Zombie Holocaust (aka Dr. Butcher MD Medical Deviate in the United States) is a film that capitalizes on the success of the now cult classic cannibal and zombie films of the late 70's and early 80's such as Zombi 2, Cannibal Ferox, and Burial Ground etc. The movie begins with a mysterious man stealing body parts from cadavers in a New York hospital for a "late night snack." What is with these Italian zombie films and New York connections anyways? The man is eventually discovered and promptly flings himself out of the hospital window before anyone can question him. Upon investigating his body we discover that he bears markings that link him to a native cannibal tribe on an island off of the South American coast (here we go again) and our leads are sent to investigate. Ian McCulloch (of Zombi 2 fame) plays Dr. Peter Chandler (Peter...also in Zombi 2...weird) and reprises his role as a zombie slayer and travels with anthropologist and medical student Lori Ridgeway (Alexandra Delli Colli) to the island to meet with Dr. Obrero (Donald O'Brien) whose questionable character leads to an interesting twist in the movies latter half. Upoon our characters arrival at the island they encounter cannibal mayhem, zombie carnage, and some crazy doctor antics that make for the aforementioned twist.
Zombie Holocaust falls into one of my favorite categories, Euro-zombie-trash! These movies usually contain an overabundance of gore, nudity, bad acting, and a plot with enough holes to embarrass a slice of Swiss. Zombie Holocaust does not let down in any of these categories except acting; the acting here is fairly solid. GO IAN! The movie was released in America as Dr. Butcher MD as mentioned above and it contains a different opening. Despite common belief, that is the ONLY significant difference between the two films. The Dr. Butcher version contains an R rating but does not lack any of the gore in the Zombie Holocaust version. The Euro-cut is superior to me only because A) it is the original, and B) because the introduction spoils the whole zombie revealing that remains kind of mysterious in Zombie Holocaust until about halfway through the movie. You find yourself wondering how the will fit in them BAM! There they are. Things to look forward to in Zombie Holocaust include some really well done gore scenes including some eyes being ripped out and eaten, graphic disembowelments, a machete to the head, some likely unsanitary surgeries, and the grand-daddy of them all here, an running outboard boat engine propeller to the head of an attacking zombie! Oh... and the nudity, there is plenty of that!
The version of the movie that I own comes from Shriek Show (a division of Media Blasters) and has both crisp image and sound, despite the atrocious dubbing! I still don't understand why we can't just get the original language tracks with English subtitles!? The movie came as part of the highly recommended Zombie Pack 2 (along with Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror and Flesh Eater). Shriek Show, as usual, packed this one with extras including both American and German trailers, an extensive poster and still gallery, an interview with the EFX director, the opening segments of the US release with commentary, and a slew of trailers for other zombie and cannibals flicks of the era. This movie is something that any true zombie/cannibal aficionado should have in there collection. It is comparable to Zombi 2, so don't be surprised if some of the zombies or the sets look the same.
Overall, if you are a fan of zombies, cannibals, Ian McCulloch, extreme gore, movies with mad scientists/doctors, or a combination thereof, you should check this out. An overall excellent flick in my opinion.
Zombie Holocaust falls into one of my favorite categories, Euro-zombie-trash! These movies usually contain an overabundance of gore, nudity, bad acting, and a plot with enough holes to embarrass a slice of Swiss. Zombie Holocaust does not let down in any of these categories except acting; the acting here is fairly solid. GO IAN! The movie was released in America as Dr. Butcher MD as mentioned above and it contains a different opening. Despite common belief, that is the ONLY significant difference between the two films. The Dr. Butcher version contains an R rating but does not lack any of the gore in the Zombie Holocaust version. The Euro-cut is superior to me only because A) it is the original, and B) because the introduction spoils the whole zombie revealing that remains kind of mysterious in Zombie Holocaust until about halfway through the movie. You find yourself wondering how the will fit in them BAM! There they are. Things to look forward to in Zombie Holocaust include some really well done gore scenes including some eyes being ripped out and eaten, graphic disembowelments, a machete to the head, some likely unsanitary surgeries, and the grand-daddy of them all here, an running outboard boat engine propeller to the head of an attacking zombie! Oh... and the nudity, there is plenty of that!
The version of the movie that I own comes from Shriek Show (a division of Media Blasters) and has both crisp image and sound, despite the atrocious dubbing! I still don't understand why we can't just get the original language tracks with English subtitles!? The movie came as part of the highly recommended Zombie Pack 2 (along with Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror and Flesh Eater). Shriek Show, as usual, packed this one with extras including both American and German trailers, an extensive poster and still gallery, an interview with the EFX director, the opening segments of the US release with commentary, and a slew of trailers for other zombie and cannibals flicks of the era. This movie is something that any true zombie/cannibal aficionado should have in there collection. It is comparable to Zombi 2, so don't be surprised if some of the zombies or the sets look the same.
Overall, if you are a fan of zombies, cannibals, Ian McCulloch, extreme gore, movies with mad scientists/doctors, or a combination thereof, you should check this out. An overall excellent flick in my opinion.