That’s how they created the Bloaters or Swollen from “The Last of Us” with no visual effects

In the universe of “The Last of Us” there are certain levels for the infected, the most harmless, as far as possible, are the Runners or Runners, and from there the scale of danger increases. If you have already seen Chapter 5 of the HBO adaptation, you will have already met the Bloaters or Swollen, one of the most implacable enemies, and of which we can now see how they were created without the aid of visual effects.

In the fifth chapter of ‘The Last of Us’ the Bloaters or Swollen debuted, the most advanced and dangerous infection known to date in the HBO adaptation. This enemy is famous for moving slowly, but they have a few tricks up their sleeves, such as increased stamina, more strength, and most worryingly, some kind of bombs that they drop and explode, destroying everything around them.

But despite being a rather incredible and terrifying being, to create the Bloater from ‘The Last of Us’ no visual effects are needed. For this, Barrie Gower was commissioned to design Swollen after seeing other famous practical works such as Vecna ​​​​​​from “Stranger Things” or the Night King from “Game of Thrones”, with which it was possible to achieve the final aspect of totally practical way.

Of course, there was really major makeup work involved in getting Swollen’s final look, plus the fact that Adam Basil, an actor tasked with bringing the enemy to life, were the elements in bringing these types of infected to the small screen. “We make it with foam rubber and expanded latex, which is very light. It’s almost like upholstery foam, a very spongy type of material,” Barrie told Variety.

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The technical challenges of making ‘The Last of Us’ Bloaters

To create the Bloaters, the makeup and production team had to make a full cast of Adam Basil, then build the rest of the prosthetic around that base. “Everything was molded and fused into separate sections: upper half, head, arms, legs,” says Gower.

But, like any dress in Hollywood, it has some complications, one of the most problematic has always been the zippers, which had to be adapted to the full prosthetic. One of them was across the back and the other around the waist: “Dangling mushroom pleats that hid zippers and snaps.”

And finally, on top of the overalls he had to pour a “gelatinous solution, which gave all the mushrooms a shine.” And that’s how the Bloater from “The Last of Us” came to life. Although he is one of the most fearsome enemies of this universe, the second season could surprise with the introduction of one, even more fearsome and menacing.