The good folks at Umbrella have released three Italian zombie movies. (Mmm, human ravioli.) Presumably this ties in with their release of the original 1978 Dawn of the Dead, which kick-started the genre. (The remake comes out tomorrow on dvd in a director's cut.)
First is the granddaddy of all Italian zombie flicks, Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 (aka Zombie, available here under it's English title Zombie Flesh Eaters). If you only see one Italian zombie movie it should be this one - provided it's uncut. There are two scenes here that make this a must-watch and only one is a gore scene. Fulci's zombies are some of the coolest ever put on the screen, being so gross and rotten-looking you can almost smell them. Blood gooshes everywhere. It's a classic.
Second is Zombi Holocaust, perhaps better known under the US release title Dr. Butcher M.D. ("He's a depraved, homicidal killer...and he makes house calls!" as the posters screamed). Directed by Marino Girolami, a hack who'd been directing movies since the early '50s but was nearing the end of his career, it's a messy movie in more ways than one. (Incidentally Girolami was the father of Enzo G. Castellari, director of the Bronx Warriors movies loved by every kid in Naenae in the '80s.)
Third is Burial Ground, directed by one of the horror genre's worst, Andrea Bianchi. I suspect the problem comes from his parents giving him a girl's name, he's never adjusted. Ramsey Campbell reckons it's good for a few laughs. Iv'e avoided it to date. The charming Mariangela Giordano stars, so I might check out this new release... someday.
The discs seem to be direct ports from the region 1 Shriek Show editions. SS aren't exactly known for their quality control; eg their Slaughter Hotel dvd plays sound from the wrong scene at one point, and their Faceless dvd returns to the main menu from the movie for no good reason. Hopefully they've worked the bugs out of these ones.
Posted by pearce at October 11, 2004 3:44 PM