Zombie 4K Ultra HD

Before we begin, let's just go over this one more time: "Zombi 2" is actually just called "Zombie," but was marketed in most territories as "Zombi 2," because at the time George Romero's now-classic "Dawn of the Dead" was so big that the Italian film board and some others wanted to market the heck out of every zombie movie they could, so Fulci's movie, simply titled "Zombie" was changed to "Zombi 2," as in Italy, "Dawn of the Dead" was called "Zombi." Okay, got that? Long story short: "Zombi 2" is not a sequel to anything, and it's actually just called "Zombie." Now then, "Zombie" is truly worthy of its title. It pulls a total Tarantino in the first few minutes, showing something that won't occur until much later in the movie first which draws you in immediately making you say: "Wait, what? Why'd that happen?" The story is pretty simple, zombies run amok on a tropical island, a group of survivors fight them with disastrous consequences. But it's not so much the story that makes "Zombie" a masterpiece, but the cinematography and practical special effects which after so many years don't feel dated and can manage to make gore hounds like me twitch just a little, deep down inside. The "splinter eye" scene springs to mind immediately. Another great scene would be the "Zombie Versus the SHARK" scene, which I'm pretty sure is the most dangerous stunt ever put on camera-- a real actor in full zombie makeup fights a live shark underwater without the use of any breathing apparatuses for a very long scene that had to have taken several takes and somehow he came out okay. The movie is fantastically transferred to Shriek Show's two disc DVD set, which comes with your very own little poster for the movie! Criticisms, the dubbing springs to mind, first. The movie was filmed with largely Italian talent, which is cool, so were some of the best Westerns (or in this case, 'Spaghetti' Westerns) ever, but what's weird is, if you watch this movie closely, you'll see that the actors are sometimes dubbed and their lips sync, or that they do not sync. It took me awhile to figure this out, but from what I can gather, the movie was filmed mostly in phonetic English, then in certain scenes, some actors couldn't do that, so they were simply dubbed. But those who were speaking phonetically were still dubbed due to their thick accents. So, to put it simply, "Zombie" is a movie that was filmed in English, dubbed into Italian and then completely re-dubbed back into English. This is one thing that is fairly noticeable, not the point that it becomes so distracting that it takes away fun from the movie, but that it does make certain parts feel less immersive or emotionally intense. One other major thing, the box says the movie's runtime is "223 minutes," this is incorrect. The movie is about 94 minutes, the total runtime with two discs of special features is 223 minutes, so it's a bit misleading, but that's okay, too. There's a certain psychedelic nature to the film, not in the "Deep Red" sense, we never set foot in the irreal the way an Argento film might, but the movie feels like a weird trip after a little while. It's easy to lose track of what's going on depending on who is watching, and there are certain things that simply don't make sense for the sake of not making sense, like the zombie on the cover with all the worms in his eye comes out of a grave marked "Died 1500," it's a small wooden grave marker with chalk writing. I know Fulci wasn't exactly going for realism here (it's a movie about hungry walking dead people, after all) though every time I watch the film I have a hard time suspending belief with this scene, as the zombie comes out of a grave about three inches under ground, he's hardly decomposed for a five hundred year old corpse and on top of that my nit-picking nature has to ask if that grave marker is supposed to be the ORIGINAL grave marker that was put in the ground in the year 1500 or if it's supposed to be an updated marker put there by the caretaker of this, what I'm assuming is a Spanish War cemetery in the middle of a tropical jungle. It's little things like that about "Zombie" that get to me, but it's also those things that make it so much fun. And without spoiling anything, I have to say that the film's final scene is one of the ballsiest moves ever made by a set of low-paid extras and a director. The fact that they got away with the final shot of this movie without six dozen people dressed in full zombie garb getting detained is not only a miracle in and of itself, but proof that this film was meant to be. I don't want to give it away, but it's a fantastic visual. This film was followed by three sequels: "Zombi 3" (which is really "Zombie 2") then "Zombie 4: After Death" (which is actually "Zombie 3," in this case) and a prequel/sequel "Zombie 5: Killing Birds," ("Zombie 4, you see where I'm going with this) though the canonicity of that last one is heavily disputed, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that "Zombie 4: After Death" is definitely canonical to the series, especially considering the continuity "Zombi 3" takes in conjunction to this film. All in all, "Zombie" is one of the best zombie movies ever made, and it was followed by three 'sequels,' one of which was official, two which were not. I like to refer to these four films as the "Spaghetti Zombie Quadrilogy," as the next film in the series, "Zombi 3" is actually "Zombie 2." But we'll argue the semantics of the titles of these movies in another review. If you can find a copy of it (which isn't very hard, nowadays, circa 2014) "Zombie" is absolutely worth your time if you're a zombie movie fan, Spaghetti Western fan, or just a movie aficionado in general who happens to have a niche for Italian cinema.

So happy to finally own this movie. Not officially a sequel to “Dawn of the Dead”, but none the less a great movie. I got this movie on time and in almost perfect condition.

There's so many other reviews that mention the storyline, the pros and cons of director Lucio Fulci, so this will be short and to the point. This release from Blue Underground has all of the special features from their earlier Blu-ray release, so if you want to upgrade to 4K for the image and sound quality, (and you have a 4K player), you won't lose anything. The carpet has never looked so green in the newsroom scene, the blood has never been as eye-poppingly red, the music has never sounded so menacing, and the worm-infested zombie (the one on the cover) has never been as disgusting as they all are on this disc. Interesting fact about "Zombie" you may not know: When it was screened in a festival in Germany back in the 1990's, it was to a sold-out, packed auditorium. And the popularity of this film has never waned. This 4K release is literally the best one available. If you're Fulci fan, you'll love it.

As Amazon points out and the spotlight review there is no Zombie part 1, that George A. Romero's Dawn of The Dead was released in Italy with the title Zombie and Fulci's film was titled Zombie 2 to cash in on Dawn of The Dead's Success. However according to the spotlight review Zombie 2 was written first. So I'm thinking George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead (1968) influenced Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 and in turn Zombi 2 playing like a prequel to Dawn of The Dead (1978) influenced Romero's Dawn. One random thing I felt when Brian used his weapon to bash the enemies in the head after he exited the burning church reminiscent of Shaun of The Dead. Perhaps it's where director Edgar Wright got the idea for Shaun to use a Cricket bat as his main weapon, it does prove more efficient than guns, but thats just a guess. However I think there is another major influence here. I believe that two films that i picked up on by great director Jacques Tourneur played major and minor influences. First the most obvious is the concept of voodoo as a speculated reason for the zombies is from I walked With a Zombie (1943) also the island location and instead of using shadows and subtly as Tourneur did Fulci uses great makeup f/x and gore to push the envelope and get his scares, both use good atmosphere. The next film by Tourneur i would point out in a more subtle way is Night of The Demon. In Night of the Demon we have a skeptical Dr. played by Dana Andrews who intends to debunk a curse and expose a devil cult leader in Zombi 2 we have Dr. David Menard who resiliently searches for a scientific reason for the Zombies trying to prove the idea of voodoo false. These two characters are important in making viewers suspend there disbeliefs and make the idea of zombies more plausible as the two doctors look for educated and scientific reasons, we the viewers like the doctors begin to accept the idea as well. What does Zombi 2 have that no other zombie film has to my knowledge, a zombie and shark fight for that reason alone I'd recommend this to horror fans. Another positive is alot of breasts, what it does lack besides some minor plot holes is bra's. This is a fun horrific gore filled adventure 4.5 stars, this is my first Fulci film but will not be my last. To hardcore Fulci fans and i realize there are alot if I overlooked anything or if you have any Fulci recommendations, comments are appreciated. ** Zombi 2 is ranked 98th on Bravo's scariest movie moments list ** THE DVD - The transfer looked great, and the dolby digital 5.1 track adequate. Special Features (from the back cover) -Exclusive 98 minute featurette including blood drenched testimonials from SFX artist Gianetto De Rossi, Cinemaphotographer Sergio Salvati, screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti - Cast & crew interviews, actor Ian McCullogh commentary, extensive photogallery and original assorted zombie trailers! - Restored Remastered, anamorphic wide screen and fully uncut!

Correcto.

Surfant sur le succès de "Zombies" de George Romero, les Italiens sortent ce film carrément intitulé "Zombi 2" en Italie. Il n'y a pourtant aucun rapport mais ça peut bien sûr attirer son lot de spectateurs. Alors évidemment, le film aurait pu être racoleur et surtout très très nul et bien foireux. Oui mais voilà, c'est un certain Lucio Fulci qui réalise. Et le cinéma, le Fulci, c'est clairement son truc. En fait, avec "L'Enfer Des Zombies", et à la suite certes de Romero, il va même tout simplement édifier les codes d'usage de ce genre de films. Car chaque plan, chaque cadrage, est un modèle du genre. Fulci a le bon coup d’œil et sait comment pointer et diriger une caméra. Il n'y a pas forcément beaucoup de budget pour ce film mais l'équipe autour de Fulci va réaliser en outre des prouesses concernant les maquillages et les effets spéciaux (tout mécaniques à l'époque et c'est rien de dire que c'est terriblement bien foutu). Certaines séquences sont très marquantes visuellement et resteront à jamais gravées dans la mémoire du spectateur. L'impact visuel de ce film est donc énorme. On peut noter enfin que la musique, qui pourrait également sembler elle-aussi bien cheap, sert idéalement le propos du film d'un thème lancinant et lugubre tout simple, à la manière des Italiens Goblin, un certain savoir-faire certain (oui, les deux, c'est redondant mais c'est ça). Grand fan de cinéma, Fulci fomente un délicieux final façon western mais il n'y aura pas de cavalerie pour venir en aide au fort assiégé. Qui est ici une église transformée en hôpital de fortune, le tout situé sur une île perdue au bout du monde. Car si Romero condamne notre société et si ses zombies sont dues aux dérives scientifiques, point d'explication rationnelle chez Lucio Fulci qui nous renvoie clairement aux mythes vaudous. Son film est donc également exotique même si le début et la fin se passent tous deux à New York: un bateau fantôme sur fond de Statue de la Liberté au début et le pont de Brooklyn pris d'assaut par les hordes de zombies à la fin. Manière de boucler la boucle d'un film sublimement maîtrisé d'un bout à l'autre. Et si ce film reste comme un modèle, un mètre-étalon, c'est qu'il possède en outre un petit plus que peu de films du genre peuvent se targuer de proposer, soit une poésie macabre et mortifère qui suinte constamment de la pelloche et qui est bien la vision d'un cinéaste singulier. Cet état de fait est de toute façon présent dans les meilleurs films de Lucio Fulci comme "L'Au-delà". Et "L'Enfer Des Zombies", clairement, fait bien partie de ses meilleurs films. Un must. D'autant que la version restaurée en Blu-ray est de toute beauté. Putride, oui, mais beauté quand-même. Une sorte de "Amour, Gore Et Beauté" donc, pour le coup.

Now obviously you have heard the stories about this film from first being released in the 1970s in the cinema, deemed so strong and gruesome that they had to hand out sick bags (within good reason too) then the BBFC got hold of it, Banned it for years and then released it cut to ribbons. Then in the 2000s they re-released it uncut but still shaving a couple of secs from it, Now the new generation has reared its head from the grave and Arrow has re-released this vintage horror classic, FULLY UNCUT with a fantastic new transfer. If you want to see how the film originally looked, check out the original trailer that was used for the Vipco release, BIG DIFFERENCE! The film actually looks very crisp and there is an occasional grain but that to me adds to the film. I'm sure you know the story of the actual film so i don't need to explain that. The zombies are genuinely creepy and scary unlike nowadays, The skull like covers covered in maggots and worms sends shiver down your spine and how relentless they are to get their next meal is chilling. No matter what happens, they just keep moving towards their target, even the ones that can't see their prey. Walking like they are in ancient slumber until they get their target and their voracious appetite proves they are a force to be reckoned. The gruesome special effects are amazing considering this was a rip off of Dawn of the Dead, but somehow better what was shown in George A. Romero's horror masterpiece and Zombie Flesheaters (originally called just Zombie) is as much a masterpiece as Dawn of the Dead. It's done right and and to think the only really cheesy moment was the topless diving that leads to one of the films numerous and notoriously remembered scenes. Word of advice, anyone coming to this for the first time, BE WARNED this is definitely not for the squeamish or faint hearted and also don't watch this after eating. It's gory, it's gruesome and it's a great movie. Also if this movie doesn't make your blood run cold then believe me the ending will. Zombie Flesheaters look amazing on Blu-ray and easily worthy of any horror fans collection, just remember to have a bucket next to you!

This film is an awesome bit of fromage on top of some zombie soup and isn't for everyone. If you have the DVD and are on the fence about upgrading to Blu Ray, worry not dear fiends. Blue Underground has managed to deliver a lovingly restored image with a solid audio track that can be considered the best version of this b movie . The extras are numerous and the inclusion of the CD soundtrack is the cherry on the top.

Echt een film voor mensen met stalen zenuwen. Lang geleden in de Bioscoop gezien en nu op Blu-ray. Goed beeld en geluid.