Italy 1979 Directed by Lucio Fulci. Starring: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson.

In 1978 "Dawn of the Dead" came out. The movie about a zombie occupied shopping-mall was a major hit, and was at that time the most violent film that been showned on the screen. It was called "Zombi" in Italy, and was so popular there that they would make a follow-up. In order to ride on the waves of success, are they named it "Zombi 2" in Italy (very original). An aged man named Lucio Fulci, with thirty movies behind himself that passed by relatively unobserved, stood for the direction. With "Zombie Flesh Eaters" is he received his great breakthrough. He knew now what the public wanted to see, and under the next two years he spat out ultraviolent zombiemovies which all are reckoned as classics today. Though it was called "Zombi 2" in Italy, isn´t it a sequel. Fulci set his own mark on his films. In contrast to Romero´s sometimes comic "Dawn", is "Zombie" dead serious and gruesome and is about voodoo on a Caribbean island. And while Romero´s zombies were bluish, are Fulci´s dead for a long time ago with far advanced decomposition, and somehow more powerful with their slower walk.

An ownerless sailing boat is drifting outside of New York. Two policemen goes on board to see if there are any survivors left. One of them goes into the cabin, and is all of a sudden attacked by a zombie. The zombie kills him and goes up on deck, there he gets hit by several bullets from the other policeman, until he falls overboard and disappears among the waves. It shows up that the boat belongs to a famous scientist. A journalist gets wind of the case, and he and the scientists daughter makes their way together with two other people to Matul Island in the Caribbean Sea, where he latest was seen, to search for him. On the island dies the inhabitants one after another by a mysterious disease. The madness begins when there is a rumour that some people have seen a villager walk out on the street. The trouble is that he died for two days ago.

"Zombie Flesh Eaters" was banned for a long time in many countries, and has a reputation of being an extremely stomach-churning horror film, full of disgusting effects. But the fact is that Fulci became worse in his coming movies. In "Zombie Flesh Eaters" is he more restrained and doesn´t completely rely on special effects. The movie has actually a very good story. That is not to say that it is for all, nervous people should stay away. It´s containing among other an incredible scene there a shark and a zombie tries to eat up each other. The music is very cheap but extremely effective and powerful. Otherwise are the actors not so good, but it is Fulci´s direction that raising "Zombie Flesh Eaters". And he does it so good that it´s on the verge of a five in my rating scale. But this is a low budget film, and it shows on the zombies make-up which sometimes isn´t so credible. And the time will elapse twenty minutes before it comes to the point, so my rating must be 4,5.

Kent Palmgren

Thrilling Movie Review