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Reviews
FleshEater (1988)
An above-average low-budget zombie-romp!
Flesh Eater (aka Revenge of the Living Zombies aka Zombie Nosh) is directed by and stars Bill Hinzman, the first zombie you see in Night of the Living Dead (the one that chases Barbara through the cemetery). The movie tells the story of a group of college teens who disappear into the woods one Halloween night for a little party. The farm they are residing on however was once the area of a group of people who practiced satanic rituals and when a farmer uncovers the grave of one of the corpses, it rises, attacks that farmers and kids and VOILA! Zombie mayhem!
There really isn't much to say about this movie as the plot line is almost identical to Night of the Living Dead. Don't be surprised if some of the sequences or *ahem ENDINGS! ahem* resemble Night of the Living Dead or other zombie films of the 70's and 80's. The acting here often receives a lot of criticism, but if you put the skill level with movies like The Dead Next Door, then you should be able to bear this (this seems like it even had a bigger budget). The movie contains some excellent gore scenes which was surprising as the movie only bears an R rating. Things to look forward to in this one included a nose being bitten off, a couple of hearts being ripped out, a pitchfork the to chest of a teenager, and a disturbing scene where a zombie attacks a little girl just about to begin her trick-or-treating run.
For some reason, this movie is one of the more disturbing zombie movies I own. I associate it with believability reasons. This film takes place in the woods and a small farm town around Pennsylvania. The area resembles many of the areas around my University here in New England and I think that it just stuck me as more frightening. I've always seen zombies in the tropical islands or the big cities, so for some reason, it was a bit scary to see them in my own "home turf." The version that I am reviewing is Flesh Eater from the Zombie Pack 2 released by Shriek Show entertainment. As I always recommend, GO GET THE ZOMBIE PACK 2 IF YOU LIKE THESE FILMS! I had always viewed this movie as the "least desired" of the three in the pack however I now all hold them with equal weight after viewing them all. This movie is a great low-budget zombie flick with tons of gore, nudity, and zombies! Do yourself a favor a grab a copy of this "under the radar" zombie flick and give it a view.
Zombi Holocaust (1980)
Cannibals? ...and ZOMBIES?! YES!
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.
Army of Darkness (1992)
Groovy.
Sam Raimi's third entry in the Evil Dead has certainly evolved from the intentions of the first. Whereas The Evil Dead is coined "the ultimate experience in grueling terror," this one is more righteously "the ultimate experience in horror with comedic medieval skeleton warriors-Bruce Campbell one-liners... and a boomstick!" The Army of Darkness seeks to take the comedy element of the series and put it at the forefront. When I view this I can't help but think of a mash-up between my dad's Three Stooges collection, Conan the Barbarian (not the one with Arnold!), and... well... any movie with Bruce Campbell!
Some people who have not ever seen this film will believe it to be a truly scary film as it is rated R and additionally due to the fact that it appears in the horror section of most rental stores. Do not be fooled though, there is only spots of language and I don't think that there is one jumpy scene in the whole movie (although the eyeball in the shoulder ALWAYS makes me squirm a bit) and it really doesn't feature much gore. The Army of Darkness is a culmination of the comedy element of Evil Dead 2 amplified 10x, tossed in a blender with the skeletons from Conan and a handful of mini-Ashes!
The movie picks right up where we left off in Evil Dead 2 with Ash and his Oldsmobile being transported back in time through a warp opened by the Necronomicon. He lands, and instead of being praised as savior like the end of 2 shows, he is questioned as one of King Henry's men and taken as prisoner back to the castle to be thrown into the pit. "Into the pit with those blood-thirsty sons of whores!" Ash manages to escape and must seek out the Necronomicon to return home. The movie unfolds at an unrelenting pace relying on action sequence after action sequence and more special effects than you can shake a boomstick at.
This movie is truly hilarious. If you enjoy slapstick comedy, Bruce Campbell, the concept of a man with a sawed-off shotgun and a chainsaw for an arm fighting hordes of skeletons and monsters, outrageous one-liners, early 90's special effects, and good movies in general, do yourself a favor and grab a bowl of popcorn and copy of Army of Darkness this weekend, you won't be let down.
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
Ignore the title completely and you may find it enjoyable.
When you view Day of the Dead 2: Contagium, you must not expect it to live up to the Romero trilogy. I mean, do you really expect this to stand up to them? I encourage you to forget the fact that the film is titled Day of the Dead 2, and rather look at it as Contagium. The film does rip off the title in attempts to capitalize off of Romero's successful dead trilogy, however this terrible marketing scheme should be overlooked as the movie can be otherwise entertaining. If you focus too much on comparing this to Romero's Day, then you will NOT like Contagium.
If you can manage to put the comparisons and notions of "homage" aside, then I believe you will have a good time with this movie. People claim it to be slow, however the movie just takes time to develop characters and a story, something people rightfully complain that low-budget zombie flicks forget to do. The movie has a unique set of characters in that they are mostly mental patients with the exceptions of a few doctors and the film additionally ensures you understand exactly how the zombie virus was spread. Contagium also takes a different approach to the zombie genre enabling some of the zombies to speak and communicate telepathically. It also shows and explains the characters going through the various phases of becoming a zombie as well. I normally consider myself a purist, preferring to see zombies shambling and making no noise other that a hungry growl (and they do this here too), however a change is welcome every now and then and that's what I found in Contagium. The movie contained some average B-movie acting (nothing extraordinary, and nothing nearly as bland as Zombie Night) but the gore and story is what made it stand out more for me. The scenes in the beginning and end were very gory featuring tons of gruesome munching. Perhaps the worst for me was in their transitional phases. I always hate seeing fingernails getting pulled off or peeled back! It is hardest thing for me to stomach for some reason!
I do need to point out some flaws in the movie. Although a welcome twist on the genre, there were some downsides to Contagium. The main problem, which hurt it's rating most for me, were the time jumps. One minute the characters are in the present, then the next, the screen displays two days ago, but before it goes back to present, they go back five days ago, then yesterday, then back to two day ago! It's quite confusing figuring out when exactly all these events are happening throughout the movie as the character make-up and dialog doesn't seem to always match up with the time shifts. A women gets pregnant within the movie and the typically nine-month process is somehow reduced to a day, two days, a week? However long the events in this movie took place? The film definitely needed something more in the way of organization. The bigger gore effects were fairly well done, however some of the minor make up effects (early zombie stages) reminded me squirting Elmer's onto my fingers when I was a child and peeling it back off!
Overall, if you can look at the film as something separate from Romero's trilogy you will most likely enjoy it. It contains a different twist on the genre so watch it with an open mind. Know though that you will still get and gore that every zombie-fan looks for in a film like this. If you expect that this really is a sequel/prequel/homage to Romero, you will be let down and will surely not like the film whatsoever because it isn't really any of those things. Due to confusions with time, the movie remains an average zombie flick in my eyes, but nothing like the absolute garbage that it has been made out to be. Trust me, there are many worse zombie movies than Contagium. Grab some pop-corn, some milk to strengthen those cuticles, and check it out!
Zombi 2 (1979)
Fulci's Masterpiece: ZOMBIE!
Lucio Fulci is often described as the "grandfather of gore" and if your wondering why, look no further than Zombie (aka Zombi 2 in an effort to capitalize off of Romero's success with Dawn of the Dead which was released in Italy as Zombi). Zombie tells the story of a young girl looking for her father who was a researcher on an island in the Caribbean. She travels with a man (Ian McCulloch) with two American vacationers in search of her father and stumbles upon the island of Mattul (pronounce Mah-tool) where native voodoo practices are causing the dead to rise from the ground.
Fulci's movies always feel so dirty, dark, and disturbing. Something about the way he portrays his zombies really sets them aside from others. Where some zombies simply appear as humans smeared in blue paint splashed with fake blood, Fulci's appear to be rotting, worm infested, maggot ridden, gut-munching monsters. The effects and make-up crew did an EXCELLENT job in Zombie!
There are several scenes of excellent gore in Zombie including the infamous splinter-to-eyeball scene and an extremely well done underwater battle between a near-naked female diver, a zombie, and a SHARK (beware PETA)! One of the scenes that sticks out most to me is a scene in the end where a zombie rises from the grave (the one featured on the cover of the American '02 Anchor Bay release) and takes a HUGE chunk out of a womens neck! The wound has this disturbing gushing sound as the blood pulses out, and to top it off, the scene concludes with the zombie graphically getting his head and brains bashed in with a cross. There is plenty of throat ripping and body-part munching throughout the majority of the film so gorehounds will NOT be disappointed with this one.
The story unfolds nicely and doesn't ever really run into any major plot holes or editing issues as zombie films seem to do so easily. Fulci's work here is well done and the acting is also above average for this type of film. All characters play enjoyable roles and even though, at times, the dubbing seemed a bit off, the cast was overall well put together. All in all, Zombie has everything I would ever want in a zombie movie plus more; an understandable story, plenty of gore, some decent nudity, and TONS of zombies! The more comes in the form of Fulci's heavy and dark atmosphere that some films of this genre seem to miss. The tone in the film remains dreadful throughout, and there is never any real sense of triumph because (SPOILER!) as the survivors make it off of the island, the zombies are already shambling into New York city!
Zombie-gore masterpieces! And if you're considering purchasing this film I highly recommend the Shriek Show 2-Disc Anniversary Edition. The image and sound quality are crystal clear and the discs are PACKED with extras!
Severed (2005)
Nothing original, but still an entertaining zombie flick.
Severed was available for rent at my local Blockbuster for some time and I was finally able to get a hold of it. Severed tells the story of a zombie outbreak at a logging station way up north where...well...there isn't really anything else around. The logging firm has injected their trees with an artificial growth serum to gain higher yields and profits. In the first few minutes of Severed, a lumberjack saws through a tree that has been "spiked" by logging-protesters at the isolated camp and the sap in the tree mixes with the blood of the lumberjack. Zombie carnage ensues.
Severed does not really bring anything new to the zombie genre besides perhaps setting, however, the movie was surprisingly entertaining. It's not that I expected it to be bad, I rather assumed it would be on par with say a Sci-Fi channel feature (sorry to offend any Sci-Fi addicts). The acting, dialog, and special effects were all well done in this film and the pacing helped keep the movie from getting boring. The action as well as the blood flow remains constant throughout the film and at times there are some really tense moments (there is an intense sequence were a group of zombies move in on some protesters who have chained themselves to a tree).
The gore was also well done with some scenes displaying some good munching while other simply highlight blood-splatter with quick camera motions (28 Days Later style). The zombies were very convincing and quite gruesome looking as well, props to the make-up artist. Purists will enjoy the fact that these zombies are not "runners;" they shamble around George Romero-style instead of sprinting after victims like Zach Snyder's zombies.
Overall, Severed is a good zombie flick. The ending seems somewhat incomplete, but leaves a bit up to the imagination which isn't always so bad. The characters, although cliché, play their roles well keeping it from falling into the so-bad-it's-good zombie movie category. It's simply good. This combined with the well done (even if "borrowed" at points) attack/gore sequences make Severed an extremely enjoyable zombie flick for either the die-hard genre fan or anyone interested in an enjoyable late-night horror flick. I have since purchased the DVD and would recommend it to either of the above.
Zombie Night (2003)
Pray for... it to be over.
As a big fan of zombie movies and B-horror, I have come to expect enormous plot holes, sub-par editing, hard-not-to-laugh-at acting, and poor dialog. With these in mind I purchased Zombie Night from my local DVD/CD shop for 4$, why not add to the collection? What I didn't expect was that the acting would be SO bad that I would feel almost embarrassed watching and listening to these characters interact in the film. The dialog and actors leave you to believe they were selected minutes before the shooting and given no script as they make quite a few mistakes. Shouldn't they edit those out?
Additionally. the editing here was downright confusing. In one scene a couple is listening to the radio on their car stereo and when the girl reaches to turn it up... the scene cuts to live news broadcasts on a television highlighting the zombie uprising before cutting back to the pair in the car discussing the "magical" TV broadcasts? The cause of the outbreak is practically left to the imagination. Something about WW3 causing nuclear fallout which in turn is causing people to rise from death as flesh hungry zombies?
A couple scenes of nice gore including an excellent shotgun blast to the leg and a decent bit of gut munching simply weren't enough save Zombie Night from the ABYSMAL dialog, editing, and acting. Overall, a good rental for the die-hard zombie fan or something to pop on if your looking for a laugh-at-with-your-friends style horror flick.