Dead bodies are uncanny

Claymations are creepy. Even when they are cute they still look just wrong enough to be… weird. It could be the texture of the material or the size of the set. Perhaps the uncanny valley is evolutionary. Maybe stop-motion animation that tries to mimic human features can be disturbing in the way a dead body is disturbing. Have you ever been to a funeral and looked into the casket? It’s almost your loved one but it’s not. There's something off. The color and texture of their skin, their stillness. The body is room temperature but it feels cold to you after experiencing bodies at 98 degrees your whole life.

There are all sorts of biological reasons that would push us to be disturbed by dead bodies. The dead are filled with bacteria, they can spread disease, contaminate nearby environments and water sources. During the Black Death, dead bodies rotting in the streets exacerbated the pandemic. Dead bodies also have the ability to attract animals and pests. Such as William Bosman's account of sharks following in packs behind slave trade ships.

And the idea of the living coming back to life, at least within Western cultures, can be just as disturbing as death itself. Think zombies, ghosts, mummies, and vampires that rise from coffins. There is something very disturbing about bringing life to something that should be dead. Whether it be watching screws crawl around like bugs or bugs crawl around like people, it’s just not right and our brains know it!

I think stop-motion artists have really embraced this element of "uncanniness". Do you remember when this weird claymation went viral. It's really bizarre but also calming at the same time. I remember the first time I watched it in full it almost brought me to tears with it's creepy but comforting message that you are going to be okay. Even bizarre, disturbing things can be utterly fascinating and impossible to turn away from.