History Main / TheLivingDead

* Creator/UweBoll's [[Film/AloneInTheDark2005 adaptation]] of ''Franchise/AloneInTheDark'' had a character get killed, and as the heroes were leaving her body the actress starts getting up a split second before the camera cuts as if the scene was over.

* Parodied in the {{Smosh}} video ''If Scary Movies were Real.''
-->'''Ian (in a {{Saw}} torture chamber):''' Why is that dead body breathing?

Compare PlayingATree. See EyeAwaken, RaisedHandOfSurvival, or FingerTwitchingRevival for when the ''character'''s supposed corpse moves to reveal they're [[NotQuiteDead not as dead as previously thought]].

Compare PlayingATree. NotQuiteDead is when the ''character'''s supposed corpse moves to reveal they're not as dead as previously thought.

Compare PlayingATree.

* In the premiere episode of ''{{Climax}}'', an anthology of dramatic adaptations performed live, the corpse actually got up and walked away, unaware that the cameras were rolling. [[http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/deadman.asp See this Snopes link.]]

* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', as [[spoiler: Thor cradles Frigga's body after she was slain by Algrim]], you can see [[spoiler: her breathing (accentuated by her belt pouches moving up and down)]].

There are two ways to simulate corpses on TV -- get a good dummy or model, or use a live actor.

The problem with using a live actor is that they're a live actor. Live actors need to breathe. Either they hold their breath, the camera doesn't let you see their chest, or you get TheLivingDead -- when you see a corpse visibly breathe on camera. Having the corpse [[CarpetRolledCorpse concealed from view]] immediately after death can often help prevent this.

* Two cases in ''Literature/DalzielAndPascoe'' -- one involving a woman who had been dead for over a decade (she'd been embalmed).

** The fact that a prepared corpse in a funeral home looks nothing like a live person was evidently lost on the proprietors of that joke.

** "The Ark in Space" has people in cryogenic suspension kept in vaccuum formed shells around the set. Some can be seen moving in certain scenes.
** Not breathing, but equally revealing; in the episode 'The Unquiet Dead', a character opens a coffin and the corpse's eyes twitch noticeably. But to be fair, "The Unquiet Dead" is ''about'' dead bodies turning into reanimated zombies when they are taken over by the Gelth.
* One outtake of ''Series/TheXFiles'' had Scully declaring that a man was dead...just as he sneezed loudly. She continues to deadpan, "He's dead Mulder. He's dead and he's not coming back," as the rest of the production crew cracks up.
* Dutch {{Longrunner}} PoliceProcedural ''Baantjer'' had actors hired to play dead bodies and actual Dutch celebs would feature as stiff of the week.

* Seen in ''SantaSangre'' with the corpse of the Tattooed Woman, who's been stabbed absolutely full of holes but whose stomach is still very obviously moving with breath when Alma finds her.

** "Spearhead From Space" has a corpse on display as a waxwork (while the [[ReplicantSnatching waxwork replaces him and works for the Autons]]). The actor does a very good job of holding his breath, but can't resist subtly wobbling on his feet as he maintains his balance. A later scene shows Autons mowing down civilians at a bus stop, many of which are visibly moving and twitching an amount that's amazing they got away with.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has had many examples, especially in the Classic series where a combination of NoBudget preventing edits, [[TheyJustDidntCare actors who didn't care]] and a really high body count often metastises into this:

* Brazilian play ''Duas Mulheres e um Cadáver'' (Two Women and a Corpse) revolves around the wife and the lover of a murdered psychoanalyst meeting at his office after the death. In the original production, not only the corpse was a big man (abusing the actress who had to carry the actor all around) but remained with [[DiesWideOpen open eyes]] - the actor had to teach himself not to blink to be more convincing.

* Not breathing, but equally revealing; in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode 'The Unquiet Dead', a character opens a coffin and the corpse's eyes twitch noticeably. But to be tfair, "The Unquiet Dead" is ''about'' dead bodies turning into reanimated zombies when they are taken over by the Gelth.

* Two cases in ''{{Dalziel and Pascoe}}'' -- one involving a woman who had been dead for over a decade (she'd been embalmed).

* One outtake of ''TheXFiles'' had Scully declaring that a man was dead...just as he sneezed loudly. She continues to deadpan, "He's dead Mulder. He's dead and he's not coming back," as the rest of the production crew cracks up.
* Dutch {{Longrunner}} PoliceProcedural Baantjer had this and actual Dutch celebs would feature as stiff of the week.
* ''{{CSI}}'' used both dummies and living actors to play their corpses, and almost invariably during the scenes in which one of the investigators consulted the coroners, the "corpse" could be seen breathing if you kept an eye out for it. In one episode, the corpse even opened its eyes... then quickly closed them again.
** Parodied in a RobotChicken sketch, which had a corpse under a white sheet fart loudly and visibly.
*** This one may be a parody, but it's also TruthInTelevision: bodies can still exhale methane after death. And yes, that includes through farting.

* UweBoll's [[Film/AloneInTheDark2005 adaptation]] of ''Franchise/AloneInTheDark'' had a character get killed, and as the heroes were leaving her body the actress starts getting up a split second before the camera cuts as if the scene was over.

The problem with using a live actor is that they're a live actor. Live actors need to breathe. Either they hold their breath, the camera doesn't let you see their chest, or you get TheLivingDead -- when you see a corpse visibly breathe on camera.

* UweBoll's [[Film/AloneInTheDark2005 "adaptaton"]] of ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'' had a character get killed and as the heroes were leaving her body the actress started getting up a split second before the camera cut as if the scene was over.
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<<|DeathTropes|>>

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', at least one named NPC manages to keep visibly breathing/swaying slightly after dying in a cutscene.

* In {{Mass Effect 3}}, at least one named npc manages to keep visibly breathing/swaying slightly after dying in a cutscene.

* Not breathing, but equally revealing; in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode 'The Unquiet Dead', a character opens a coffin and the corpse's eyes twitch noticeably. To be fair though, that episode was ''about'' dead bodies getting up and walking around.