Zombie (4K Restoration)

Before we begin, let's just go over this one more time: "Zombi 2" is actually just called "Zombie," but was marketed in most territories as "Zombi 2," because at the time George Romero's now-classic "Dawn of the Dead" was so big that the Italian film board and some others wanted to market the heck out of every zombie movie they could, so Fulci's movie, simply titled "Zombie" was changed to "Zombi 2," as in Italy, "Dawn of the Dead" was called "Zombi." Okay, got that? Long story short: "Zombi 2" is not a sequel to anything, and it's actually just called "Zombie."Now then, "Zombie" is truly worthy of its title. It pulls a total Tarantino in the first few minutes, showing something that won't occur until much later in the movie first which draws you in immediately making you say: "Wait, what? Why'd that happen?" The story is pretty simple, zombies run amok on a tropical island, a group of survivors fight them with disastrous consequences. But it's not so much the story that makes "Zombie" a masterpiece, but the cinematography and practical special effects which after so many years don't feel dated and can manage to make gore hounds like me twitch just a little, deep down inside. The "splinter eye" scene springs to mind immediately. Another great scene would be the "Zombie Versus the SHARK" scene, which I'm pretty sure is the most dangerous stunt ever put on camera-- a real actor in full zombie makeup fights a live shark underwater without the use of any breathing apparatuses for a very long scene that had to have taken several takes and somehow he came out okay. The movie is fantastically transferred to Shriek Show's two disc DVD set, which comes with your very own little poster for the movie!Criticisms, the dubbing springs to mind, first. The movie was filmed with largely Italian talent, which is cool, so were some of the best Westerns (or in this case, 'Spaghetti' Westerns) ever, but what's weird is, if you watch this movie closely, you'll see that the actors are sometimes dubbed and their lips sync, or that they do not sync. It took me awhile to figure this out, but from what I can gather, the movie was filmed mostly in phonetic English, then in certain scenes, some actors couldn't do that, so they were simply dubbed. But those who were speaking phonetically were still dubbed due to their thick accents. So, to put it simply, "Zombie" is a movie that was filmed in English, dubbed into Italian and then completely re-dubbed back into English. This is one thing that is fairly noticeable, not the point that it becomes so distracting that it takes away fun from the movie, but that it does make certain parts feel less immersive or emotionally intense. One other major thing, the box says the movie's runtime is "223 minutes," this is incorrect. The movie is about 94 minutes, the total runtime with two discs of special features is 223 minutes, so it's a bit misleading, but that's okay, too.There's a certain psychedelic nature to the film, not in the "Deep Red" sense, we never set foot in the irreal the way an Argento film might, but the movie feels like a weird trip after a little while. It's easy to lose track of what's going on depending on who is watching, and there are certain things that simply don't make sense for the sake of not making sense, like the zombie on the cover with all the worms in his eye comes out of a grave marked "Died 1500," it's a small wooden grave marker with chalk writing. I know Fulci wasn't exactly going for realism here (it's a movie about hungry walking dead people, after all) though every time I watch the film I have a hard time suspending belief with this scene, as the zombie comes out of a grave about three inches under ground, he's hardly decomposed for a five hundred year old corpse and on top of that my nit-picking nature has to ask if that grave marker is supposed to be the ORIGINAL grave marker that was put in the ground in the year 1500 or if it's supposed to be an updated marker put there by the caretaker of this, what I'm assuming is a Spanish War cemetery in the middle of a tropical jungle.It's little things like that about "Zombie" that get to me, but it's also those things that make it so much fun. And without spoiling anything, I have to say that the film's final scene is one of the ballsiest moves ever made by a set of low-paid extras and a director. The fact that they got away with the final shot of this movie without six dozen people dressed in full zombie garb getting detained is not only a miracle in and of itself, but proof that this film was meant to be. I don't want to give it away, but it's a fantastic visual.This film was followed by three sequels: "Zombi 3" (which is really "Zombie 2") then "Zombie 4: After Death" (which is actually "Zombie 3," in this case) and a prequel/sequel "Zombie 5: Killing Birds," ("Zombie 4, you see where I'm going with this) though the canonicity of that last one is heavily disputed, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that "Zombie 4: After Death" is definitely canonical to the series, especially considering the continuity "Zombi 3" takes in conjunction to this film.All in all, "Zombie" is one of the best zombie movies ever made, and it was followed by three 'sequels,' one of which was official, two which were not. I like to refer to these four films as the "Spaghetti Zombie Quadrilogy," as the next film in the series, "Zombi 3" is actually "Zombie 2." But we'll argue the semantics of the titles of these movies in another review. If you can find a copy of it (which isn't very hard, nowadays, circa 2014) "Zombie" is absolutely worth your time if you're a zombie movie fan, Spaghetti Western fan, or just a movie aficionado in general who happens to have a niche for Italian cinema.

The main setting is an obscure, uncharted and plague ravaged isle named Matool which is cursed by a most incredible and horrible phenomenon of obscure and inexplicable origin! Seems that the succumbed victims of the aforementioned pestilence are reviving as foul soulless creatures which commit atrocious acts of murder and cannibalism and threaten to amass into an inexerable horde which will overteem the the isle and, in the words of one character, "transform it into a wasteland of terror!!", . . thus setting the scene for some of the most brilliant, amazing, grisly, gruesome and horrifying scenes in the history of horror cinema!One particularly imaginative, visually stunning and powerfully shocking sequence takes place entirely underwater and depicts a skin divers confrontation with both a live shark and an apparently amphibious ghoul. The said shark appears first, thus establishing a sense of menace and impending peril ( so that one expects a shark attack on the skin diver to ocure ), then the divers subsequent encounter with the aquatic ghoul provides an unexpected and horrifying twist!Another amazing and horrifying scene, featuring very good acting, editing and make up effects work, is set in a graveyard and depicts a freshly revived corpse, with a hideous rotted visage, slowly rising, like an erecting penis, from the soil while a young girl observes visibly transfixed with intense amazement, revulsion and horror ( which is very convincingly conveyed by her facial expression ), the viewer cutting repeatedly between the two subjects all the while.Another very creepy and well done scene has a terrified woman urgently attempting to push a door closed, while another, yet unseen force pushes simultaniously from the other side. Then the viewer pans over to a close up of the doors gape, through which a rotted human hand, pressing against the door, is barely visible!In this same previously related scene, the zombie, having punched it's arm through a wooden vent in the door, grabs the womans hair and pulls her by her scalp. Then a large jagged splinter ( formed by one of the busted and protruding wooden shingles ) pierces her eye ( graphic close ups of the jagged wood puncturing and slowly demolishing the soft moist orbal tissue ),then breaks loose and remains deeply embedded in the eye of the now screaming woman! This scene is not only grisly and explicite ( which it certainly is indeed ) but, moreover, it also effectively demonstrates the zombies utter lack of pity and humanity ( they'll stop at nothing to gain their victim and sate their hunger, and will commit the cruelest enormity in the process of same ), thus making them more sinister and terrifying!The scenes depicting the plague victims ( set in a rather crude makeshift hospital converted from an old spanish mission ) are also very creepy, grotesque and disturbing. Particularly a scene in which a heap of bloody, bound and shoud-covered corpses are collectively dumped into a large grave, to the aural accompaniment of loud, ominous, haunting and very authentic sounding native chants, wails and drumbeats.Now, this movie gets routinely dismissed, by many reviewers, as a "rip off" or "imitation" of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead for the obvious fact that it features the same basic theme of contagious cannibalistic zombies but, none the less, this film really is a classic in it's own right. And, despite that standard old "rip off" allegation, it actually does have some elements which do distinguish it from Romero's zombie movies,.. like the island setting, voodoo theme, the rotted look of the zombies and much grimmer over-all tone. I've always thought that Fulci did basically the same thing with flesh eating zombies that Hammer studios did with the old Universal monsters ( Dracula, Frankenstien, The Mummy, Werewolf, Phantom of the opera,.. etc. ) or that Sergio Leone did with the western,.. . that is he took the basic theme and gave it a completely different and unique look, ambiance and mood,.. recaste it into a whole different meilieu, so to speak. And for that he definitely deserves his fair share of admiration and acclaim.The gore and make up effects ( by Gianetto DeRossi ) are certainly one of this films strong points. The zombies ( in divers states of disfigurement and decay ) are very realistic and frightening looking. They are also even better portrayed than in most other films. Though they ambulate very slowly ( as other reviewers have already noted ) they're also completely silent with no expression. They don't leer or stagger and make allot of noise ( grunt groan or go "Ehhh!.. Ehhhh!! .. Ehhhhhhh!!" ) like in other zombie flicks. These zombies actually seem to sort of sneak up on their victims. Approaching them very slowly, silently and sedately ( in a seemingly mesmerized or somnambalised state ), then suddenly BITING real quickly them when they get near, which makes them more creepy and frightening to me.The soundtrack and original musical score ( by Fabio Fizi and Giorgio Cascio ) is another of this films noteworthy qualities. Truly eerrie, nightmarish and, at times, even sensual,.. almost like a more macabre version of Tangerine Dream. And it perfectly suits the mood and imagery of this film. And, even despite these many alLegations, made by other posters, about "poor writing and bad acting", it actually does have some interesting plot elements and a few interesting characters and decent performances from some talented actors among it's cast. In particular, Richard Johnson as the scientist character who's trying obsessively to determine a "rational cause for the phenomenon" ( right,.. he is NOT a mad scientist "creating" the zombies, as some other "reviewers" have erroneously stated ) while scoffingly dismissing the natives assertions about "voodoo" and "demonism", and being driven increasingly perplexed and frustrated by his own futile efforts ( "Nothing fits!!!" ), and his terrified and distressed wife ( played by a certain Olga Karlatos, most recognizable from the 1980's blockbuster hit Purple Rain ) who just wants to depart the "damn island" before the ever-amassing menace overruns the place and claims her victim,. .. which it indeed does eventually ( she's the victim of the grisly eye puncturing related previously )!If you want a creepy, atmospheric and, oh yes, gruesome horror film ( and THOSE are qualities which I certainly value and admire in a horror flick ) then this is a flick that I would definitely recommend to you."Too late!! Too late!! It's a waste of time to lock the doors!! For they will be here soon, . . to destroy us,.. . ALL!!!!

Luci Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters is really the movie that put him on the map. This is a classic Italian horror zombie film. There are many great scenes and the gore is everywhere. The story starts in NY city USA and ends on a tropical island.The acting is up to par and does not go over board with the hysterics. But only one actor stands out and that is Richard Johnson a British actor who steals every scene he is in.The film is loaded with Zombies and many ideas and scenes will show up in future zombie flicks. The scene underwater with zombies taking on sharks is easily one of the great horror moments filmed in the genre.Lots of gore and a story that does not interfere with the action make this a classic zombie film to be in any collectors DVD library. Fulci fans will definitely want this and the Beyond as they are probably the director's best works. True classics

This is a review for the Blue Underground 4K two disc release of Zombie.I paid £30 for a 4K version of this which is advertised with a slipcase. I didn't receive a slipcase. Also, I knew when I opened the packaging that the disc case had broken inside as one of the two discs inside was moving around - not good when you are dealing with 4K discs. Sure enough, one of the case disc holders had broken into pieces. £30? - what am I paying for here?The discs themselves were covered in what looked dirt marks - you don't expect to have to clean discs on first purchase immediately upon opening the case. All this is not in the least bit reassuring when you first open the packaging for something new, and something you were looking forward to.

By the mid seventies, to the early eighties a series of notorious horror films were made, with amazing gore and makeup effects, the video nasty was born!. When these first came out on video they were unrated so you got the uncut versions, but soon the gloom brigade got wind and starting banning them one by one. Zombie Flesh Eaters being one of the most infamous if this, it was re released, but in heavily censored forms, thankfully in the past decade, someone has seen sense and finally we are able to get the uncut uncensored versions again. ZFE, really was the bench mark in gore and shock stakes for many inferior copies. A low budget film, but with decent actors, it still has the power to shock nearly 40 years on, a classic cult film that every horror fan must see, especially in this uncensored form

Used to love this stuff when younger so when I saw blue ray for decent price had to buy it. Watched it few nights back on projector quality good and looks uncut so you get the scene with the eye, but must admit had to fast forward through lot of it bit boring time not done it any favours will still keep in my collection but not sure if I will ever waste another another hour and 25 minutes watching it but might watch it with grandson when he stops over not sure what he will make of it though

Its fair to say that this movie ranks as the best zombie movie EVER, even better than Romero,s Dead Trilogy, and even if most people consider that sacrilegious, I stand by my statement. I have seen a lot of gory horror movies over the decades, but this beats them all due to the fact that it practically revels in the bloodshed by showing you much of it in glorious close up.As for the infamous eyeball puncturing scene, you may want to look away if your squeamish, because it still makes me squirm even today, and that's coming from someone who thought he had seen it all and was pretty much desensitized to horror. The picture quality is excellent, hardly surprising since they have refurbished it for this edition, and as a result it looks as if it was made only recently, rather than 36 years ago, hard to believe really.If you love horror, or zombie movies in general, this is an instant classic that you should add to your collection straight away, you won't be disappointed.