I Eat Your Skin (1964)
"Zombies" (original title)

A cancer researcher on a remote Caribbean island discovers that by treating the natives with snake venom he can turn them into bug-eyed zombies. Uninterested in this information, the ... See full summary »

Director:

Del Tenney

Writer:

Del Tenney

Stars:

William Joyce, Heather Hewitt, Betty Hyatt Linton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Joyce	...	Tom Harris
Heather Hewitt	...	Jeannie Biladeau
Betty Hyatt Linton	...	Coral Fairchild
Dan Stapleton	...	Duncan Fairchild
Walter Coy	...	Charles Bentley
Robert Stanton	...	Dr. Biladeau
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vanoye Aikens
Matt King
Rebecca Oliver
Don Strawn	...	Leader, Calypso Band
George-Ann Williamson

Storyline

A cancer researcher on a remote Caribbean island discovers that by treating the natives with snake venom he can turn them into bug-eyed zombies. Uninterested in this information, the unfortunate man is forced by his evil employer to create an army of the creatures in order to conquer the world.

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Plot Keywords:

venom | island | snake | snake venom | caribbean | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Voodoo Blood Bath

Filming Locations:

Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Iselin-Tenney Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film sat on the shelf unreleased for six years until is was picked up by distributor Jerry Gross (of Cinemation Industries), who needed a horror film to play on the bottom of a double bill with his in-house production I Drink Your Blood. The title was changed to "I Eat Your Skin" (1970).

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Quotes

Tom Harris: What part of heaven did you fly down from?
Jeannie Biladeau: Oh boy. Mister Harris, I read some of your books and I only hope you're more original in person.

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Connections

Referenced in City Women (1971)

User Reviews

They should have gone to Candy Apple Island. They have the voodoo, but not as much.

Somewhere between WHITE ZOMBIE and THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, there was I EAT YOUR SKIN, a funky little drive-in flick from the mid-1960's featuring zombies. For those of you not familiar with the genre, there are two basic types of zombie movies out there: the most commonly known type features carnivorous corpses that can be stopped by a shot to the head; the more traditional movies feature zombies that, living or undead, are subservient to a voodoo practitioner of some sort. Despite the somewhat misleading title, this movie features the latter type of zombie. That's right; I EAT YOUR SKIN contains absolutely no eating of skin whatsoever.

The story revolves around writer Tom Harris (William Joyce), a young stud who is surrounded by the ladies. He is coaxed into a trip to a little out-of-the-way place aptly called Voodoo Island for his next story. When the group arrives on the ominous Voodoo Island, they quickly encounter a zombie, who attacks with a machete. As time goes on, it becomes apparent that the zombies are trying to get their hands on young hottie Jeannie Biladeau (Heather Hewitt), whom, because she is supposedly a virgin (yeah, right), is needed as a sacrifice for some sort of Voodoo Island voodoo ritual.

In terms of quality, this is fairly low grade. I understand that it sat on the shelves for four years before being shown as part of a double feature at a drive-in. The acting is awful; Charles Bentley (played by Walter Coy) was particularly unsteady. As this was a movie made in a very different time, politically incorrect behavior is shown in scene after scene. Most of the male characters regularly treat objects like women, man.

I EAT YOUR SKIN is very reminiscent of the works of Ed Wood on just about every level (although I think Wood was a bit weirder), so fans of his work should love it. I purchased this movie as part of the Chilling Classics 50 Movie Pack, but I have read reviews that suggest that this movie is not included on some versions of the Chilling Classics set. Let the buyer beware. The cheapest way to see this movie is to find it online; as this is a public domain film, it can be found for free.

For those interested in the subject matter but wanting a much better movie, consider taking a look at Wes Craven's THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW.