Anone know where I could buy a good starter kit for learning latex effects for zombies, creatures, monsters and the like?

nobody knows anything

I've also been interested in prosthetics, haven't done it yet though. This site has been my favorite: http://screamteamorder.stores.yahoo.net/screamteampr.html
Looks like you apply it with Spirit Gum and then paint the mask to your liking.

hmm, that looks like a good place to start.

I was hoping more for completely freestyle kit.

I don't know a good place to get a starter kit, but I know the monster lab.com (or something along those lines, might wanna google it) has a ton of great information on latex effects.

I know some very basic stuff. I took a stage makeup class in my old college. But that was geared towards theatrical performance and not film. However one of the students in the class had been doing makeup for 9 or 10 years, so he was showing me a lot of different things.

Latex modeling is a rather long and difficult procedure. We watched a video on the whole process in class, and that kid told me a lot about it. If you have no experience with that sort of thing Id suggest seeking someone who does to assist you. Or rather do it for you and you can assist them heh =]

However, for a cheaper and more acessible method you might want to look into sillicone. you can create some realistic looking cuts and skin molds using a combonation of two kinds of sillicones. My friend from class brought his in from home one class and did an ultra realistic gash running up my arm. You could even squeeze the "skin" or open it up. Thats how effective it was.