ENNIS, Montana – The critically acclaimed crime drama series “True Detective: Night Country” has captivated audiences with its chilling storyline and intriguing characters. One of the most haunting elements of the show is the cluster of frozen corpses, known as the “corpsicle,” that serves as a central mystery. The bodies, discovered in the Alaskan barrens, are a gruesome sight, showing signs of extreme frostbite, ruptured eardrums, burnt corneas, and self-inflicted wounds. As the fictional Ennis Police Department investigates the deaths at the Tsalal Arctic Research Station, led by Chief Liz Danvers (played by Jodie Foster), they dub the block of corpses “a giant block of flesh” and a “corpsicle.”
The creation of the corpsicle was the brainchild of writer and director Issa López, who drew inspiration from her dark imagination and sense of humor. The task of bringing the horrific formation to life fell to Dave and Lou Elsey, the series’ prosthetics creators. The Elseys, known for their work in supernatural and menacing projects, including “Dracula” and “Ghost Rider,” were immediately intrigued by López’s concept. They referred to the mass of bodies as the “corpsicle” from the start and worked closely with López and production designer Daniel Taylor to bring it to fruition.
Filming took place primarily in Iceland, where the Elseys, who are based in the UK, assembled the corpsicle components in coffins before shipping them to the filming locations. The ice rink where the unveiling of the corpsicle takes place, Reykjavik’s Skautahöllin í Laugardal, was transformed with American flags and signage to match the show’s setting. The corpsicle, weighing over a ton, was placed at the center of the rink, surrounded by real compounded snow, plastic ice pieces, and polystyrene to mimic the stages of melting.
The creation of the corpsicle required intimate involvement from the actors playing the deceased scientists. They stripped down to their underwear and acted out their poses of frosty agony at Pinewood Studios outside London. The Elseys used the actors’ performances to create miniature models and digital sketches that guided the final construction of the prosthetics. Detailed casts were made of the actors’ heads, hands, feet, and teeth, capturing every detail required for the bodies to resemble the actors themselves.
The level of realism was a unique challenge for the Elseys. Unlike typical prosthetics work, the bodies needed to be completely naked and accurate representations of the actors. Every hair on their bodies, from the eyebrows to beard stubble, had to be recreated meticulously. The bodies were stitched with individual hairs to match the actors’ body hair patterns.
In addition to the main corpsicle, an extra prosthetic arm was created for a scene in which the arm snaps off a dead man and reveals the only survivor. The real actor, Þorsteinn Bachmann, was fitted with the prosthetic arm, and his performance was enhanced with dentures and makeup to depict the horrifying frostbite he endured.
The production team went to great lengths to ensure authenticity and conducted extensive research on frostbite and its effects on the human body. Medical papers and images of severe frostbite were studied to capture the realistic damage that exposure to the Alaskan winter would cause. The level of detail and commitment to realism extended to using a glaciologist with expertise in ice core drilling as a consultant on the show.
Despite the seriousness and dark nature of the subject matter, lighthearted moments did occur on set. The crew couldn’t resist taking selfies with the corpsicle, and even the actors joined in on the fun. However, the stark reality of the bodies’ state weighed on everyone involved and served as a constant reminder of the horror they were portraying.
The corpsicle remains an enduring mystery on the show, and its fate after filming is uncertain. Stored in a hidden location in Iceland, the haunting creation may one day surprise someone who stumbles upon it. For now, the corpsicle stands as a testament to the meticulous work of the Elseys and the entire production team in bringing a chilling presence to “True Detective: Night Country.”