Zombie Flesh Eaters (1980)

So much average

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Lucio Fulci was never the star of the show. He made very good films in the 70s and they are now renowned as some quality murder mysteries(The Psychic, Don't Torture a Duckling). But he was overshadowed by Argento. He then made Zombie Flesh Eaters, reportedly written before Romero's Dawn of the Dead (AKA Zombi in Italy). But Fulci's work was released as Zombi 2, despite no relation to Romero's classic. Poor Fulci was overshadowed again. It is sad because this is one of Fulci's most focused efforts. There is some cheese(Well this is an Italian splatter film) but it's surprisingly good in terms of suspense and some decent acting. Much of the film's decent acting comes from Richard Johnson who adds a lot of gravitas and sadness to his "mad" scientist role. This scientist is just fed up from all the mayhem and wants to rest. Johnson conveys that brilliantly with his eyes. He gets some ripe lines but he says them like Shakespeare. My second favorite character is Al Cliver's Brian who is a legit bad ass with an amazing beard.There is some nudity. The kills are gruesome and excellent. There is a shark vs zombie scene which is surprisingly suspenseful. On the whole, this is a classic. One of Fulci's best efforts before he cemented his legacy with the 'Gates of Hell' trilogy.

Zombie Flesh Eaters as I've always known it, on the surface doesn't seem like much more than just another mindless undead movie, but the way Lucio Fulci directs it, and the excellent cinematography and score that always takes you into the world of the movie right away, and the gruesome hard work of a special effects team all work together to just make the movie better than most of its kind and raise it up to classic horror greatness. It was always more than just a cheap cash-in on Dawn, it deserves its reputation as a horror movie phenomenon in its own right. I can still remember when I first ever saw it totally uncut on VHS as a kid, as a big fan of zombies I was thoroughly blown away, it was such a fun gory blast, absolutely everything one could ever want in a zombie movie and it's one of my most favourite zombie flicks today, my second favourite. Right behind Dawn of the Dead, with The Video Dead running a close third! I love the location, it's a beautiful tropical island but the way they film it makes it feel like a somewhat surrealistic nightmare landscape, the constant desolate swirling winds and background voodoo drums give it a deep foreboding ambiance, and that great atmosphere of dread is a big part of the enjoyment and dark wonder of it. I don't even take issue with the dubbing, even though it does bring a certain air of cheesiness the way it continually teeters on the dialogue not quite matching up in time. But to me it doesn't detract anything from the movie, I think it even adds a little to the lore of it somehow. The zombies, for how ridiculously sluggish they are, are still creepy and are some of the most impressive-looking zombies that you'll ever see. They look decayed and rotten and are way more gross than Romero's zombies. I like the mystery of them. You never know if it's a virus, some kind of weird voodoo curse, or the result of Dr. Maynard's experiments. It helps to make the undead and the overall tone of the film mysterious and scary. Man I love that gore! It's so good, I think it holds up stupendously well, when the zombies get their heads smashed with shovels or blown off with shotguns it's satisfying as hell! Most horror movies of note just have one big famous scene in them, but this one has three! The shark vs zombie sequence is unique and bizarrely beautiful, I mean just when the hell do you ever see that!? There's the moment when the signature zombie of the movie slowly rises from its grave and rips out the throat of the poor terrified woman in truly spectacular bloody fashion. The best one though is undoubtedly the iconic nasty that alone gives this picture its reputation, it blows all the other gory scenes right out of the water. Wherein the beautiful Olga Karlotos has one of her dazzling eyes slowly punctured by a shard of wood in agonising close detail. Just when you think they're gonna cut away from it they don't, and you get to see the injury in incredible old school practical effects that cause your stomach to churn and your own eyes to wince. I thought up until her legendary death scene Karlotos gave a good performance. The fiery voice actress really nailed it! And the big climactic battle in the church that burns down is excellent and ends things on a high note before there is a little certain something that reveals that everything that's happened has been mere prelude to a far larger terror to come as the telltale radio broadcast is heard. It's bleak, but there's something so grand and corny in the way the man on the radio says what he does that I find it kinda cheerful and it always makes me smile! It may not appeal to everyone, but it certainly always did to me and I'll always love it, as it is a magnificent zombie classic. Bravo Mr Fulci!

I grew up watching films about reanimated corpses trying to devour the living, and the best were always by George A. Romero.However, there is one other than not only equals the Dead films, but gives them a run for their money. That film is ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS (1979) aka ZOMBIE and ZOMBI 2.In this film, everything is practically perfect. The biters here are the classic, slow variety which fits the tone of the film. They are genuinely creepy and even terrifying! They have some of the most convincing makeup of any film.The atmosphere has a feeling of doom. The gore and special effects are very good. The actors are very good for low-budget. Lucio Fulci directed a masterpiece! I recommend this film to any horror fan.

Lucio Fulchi's "masterpiece" about a zombie outbreak on a Caribbean island that may be making its way to New York. It's one of the better non-Romero zombie movies ever made. No it doesn't have the social commentary in George Romero's films that critics love so much but it does have lots of cool gross-out scenes and plenty of atmosphere and scares that most zombie flicks today lack entirely. The makeup effects are great and the zombie scenes are done with quite a bit of creativity. The opening and closing scenes are very memorable. Some of my other favorite scenes include the one in the Conquistador cemetery and the one where a zombie fights a shark! The direction is good, as is the music score. The cast, led by Ian McCulloch and Tisa Farrow (less talented sister of Mia), does a solid job. Yes, there's dubbing but it doesn't detract much from this kind of movie. If anything it adds to the experience. I'm sure most spaghetti fans will understand what I mean. This is about as good as it gets for me as far as Italian splatter movies go. I'm not the biggest fan, especially as I get older and less interested in the gore and guts stuff. But this one is so well done I still find it fun to watch.