When The Last of Us fans think of Clickers, a few different adjectives might come to mind — namely, words like “terrifying,” “hideous,” and “disturbing.” “Beautiful” isn’t usually one of them. However, that’s exactly what Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in HBO‘s The Last of Us adaptation, thinks about the zombies. In recent interviews, she and Pedro Pascal shared their initial reactions to Clickers while filming the TV series.
What are the Clickers in ‘The Last of Us’?
Those who played The Last of Us video games know just how dangerous Clickers can be. For those who are new to the franchise, here’s what to know about the monsters. “Clickers” is the name given to people who are in the third stage of the Cordyceps brain infection. They have been infected with the mutated fungus for at least a year. By this point, the fungus has grown out of a Clicker’s skull and basically burst it open, rendering them completely blind. But that doesn’t make them any less of a threat.
Clickers were given that name because of the clicking sound they make to detect prey. This is a form of echolocation, as the sound bounces off the prey and alerts a Clicker to their location. So, anyone near a Clicker must stay extremely quiet if they want to avoid getting attacked. And if they do make a sound, they better be well-armed. Otherwise, it’s game over.
‘The Last of Us’ star Bella Ramsey is fascinated by Clickers
Despite their monstrous appearance, Clickers are fascinating creatures in Ramsey’s eyes. She told IGN that she finds them “sort of beautiful” — in a terrifying way.
“I think the beauty that they had, that was what was terrifying,” the 19-year-old actor said. “The whole fungus, [the] Cordyceps infection, is based on science. Theoretically, it’s possible, and that’s what’s also terrifying.”
In another interview with USA Today, Ramsey said she thinks about Clickers often now, and maybe a little too much.
Read Related Also: Carrie Underwood Says ‘Bullies’ Have Changed the Way She Uses Social Media
“I like how smart they are and how connected they are to each other; it’s very familial,” she said. “I’m probably loving on the Clickers a bit too much – every time I eat a mushroom now, I can’t help but think about them.”
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal said their first scene with Clickers felt very real
Ramsey’s Ellie and Pascal’s Joel encounter Clickers for the first time together in The Last of Us Episode 2. The creators of the adaptation, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, took great care to make the monsters as real as possible. Ramsey revealed that her fascination didn’t stop her from feeling scared as she and Pascal filmed the Clicker scenes.
“The horror moments in terms of the Clickers, it was so immersive that we didn’t have to try very hard,” she told Syfy. “These were real actors with real prosthetics and had movement coaching and incredible design. It was very immersive and very terrifying. The reactions that you saw from us were mostly real, so that was pretty easy, really, in terms of being scared.”
Pascal added, “When it came to very specific horror sequences, like the museum, it felt like being in the game. It was really insane, and visually, nothing left to the imagination.”
New episodes of The Last of Us drop every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. Check out the full release schedule for more details.
