The story behind the Hung Zombie’s impressive, uh, bone temple.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opened in American cinemas on Friday, delivering enough gore, existential terror, and surprises to please fans of the offbeat horror franchise. There’s Ralph Fiennes, having the time of his life playing Dr. Ian Kelson as he dances to Iron Maiden and attempts to civilize a zombie like they’re Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. There’s Jack O’Connell, playing the psychopathic leader of a band of satanists dressed as the late British entertainer and sexual predator Jimmy Savile. And finally, there’s MMA fighter Chi Lewis-Parry reprising his role as Samson, the giant zombie with an equally giant schlong.

Samson, an “Alpha” zombie who has evolved in size thanks to the virus, was first introduced to audiences in last year’s 28 Years Later, and his manhood quickly became a sensation. “We Need to Talk About the Massively Hung Zombie,” read a headline in Vulture. “I’ll Say It: The Zombie in 28 Years Later Has a Massive Dong,” read another in Betches. The film was informally retitled 28 Inches Later, and soon the Ringer was asking, “OK, So the ‘28 Years Later’ Zombie Is Hung. What About All of the Other Movie Monsters?”

The sequel doesn’t wait long before putting Samson, and his shvantz, center stage, with Lewis-Parry as the ensemble’s fifth lead and his distractingly large todger as a key supporting player. To learn more about the work that went into the willy, I tracked down Victoria Holt, on-set prosthetic supervisor, and her colleague (and longtime partner) Stuart Richards, key special effects makeup artist. Having worked on both films under the supervision of creative supervisor John Nolan, they revealed from their home in London the extensive discussions and planning that went into Samson’s penis—and where it might be now. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

“I know they went through a process of showing various sizes, and I think Danny was always going for the largest.”

Slate: Tell me how you guys came to be in this line of work where you’re doing an interview inspired by a prosthetic zombie penis? How did you end up here?

Stuart Richards: When we got asked to do it, we heard the basic plot synopsis. And then you start to hear about the Alphas and about their big cocks. And then you hear about the Jimmies. Then you hear about all the other things that are happening, and you think, How does this work as a cohesive story? And then it’s put together, and it makes total sense.

Victoria Holt: I think the workshop build began around February 2024 and I think we were shooting on set come May. And then we shot the first one, and we had maybe a two- or three-week gap before shooting the second one. The workshop only had one week off.

So when you get the script and you’re introduced to these new Alpha zombies, what happens next? Tell me about the discussions you start having about Samson.

Holt: Well, that would’ve been mainly with John and [director] Danny [Boyle]. Danny was very much wanting an alpha penis. David Darby was the concept designer and sculptor. I know they went through a process of showing various sizes, and I think Danny was always going for the largest.

Richards: It had to balance with the rest of his physical presence. Not only was that part of his body accentuated, but his thigh muscles were increased, his traps were increased. He’s already a big guy anyway, but these were additional things.

It just became normal for us, though, because we’d obviously spend hours in the morning doing his makeup, and in that time he was effectively in his naked prosthetic. The first few days were quite funny because we didn’t know where to look.

Obviously in these movies, gore is used to shock. But in both movies, nudity itself is used to shock. Do you think it would have had the same shock impact without this massive size you were working on?

Richards: I think it plays a key part in the story. I think there’s justification for all these things.There was an understanding that some were naked because they were older infected, and some wore half-torn and shredded clothing, and then some were even newer. And obviously, Samson had been out in the wild for a long time, so there was a justification for him to be naked. But there’s a shock factor when he’s established. The first time you see him, you think, Oh, my God!

Tell me about the sculpting process for the prosthetic. Were you involved in that? When did you come into the process?

Holt: We came into the process when we were at the testing stage, so that would have been all to do with John Nolan and David Darby. I know David had some 3D images that would have been presented to Danny, and that had this color coding with which bits would be prosthetics and what were enhancements.

The penis did actually present quite a technical challenge. Even though we laugh about it, my fear on set was the moment when we had to strap it down when Chi was running so it would appear natural. There were so many moments when it wasn’t acting as we wanted it to. We’d lose a connection. We’d just be like, “Oh, the penises!” I remember the first day on set and thinking, Oh, this is what it’s going to be like every day.

What do you mean it wasn’t acting as you wanted?

Holt: Sometimes the connection would break under the force of Chi’s running and then you just have this loose, large penis flapping around!

Richards: And that lends itself into being a comedic thing, and obviously that’s what you don’t want. It happened once and we vowed for it to never happen again.

So what was it made of?

Richards: Silicone.

And I’d imagine that because it’s dangling and loose, it makes it more challenging than other forms of prosthetics which are closer to the skin?

Holt: Exactly. You just want nothing to scream that it’s not real. You want it all to move naturally. We had eyes and we were just watching all the time. But Chi was an absolute—we really couldn’t have asked for a lovelier, nicer guy. He really is such a gentleman and such a star.

Richards: The fact that we’ve kept a friendship since the last movie. He brought the energy at 2 o’clock in the morning.

I was going to ask how long it took each day to put him in costume.

“I remember just a sea of penises in the workshop.”

Holt: His look changed throughout the whole journey. In the beginning, I think we were around seven hours. That’s with hair and makeup as well, because he had a full beard laid on and a wig and various other prosthetics. But I think towards the end of The Bone Temple where he’s wearing less pieces, we got that down to about five and a half hours. He would just come on with consistent positivity and energy every day. I’ve never known it. We’d have an obligatory dance. We’d get the momentum up. I guess it’s to do with his history of getting psyched before a fight.

How many versions of the penis did you have to make, given it sounds like it was going to get damaged running around?

Holt: I have no idea, but I remember just a sea of penises in the workshop. At one point, we had to do a log of what we had, and there were a lot of penises.

And is there a point when you’re looking through the workshop and seeing this “sea of penises” that you think, How did my career end up here?

Richards: It’s something we’re very familiar with. It’s something that we’ve done quite a few times. It’s actually becoming more common now. It’s easier for people. It makes everyone more comfortable because they’re not dealing with real nudity.

You’re talking about U.K. laws that say there can’t be real nudity if there’s a child on set, so you need fake nudity?

Holt: Exactly.

But you’re saying that even in non-zombie movies, it’s more common for actors to prefer to have fake genitalia attached to them so they’re not embarrassed?

Richards: Yes, it avoids awkward questions.

So when you were working on Samson, did you have the sense that this was going to be such a big point of conversation?

Holt: For us, it just became part of Samson. There wasn’t that much emphasis. We were covering so much of Chi that it was just another element that went on to get us done and out and ready on set. I think everyone on set felt the same after a week or two. It was just the norm. But when there were children around, we would have a cape or something.

Richards: I never considered how much of a key factor it had been, and then Chi would send me various articles. And it’s article after article after article! But we just became so blasé that we never really focused on it at all.

I assume you’ve both seen Bone Temple at this point. Tell me what’s it like to watch a movie that you’ve both worked on. Are you able to get into the fantasy of the film or are you sort of watching for your own work and critiquing your own stuff?

Holt: I personally always get absorbed into films, and my palms were sweating and I was just going with the ride. But we’ll always give each other a little nudge if we’re happy. Like, “Oh, that was good. We’re very happy with that.” We always thought it would be good but it exceeded all expectations. It’s a masterpiece from both Danny and [Bone Temple director] Nia DaCosta. We’re so proud to have been part of it.

It’s awards season, and my editor and I were both shocked that your team was overlooked for the Oscars shortlist. Do you feel like you were robbed?

Holt: It’s a shame. But I guess it’s a hard one with horror. It was such an incredible crew of people throughout the whole movie. It was hard, but we had such a great time on it. Also, we couldn’t really put too much out there about Samson because certain things are spoilers. So there’s an element of timing that plays a part.

Richards: Next year!

Last question: Where are the zombie penises now?

Holt: Good question! I thought about that the other day and I was like, “Where are they?!”

Richards:You know that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the ark is wheeled into a big warehouse? They’re in a brown wooden box somewhere! Or they might be on somebody’s mantelpiece.