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| Also known as Zombie Flesh Eaters. What a great name! |
Many people have trashed this movie calling it garbage, or mindless gore. Me? I call it brilliant! (But I have such a weakness for the Italian zombie features!)
Lucio Fulci released this movie originally as Zombie 2, because Dawn of the Dead was released in Italy as Zombi and he wanted to make it an unofficial sequel. As such, it really scratches the itch of the whole Romero-style zombie-films. It sticks to the canon of the Romero 'Dead' movies, but with one notable variation: Fulci's zombies are not limited to the recently dead. He sees no conflict with reanimating conquistador corpses.
The movie starts with a great opening scene of an abandoned yacht drifting into New York Harbor and a huge zombie attacks the investigating police officers. The owner of the boat missing, his daughter launches a search to his last known whereabouts, a tropical Caribbean island called Matul. And there is the set-up. Obviously, the island is overrun.
Fulci has also perfected the much-copied emerging from the grave scene, with particular emphasis of the writhing worms. Man, he loved them writhing worms. Yes, this is a flat-out gore movie, with one of the most cringe-inducing eye-gouge scenes ever filmed.
Also, it has the so-awesome-it-has-never-been-done-before-or-since zombie vs. shark scene. So suck it, critics!
It is important to note that this is NOT the action-zombie, shoot 'em up of the Ving Rhames/Danny Trejo variety. It is a horror movie more in line with Night of the Living Dead than of Dawn of the Dead.
The ol' ZMR gives it a respectable score of 3.125, (out of 4.0,) but only because it doesn't have a heart.
Me? I would go a bit higher.
This, to me, could be filed under 'essential viewing.'
ZOMBIE
Ah, heck, have another!
ZOMBIE
(And, you didn't hear it from me, but I believe the film in its entirety can be found somewhere on YouTube, as well!)
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