Costumes speak for zombies in a way zombies themselves, dead-eyed and reduced to grunts, no longer can.

"A good zombie costume will tell the story of how that person turned into a zombie," Sacramento makeup artist David Ainsworth said.

For instance, a single bite to the neck signifies a quick, sneak attack by one's zombie "maker."

Blood smeared all over the body suggests both popularity as a flesh-eating subject and success as an attacker.

The finer points of zombie makeup and accouterment will be debated and judged this evening at the "zombie makeup war."

Ainsworth and other makeup professionals will work on models in bids to become in-house artist at Callson Manor, the Roseville haunted house that sets up shop every Halloween season.

The public can watch the contest, running from 6-8 p.m., in the parking lot of Sub Q Piercing and Tattoo on I Street.

At 9 p.m., people who have made up themselves as the undead will gather at Sub Q for the annual zombie walk, starting at 10 p.m.

The events kick off the Trash Film Orgy, the horror, cult and exploitation film festival that begins at midnight at the Crest Theatre with the 1985 zombie movie "The Return of the Living Dead" and runs for five more Saturdays.

The "makeup war" winner will be announced on stage at the Crest, before the movie.

Ainsworth, a veteran of Trash Film Orgy and TFO Productions' locally shot movies, creates "practical effects" (non-computer-generated), including props and makeup, through his Alchemy Fx business.

Zombie makeup is only as good as what surrounds it, Ainsworth said.

"You can have really great zombie makeup, and then have perfect hair," he said. He ensures all zombies he helps create maintain an overall straggly, hungry quality.

On the zombie walk, professionally made-up zombies will blend with lay-zombies. Last year's zombie walk attracted more than 1,000 marchers, Ainsworth among them.

"It is really neat to see the following of a certain horror genre (join together)," he said.

Dress and makeup standards are relaxed for casual, weekend zombies creating DIY ensembles.

"You can just put whatever you want on your face, shred some clothes and walk around with your buddies," Ainsworth said.

Tonight's walk from Sub Q to the Crest on K Street is shorter and starts later than last year's walk, which took participants through Second Saturday crowds in midtown.

Though the 2010 event came off without a hitch, its sheer volume of marchers prompted a revised route.

"We don't want any of our pretend zombies to get hit by real cars," said Christy Savage of Trash Film Orgy.

Every zombie walk includes fatigues-clad crowd minders to ensure flesh-eaters keep to the prescribed, murderous path.

"We call it crowd control for the undead," Savage said with a laugh.

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