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Zombie

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "We are going to eat you..."
Review: Originally perceived by critics as a Dawn of the Dead rip off, Lucio Fulci's Zombie is an over the top gorefest that has become a classic among fans over the years. Featuring some of the most realistic looking zombies ever to be seen on film (they're rotting and decomposing and look brilliantly disgusting) and plenty of memorable scenes (including the infamous splinter in the eye scene and the beautifully shot underwater battle between a shark and a resiliant zombie), Zombie is a gorehounds' dream. The story is simple, a few inhabitants of a cursed island all become chow for a horde of zombies, but it works for the film as it is simple, unsettling gorey horror Fulci style. There's no social commentary or dark humor like in Romero's Dead trilogy or Dead Alive, just pure horror all the way; and while it may not be as profound as Fulci's The Beyond, Zombie is still a more than solid horror flick worth seeing if you have the stomach for it. Anchor Bay has assembled a solid DVD for the film (they always do great jobs for cult horror films on DVD) with enough extras to satisfy most fans of the film.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: More Italian undead insanity
Review: There are so many Fulci fanatics out there, that I guess I'm treading on sacred ground with this flick.

Truth be told, I loved the zombies--they're some of the best I've seen in a film, and all done with good old fashioned makeup and atmosphere.

However, Fulci was a real hack in most departments. The writing, acting, and even direction are downright cheesy in this flick, and the bad dubbing doesn't help.

But we do get some great gore, some great unnecessary nudity, and some cringe-worthy moments, most notably the wooden splinter through the eye scene, lovingly drawn out. I do believe this DVD offered here is UNCUT, so we see that sequence in all of its gory glory!

The music is great as well--absolute Italian cheese from the 70s. Which brings me to the genre in general. A fascinating period in which the Italian government threw money at hacks and they all went out and splurged on the blood and guts. And judging by this film, Maniac, New York Ripper, Cannibal Holocaust, etc., etc., the New York Mayor's office must have needed some serious cash or friends because they'd let anyone film in the city.

Anyways, buy this if you're a dedicated Fulci fan or you love gore and cheese. Others might not want to commit to owning a DVD with that great cover!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Zombie vs Shark?? I thought they were kidding!
Review: The recent remake and release of Dawn of the Dead had a friend of mine and me waxing rhapsodic about the horror fims of our youth. One afternoon we were talking and he mentioned that he had received a copy of Fulci's Zombie, one of the rare films that neither of us had seen, and popped in the first ten minutes that afternoon. "This abandoned boat floats into NY Harbor. The NYPD investigates only to find a bald, scaly zombie in a closet who takes a nice chunk out of the neck of one of the officers. Hilarity ensues." I had to see this movie.

It takes quite a lot to get me squirming while watching a horror flick. This buddy of mine and I pretty much laugh through almost every flick we see and MST3K a good portion of the running time. (While at home, never at the theater. Well.... almost never.) Through the first half hour of Zombie we were our normal selves; snickering and tossing in horribly inappropriate lines that just seemed necessary at the time. Once the band of "heroes" got to the island though, that stopped. Well, for a while anyway.

The topless hottie SCUBA diving generated a few comments but the second she ran into the submerged zombie and the tiger shark the chuckling gave way to subdued utterences of "cooooooool".

A lot of the acting was laughable, most of the dialogue was horrible, but the direction and effects were nothing short of amazing. I recently watched the original Dawn of the Dead on DVD and remember thinking that the film was near perfect, just ripe with horrible makeup. (Zombies the color of pale smurfs just don't scare me the way they used to.) If Romero had the effects people from Zombie he would have had the perfect Horror film.

The English dubbing was pretty bad, which is strange seeing as all the actors were speaking English on screen. The last forty five minutes of the movie are amazing and include; the aforementioned zombie v shark battle, a woman getting her eye poked out (A Fulci staple I am told) and one of the greatest stands against a zombie onslaught ever filmed. The one complaint I had was the fact that none of the molatov cocktails seemed to ignite anything and the scenes of them hitting the oncoming army of the undead are obviously the same shot repeated over and over again.

Be sure to turn up the sound so you can hear the radio at the end of the flick. What you'll hear is a little cheesy, but pretty darn frightening just the same.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Get the VHS version from Anchor Bay
Review: The case with ZOMBIE is one of the few where the VHS version is much better than the DVD version.

I bought the Anchor Bay DVD of ZOMBIE a couple of years ago and I was shocked by the really bad quality of the transfer. In some scenes, the film was unwatchable. I was really disappointed because it cost me something like $30 when I bought it. Dismayed by the terrible transfer which I would never want to watch again, I quickly sold the DVD to a reseller. I already had the Wizard Video, which is full-framed and full of scratches. But even that version is better than the Anchor Bay DVD.

But now I finally bought the Anchor Bay VHS version (with widescreen and all the trailers) and this is the one to buy. I quickly checked it and there's very little image shifting, if any. And there's no annoying "x-ray" effect in black areas like on the DVD edition. And the image is pretty sharp too, compared to the Wizard Video edition. So I give 4 big stars to the VHS AB collector's edition.

If your a fan of this great horror flick, make sure to get the Anchor Bay VHS version ONLY. It will do until someone re-releases it in a good transfer on DVD, which ain't about to happen anytime soon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fulci Starts his Stride
Review: If you've come looking for a well crafted and logical film, you've found the wrong movie. Those who know Lucio Fulci, know his horror epics dispense classical logic and replace it with exploitive violence and gritty atmosphere. Fulci-fanatics love this disregard for typical moviemaking and know that beneath his "B" grade films lurks artistry and genius. Cameras pan and zoom throwing off the viewer who expects generic dramatics, and when violence occurs the average cut away shot is replaced with a close up, of the actual bloodletting. The island atmosphere blows sand like fog and the detail of the sets, wardrobe and make-up seems almost oozing scum. But the combination of all this help create a memorable and masterful zombie cult classic. Some even say better than 'Dawn of the Dead!' *gasp* But this was only the beginning of Fulci's voyage into shameless horror. If you are bizarrely pleased with "Zombie" be thankful. Your journey will lead you to "House by the Cemetery," "City of the Living Dead," "New York Ripper" and his horror masterpiece "The Beyond." Have fun and give a "shout out" to Anchor Bay!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: As hardcore as zombie films get! Fulci delivers BIG-TIME!
Review: "DAWN OF THE DEAD" was a satire masquerading as a horror film. Lucio Fulci's "ZOMBIE" is a straight-ahead, pull-no-punches gorefest that gets under your skin and forever leaves its mark etched in your brain. While it contains the typical dubbing unfortunately commonplace with Italian releases, this movie DOES benefit from an exceptional use of lighting, music, and sound. The makeup, especially that of the zombies themselves, is nothing short of amazing. Fulci portrays his walking dead straightforwardly, thus making their presence onscreen that much more effective. For me, on a visceral level, this was a much stronger film than any of George Romero's ventures. For what it lacks in acting and voiceovers, it makes up for with sheer, unrelenting thrills. That eye-piercing scene STILL makes me flinch, OUCH! Easily one of the most satisfying zombie films this viewer has ever seen! DO seek out the WIDESCREEN edition, you'll be glad you did!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: New & Improved Transfer from Shriek Show, NOT Anchor Bay
Review: This new 25th Anniversary Edition 2 dvd set of Zombie 2 (aka just plain "Zombie" in the US) is being distributed by the Media Blasters label, "Shriek Show" folks, not Anchor Bay, as some people have noted on this board recently.Just wanted to kindly make that correction, as people may think that if it's being put out by Anchor Bay again, that it will be the same transfer as before. But it is noted on the description of the movie on this page that Media Blasters is the distributor this time.This particular dvd has been in the works for sometime and is one of the most anticipated releases of this year. This dvd's release date has been moved up a few times as this was originally slated for release a few months before this new date. But I don't mind waiting because this is usually a sign for the most part that the company putting it out wants everything exactly right, the way it should be. And we Euro-Horror/Zombie fans want our movies to look the way the Director intended it to look, in all its blood soaked, gut ripping, eye gouging glory.This sounds like it will be the complete uncut version, and I've heard the letterboxed version of this movie shows more info on all 4 sides of the picture where as the Anchor Bay, although letterboxed also, did not. There's about a minute or so of footage that was not included on the Anchor Bay release that is included on this dvd. Also, a good part of the main actors & crew that were in this movie were tracked down & interviewed by the great Kit Gavin, and should be excellent watching. I'm very interested to hear what they have to say about this movie after all these years, and hopefully some great insight about the production of movie itself. I'm salivating over here just thinking about this release. This finally does seem like it will be "the" definitive version of this classic shockfest.The story of the movie, which is pretty simple, has already been explained for the most part on here, so I won't bore anyone with the details anymore. Just thought I'd chime in here with a little info I've heard and give Kudos to this excellent movie and the late great Lucio Fulci.(...)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Zombie
Review: This film was pretty bad but I still had some fun watching it.The plot seemed to be well calculated but ended out less than what the audience expected.The characters were not memorable.The acting was bad.The dialogue was bad.The characters were stupid and did extremely dumb things.The only reason I'm giving this film a 4/10 is because the awesome zombies.The gore was straight up A class carnage gore.When the Zombies attacked it was really cool.It wasn't extremely original though especially with Dawn of the Dead coming out the year before.Only check this one out if your a fan of the genre if not don't waste your time.Tisa Farrow investigates the disappearance of her father after his boat is found abandoned, in New York Harbor.With the help of Ian McCulloch, their search leads to the small Caribbean island of Matool, where a strange disease has turned the inhabitants into blood thirsty zombies.Narrowly escaping death, the two return to New York only to find that zombies have taken Manhattan.In one of zombie filmdom's most famous scenes, the zombies march across the George Washington Bridge as they invade the rest of America.

"...the horrible acting, uneven pacing, and truly awful dialogue negates anything positive about the movie."
-- David Nusair, REEL FILM REVIEWS

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Yep, this is as good as toilet paper...
Review: First of all, I'd like to say that I AM a diehard fan of the horror genre and have been loving it for years. Now, some wannabe (who's obviously somewhat inspired by masters like George A. Romero & Tobe Hooper) comes along and has to trash it all up! Lucio Fulci is not that good when it comes to zombie flicks and only makes it very, VEEEERY boring than what it SHOULD be! (Not to mention the film was too damn short!) Italian horror is one of the best, but this just doesn't cut it. I can't believe I've wasted my money on such a worthless piece of crap! It's not even met with B movie standards but Z movie standards! It's almost like something you could wipe your butt with! I should have rented first.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bloody Good Zombie Film
Review: Zombie, the child of Italian splattermaster Lucio Fulci, opens with a gunshot wound being administered to a wrapped figure. This sets the stage for one of the best zombie genre films ever. The plot centers around a woman trying to track down what happened to her father. Aided by a reporter and two pleasure boaters, she finds the island where her father met his end. It turns out that the dead are coming back to life via voodoo and are feasting on the living. Filled with stomach-churning effects (the piece of wood through the eye scene is one of the most infamous in horror movie history) and a grainy quality that gives the film a documentary feel, Zombie is a good addition to any horror buff's library.


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