The Thingborrowed authentic scientific equipment from Cal Tech (the Geiger-Muller counter, for example) o supplement its crude special effects, and electronics companies were consulted before filming.The heat of the flames hardened the mud into stone.The same curse afflicted Han""s army stationed around the palace.He and his military became imprisoned or trapped in hollow statues of terra cotta clay.The narrator concluded: "The curse must never be lifted or the Emperor will rise again to enslave all of mankind.Sarah killed the female zombie with her gun, and as Miguel yelled denials: "I didn""t do it," he was attacked by another male zombie who ravenously crunched into his forearm.Its opening, only a few months after WWII began in Europe, helped American audiences to identify with the war story and its theme of survival.