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

Director:

Del Tenney

Writer:

Del Tenney (written by)

Release Date:

29 October 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Venom | Island | Snake | Snake Venom | Caribbean

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

Directed by
Del Tenney

Writing credits
Del Tenney		(written by)

Produced by
Jesse Hartman	....	associate producer
Dan Stapleton	....	associate producer
Del Tenney	....	producer

Original Music by
Lon E. Norman

Cinematography by
François Farkas		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lawrence C. Keating		(as Larry Keating)

Casting by
Doris Bernhardt

Art Direction by
Robert Verberkmoes

Makeup Department
Guy Del Russo	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Mel Pape	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Grefe	....	second unit director

Sound Department
Ed Wright	....	sound (as Edmund Wright)

Stunts
Del Tenney	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Leonard De Munde	....	assistant camera (as Leonard DeMunde)
Edwin Gibson	....	camera operator (as Ed Gibson)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jane Hagerty	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Monte Schwartz	....	assistant editor (as Monty Swartz)

Music Department
Lon E. Norman	....	conductor

Other crew
Frances Hidden	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Iselin-Tenney Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Cinemation Industries (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled re-release)
• Prima Film (1971) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Force Video (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• CMV Laservision (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Dollar DVD (????) (USA) (DVD) (as 'I Eat Your Skin')
• Retromedia Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Zombies" - USA (original title)
"Voodoo Blood Bath" - USA (promotional title)
"Zombie Bloodbath" - International (English title) (imdb display title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:GP

Filming Locations:

Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Company:

Iselin-Tenney Productions Inc.

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 (1970). The title was changed to "I Eat Your Skin" (1970).

Quotes:

Coral Fairchild:Oh Mister Bentley, what a lovely house you have. It's so tropical!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in City Women (1971)

I love this flick.

Del Tenney's I Eat Your Skin was filmed in Florida in 1964, under the working title Zombies. Alot of films were made at this time to cash in on the James Bond craze, Like this one. The opening and closing scenes are filmed at Miami's Fountainbleu Hotel, the same hotel where a few scenes of Goldfinger take place. This movie was originally titled Voodoo Blood Bath, but Tenney couldn't find a distributor and didn't have another feature to release along with it for a drive-in double feature. The movie sat on the shelf for years until, in 1971, producer Jerry Gross began searching for a film to release along with his I Drink Your Blood. Gross bought the rights for Tenney's film and retitled it. All of this explains why there is no skin eating in I Eat Your Skin.

I've seen this movie at least a dozen times. This is definately one of those, so bad it's good spook movies. The makeup effects, although cheap, are at the least memorable and not just grease-paint. The acting is also memorable, if only because it's so bad. The Uber macho-ism of lead character Tom Harris (played by a mostly shirtless William Joyce) will make you laugh out loud. I cannot recommend this movie enough. I was more entertained by this flick than the last 3 big budgeted movies I rented from Blockbusters!