oscar-nominated filmmaker Frank Darabont, who wrote The Shawshank Redemption and is now producing The Walking Dead, auditioned 150 actors before picking the people who would portray zombies.

Evolution of a Zombie, Part 3 Makeup artist Greg Nicotero had plenty of practice at creating monster faces. Previous credits for his KNB EFX Group include Drag Me to Hell, Pulp Fiction, The Hulk and Sin City.

Tooth Decay In keeping with classic lore, humans in The Walking Dead who get bitten by zombie teeth die temporarily, then comes back to "life."

The Gaunt Look Producers Frank Darabont and Greg Nicotero had a specific look in mind during their casting sessions. "Our zombies are tall, thin and very gaunt-looking," says Nicotero. "It was a constant battle to keep the zombies looking good. The hot weather meant we were always going around doing touch-ups."

Learning to Lurch Before filming began, actors participated in a three-day "Zombie School." "We taught them minimalist, simplistic movement," explains producer/designer Greg Nicotero. "It was fascinating to see how each person had a different idea on how they thought zombies move."

An Advanced State of Decomposition For casting The Walking Dead's zombies, "Half the battle is finding faces that have a lot of character," producer Greg Nicotero said. The extras who portrayed these zombies are from the Atlanta area, which also served as the setting for 2009 movie Zombieland.

Hungry for More "I've wanted to do my take on zombies ever since I saw George Romero's Night of the Living Dead — the 1968 black-and-white version," said Frank Darabont, director of The Walking Dead's pilot episode.

Zombie Down In The Walking Dead debut, this legless zombie emits a raspy gasp as she crawls around a park.

Group Attack "They may not seem like much one at a time, but in a group — all hungry — watch your ass," says The Walking Dead character Morgan Jones (portrayed by Lennie James from Snatch). In the show's opening "Days Gone By" episode, Jones agonizes over whether he should shoot his wife, dressed in the nightgown.