Nonureva Really Surprised!

Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Mark Turner The movie most know as DAWN OF THE DEAD was released elsewhere as ZOMBIE. Because of that when director Lucio Fulci made his own zombie film it was called ZOMBIE 2 but released here as ZOMBIE. That film was original in its own right and had some nice effects and some gut churning moments. Fulci had already made a name for himself with several films before and after that one and when the chance came to make a new zombie film he hesitated. Knowing that writers Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi were working on the screenplay and wanted his input into the production he welcomed the chance. The movie went into production shooting in the Philippines and almost immediately ran into problems. The biggest of those was the fact that items promised to Fulci by the directors were not provided which angered him. Next was the fact that the location itself was harsh and took its toll on all involved. Lastly was the fact that Fulci himself was ill at the time dealing with cancer among other things. The end result wasn't approved by the producers and they brought the writers back in to rewrite part of the film using the footage already shot by Fulci. In addition to that they brought in director Bruno Mattei to shoot some sequences as well as Fragasso. The end result is a conglomeration of items that combine for a decent Italian zombie film but kind of a mixed bag at the same time. Knowing all of this helps when watching the film.At a top secret government location tests are being conducted on a program called Death Note. The end results are unsatisfactory at best and deadly at worst. After the scientists behind the project cancel it and are about to transport their findings and a vial of their formula to be disposed of their attacked by spies. One of the spies escapes with the case it was all in and is shot, breaking the case and exposing him to its contents. Wounded and infected he runs through the jungle until he finds a hotel and checks in.The military sets out to find the spy who by now has infected a worker at the hotel. Deciding the best way to be safe is to take over the hotel the military does so, taking everyone captive and later killing them all. To dispose of the body they cremate it. The head scientists chastises them for this noting that it will release the virus into the air which the commander considers "science fiction". Apparently animating dead bodies isn't. Of course the virus makes its way into the atmosphere and a large number of people and animals are infected. One is a couple out for the weekend who come across infected chickens on the road, one of which bites the man and infects him. Another is three G.I.s on leave and the RV full of girls they come across, infected when a flock of birds breaks into the RV after going mad and pecking one of the girls. Eventually their stories come together and they unite.As the virus spreads everyone seems to be under attack by the infected, zombies whose only goal is to eat the flesh of the living. All of those flesh eating moments are seen on glorious color with some well used gels, goos, goops and plenty of torn flesh. The zombies are inconsistent in that some are the meandering, slow moving zombies while others have the ability to run and fight like they've mixed it up before. Whether or not anyone will survive is anyone's guess until the final reel rolls.Like many of the Italian horror films to come out of the 70s and 80s this one is filled with dialogue and segments that make little sense. I'm not sure if that's because something is lost in translation or that they just tend to shoot stories differently than anyone else. In any event it makes some things that happen seem incredibly stupid on the parts of the characters involved and will leave you scratching your head as to why anyone would behave this way. The military leader thinking one thing is science fiction while the other is accepted is a good example. People surrounded by zombies who take shelter and decide the smartest move is to separate and search an area is another. The end result is a movie that feels like exactly what it was, a movie that had a script that was well put together and then twisted into something completely different. Fragasso notes in an interview in the extras the problems that they had with the producer and the fact that most of the issues had with the film stemmed from problems he created. Fulci was so angered that he shot over 20 minutes of footage of the actors doing nothing more than rowing a canoe. Conditions were so bad that when asked to return for reshoots to fix the film all of the actors involved refused, one going so far as to say she'd never return to the Philippines. For myself I thought the movie was entertaining enough and one that horror fans can easily enjoy. Fans know exactly what to expect when it comes to Italian zombie films and this one delivers on all counts, the biggest of those being the gore content. One of those moments is also one of the funniest when a refrigerator door is opened and an unattached head flies through the air to begin gnawing on a victim's neck. It's sure to inspire groans and laughter for those watching who will then rewind it repeatedly to watch again and again. Another great scene involves one of the women falling into a hotel pond. Watch and see what happens, a great effect.Severin has done a fantastic job with their release of the film. I've noted before with their release of SHOCKING DARK and in the past about other companies who bring films like this to blu-ray format that movies no matter how good or bad they are need to be preserved for future generations before they are lost forever. Severin has done just that with this film offering the film in a new 2k scan. Considering the original condition of the film and negatives it looks great.Not only that they've packed it full of extras as well. They include THE LAST ZOMBIES an interview with co-director/co-writer Claudio Fragasso and co-writer Rossella Drudi, TOUGH GUYS an interview with actors/stuntmen Massimo Vanni and Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, THE PROBLEM SOLVER an interview with replacement director Bruno Mattei, SWIMMING WITH ZOMBIES an interview with actress Marina Loi, IN THE ZOMBIE FACTOR an interview with FX artists Franco Di Girolamo and an audio commentary track with stars Deran Sarafian and Beatrice Ring. The combined movie and these extras make the film a must have for fans of horror, those who particularly love Italian horror and movie fans looking for something different. The fans will want to forgo those old versions of the film and pick this one up from Severin. It's the best version now available.

Sam Panico Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi, our friends who brought Troll 2 to life, were the writing team behind this, setting the film in the Philippines as a cheap and convenient locale. Lucio Fulci claimed that the script was dreadful and that he tried to rewrite most of it, whereas the producers would contend that Fulci's initial cut was a little over an hour yet felt much longer than that. They got Fragasso and Bruno Mattei to finish things up. And we're left. to watch the results.There's this formula called Death One, which brings back the dead. Why anyone would want to create this for the army is beyond me. But Dr. Holder realizes that this is all just a bad idea, so he resigns. As he goes to surrender his findings, criminals attack (if this movie starts to remind you of Nightmare City, you aren't alone) and run away with Death One.That criminal gets infected and even cutting off his own hand - oh that Fulci - can't stop the outbreak. The hotel he ran to is condemned and General Morton orders everyone there killed and the criminal's remains burned by his two right-hand men (played, of course, by Mattei and Fragasso). But just like Return of the Living Dead, the ashes in the air just make things worse. The birds are infected and begin to spread the disease.What follows is a group of victims gets introduced to us and one after another, they are wiped out with pure malice and utter glee. There are some American GI's who mention how horny rock and roll music makes them and the girls on the bus they hook up with. There's a tourist couple, too. No one will be spared when Death One achieves its full power.Everyone heads to the now abandoned resort and is shocked to find so many weapons. As they are killed off, Dr. Holden looks for a cure while General Morton works on killing off every single person and animal he can find.Soon, only five of our heroes - Kenny, Roger, Patricia, Nancy, and Joe - are still alive. As soon as I wrote this down, the soldiers kill Joe. Our survivors make their way to a hospital, where Nancy tries to help a woman deliver a baby - bad news, zombie baby - and gets killed. This scene is packed with the gore that you had hoped that this film would bring. Don't eat while watching, trust me.Who lives? Who dies? You should just buy this and watch it, right? Right. I will say that I loved Blue Heart, the DJ who talks throughout the film and adored how he keeps doing it even after he joins the ranks of the undead. It reminds me a lot of the DJ as narrator scenes in The New York Ripper.I almost forgot! There's an awesome scene where a zombie skull flies out of the freezer and attacks. It wasn't in the script but instead came from Fulci. He would go on to say that it was one of the most clever things he had come up with and the only thing about this film that he was proud of.If you're hoping for the follow-up to Zombi, this isn't it. It's still fun and the last twenty minutes or so really pick up. I'd love to see what happens if they ever did a sequel to this.

callanvass I'm a big fan of Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2. This is an unofficial sequel, but I'd like to say it doesn't even deserve to be mentioned alongside Zombi 2. The storyline is completely inane, and the effects are utterly atrocious. We get this green like substance on people, whenever they get infected, and it doesn't look convincing at all. Unlike Zombi, where they were truly blood curdling, they look laughable here, and not even remotely threatening. I had trouble paying attention in this one, simply because it's so damn dull, and not much happens. There are zombie attacks, but they lack suspense and excitement. In Zombi 2, you were in fear by the zombies. They moved very slowly and the attacks were filled with tension. This movie reminds me of another horrible zombie film called Hell of The Living Dead. It has terrible dubbing. The actors are simply awful because of it. Beatrice Ring is disposable fodder, and nothing more. There is a scene where a woman gets shoved off a balcony into some water, and a guy goes to save her. He brings her to the surface, and she attacks him. How's that for gratitude? I didn't find this movie to be particularly gory, either. We get a spike in the chin, cut off arm, blood splashing, some zombie bites, but it's not that great. Lucio Fulci became sick and had to leave this project. Bruno Mattei & others took over, and it shows. Even for die hard zombie fans, I'd have trouble recommending this. Watch Nightmare City for an entertainingly cheesy zombie film, and avoid this like the plague1/10

geminiredblue While I rate this movie pretty low, don't think that I necessarily didn't like it! ZOMBI 3 is another one of those unhinged Italian horror movies that came out in the mid to late 80s. And it contains everything we've come to expect from those crazy Italian directors: bad acting, inconsistent dialogue, senseless plots, and unbelievable gore. Ebert once said for every bad movie, there is a good version out there somewhere. And the best movie to compare this to is RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985.) The basic story is the same: a government-made virus (in ROTLD it was a chemical) gets loose via a burned infected body and all things (living or dead) return as zombies. That's where the similarities end. In some ways, the rest sounds like the start of a joke: "A bickering couple, some soldiers, and a Winnebago-full of 20-somethings walk into an abandoned hotel..." And from that point on, enjoy the unintentional fun! You get some zombies that are fast, others that are slow, some that talk, a few kung-fu zombies, even zombie birds! As usual with movies like this, there's always a line that I love for it's stupidity. In this one, the characters are boarding up the hotel as a horde of stock-still zombies waits patiently outside. One character says "This'll collapse if they attack all at once." To which, another responds "Let's hope that they don't!" Yeah, that always works in a zombie apocalypse! Not to mention, that hotel is the most well-armed one I've ever seen. It has a crate of M-16s in the basement, a flamethrower and several shotguns. Wow, were terrorists staying there?! Another laughable moment: As a helicopter takes off, one of the characters grabs on, when all of a sudden a horde appears under some conveniently-placed hay and pulls him down. Woven throughout the entire story is a radio announcer whose speeches on nature and peace take on a more sinister edge as the movie progresses. By the end, we know where this is going, but I think his closing speech is chilling. See this movie with a group of funny friends, and do it the MST3K way!