Illinois - It's hard to believe that these scenes captured by a wildlife camera aren't part of some gory horror movie. But the "zombie deer" shambling along with a huge open wound on its back was all too real.

At first, the YouTube video seems unremarkable. The camera is pointed towards a leaf-covered forest path somewhere in southern Illinois. Seconds in, a buck shuffles into the frame and takes a couple of steps forward.

Then the bone-chilling horror comes into view. The buck is not doing very well – on the contrary, it's a miracle that the animal is still walking. Its entire back is one big, gaping wound.

With every sinew and muscle visible, the poor creature has become a living anatomy lesson. Clearly struggling to keep going, the buck still somehow manages to move on, passing out of frame.

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According to lifestyle website The Meat Eater, the camera belongs to local hunter Chris Evans, who also has an explanation for the buck's horrific wounds: "We think he got clipped by a combine while hunkering down [in] a cornfield being harvested," he wrote in the video's description.

Evans later added an updated in the comments section: "The zombie buck was found dead on the neighbors property a few days ago. Just the bones and antlers."