Reviews & Ratings for
I Eat Your Skin More at IMDbPro »Zombies (original title)

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39 reviews in total

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18 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
I love this flick., 3 August 2004
Author: moycon from Atlanta

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!

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
They should have gone to Candy Apple Island. They have the voodoo, but not as much., 24 July 2007

Author: yetanotherharris from Satan's Colon

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.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
I Eat Your Lunch, 19 January 2010

Author: Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) from New York, USA

Pretty slick little number here, a way low budget zombie voodoo potboiler filmed on the quick in Florida at the height of the early James Bond craze. Expect lots of palm trees, swept back wayfarer sunglasses, a big brassy orchestra with twangy guitars + bongo drums, boozy bimbos swooning by the pool, and some sort of novel mode of transportation, in this case an airplane that is destroyed in the movie's biggest laugh.

The film concerns itself with a swinging playboy writer who is dispatched to darkest Key West to get to the bottom of some wacky voodoo cult and meets a couple of decent looking dames between stops for cocktails. The natives use a powerful narcotic which transforms them into the living dead and explains the jungle being just a mess after all this time. The damndest thing is that Carey Grant would have felt right at home in this movie, even with the ping pong ball zombie monster makeup.

The movie is awful for sure but it works in some miraculous way, partly due to the fact that it was aware it was an awful movie employing awful actors, using awful cinematography, awful music, and awful script, etc. The good news is that everybody participating was apparently briefed before hand lest any sort of sweeping performances or actual cinematic artfulness sneak past the dime store tiki torches, wet bars, and matching salt + pepper shakers. Some good one liners though, I guess that's harmless enough to allow without tempting anybody to take it too seriously. Then again with a title like that, who can?

It's kitsch, bounding with energy and some decent smarmy humor that will either get on your nerves or catch you with a belly laugh when you aren't expecting one. I like another reader's comment when writing that they had enjoyed this film more than the three A list big budget event films they rented at a Blockbuster: PRECISELY! Yes, that's the spirit! They were able to relax and just watch this god awful no-name movie for what it was -- rather than being primed to have the world saved or the universe explained by Leonardo di Caprio -- and ended up having a pretty good time. Caught them by surprise probably. You can buy it on DVD for a dollar, probably less, and keep it for your very own. Try it.

4/10

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
OK for a rainy afternoon, 15 April 2007

Author: sgtking from United States

I've almost rented this film several times. By looking at the box I knew it wouldn't be a classic, but something about it appealed to me. Maybe it was the creepy looking zombie on the cover. Maybe it was because I love movies about zombies on a tropical island. Or maybe it's simply because I love b horror movies. Either way I wanted to see it and finally did when my mom bought me a 3 DVD set with 9 living dead films, including this one.

Pros: Moves along at an OK pace. The scenery is lush and beautiful. The zombie make-up isn't too bad, considering how long ago this was made and low the budget probably was. The zombies are pretty creepy. The whole movie has a certain campy and nostalgic charm.

Cons: The title is misleading. There is no eating of flesh. Some of the dubbing is poor and off at times. Some poor editing. The score isn't bad, but most of the time it doesn't seem to fit with this movie. Much of the acting is bad. An obvious model near the end.

Final thought: Originally called Zombies and not released for six years, this low budget zombie flick is far from being a great film. It is however a must for drive-in movie fans and those looking for some cheesy fun.

My rating: 2/5

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7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Excellent music and ugly zombies. Super vintage gross-outs!, 19 December 2006

Author: Zhukov_2132 from Vancouver, BC, Canada

A great late-night horror flick with action and comedy. I got it on DVD from a St. Claire 3-Disc collection called "The Living Dead".

It's a better than average directed (for a B-movie) tale with a swinging Voodoo-Lounge soundtrack, ghoulish zombies galore and a charismatic "wolf" lead character played brilliantly by the late William Joyce.

Some interesting trivia I've learned: Bill Joyce and the female lead, Heather Hewitt, had unwittingly done a scene in the water during a real life "multiple-large-sharks-spotted" scare. Director Del Tenney never told them about it when he later learned of it.

Interesting look at the cocktail culture in 1960s Miami in this one.

This movie's release-date title is "I Eat your Skin" which is a masterpiece of naming. I give it 10 stars for vintage kicks and William Joyce's cool persona! Must've been a fun actor be around.

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7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Good, campy fun!, 18 April 2005

Author: stevebob99 from Chesapeake, VA

This movie is as rich in camp as you can get. From the playboy writer who likes reciting his stories to bikini clad vixens with their short balding accountant jealous husbands to the zombies who may come from the native voodoo practice or may come from another source.

Turn this movie on with a few friends and laugh the whole way through. This is much more fun than most movies that try to be funny. The characters are so bad that they are fun and the script makes almost no sense whatsoever. So, just forget that there is supposed to be a plot in every movie and that horror movies are supposed to be scary and enjoy this one.

10 out of 10 for good, campy fun!

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Not quite as horrible as the title would suggest....though it IS horrible!, 7 August 2008

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

Some folks fly to a small island in the Caribbean. Once they arrive, they find that there are murderous zombies roaming about as well as locals who are all members of a voodoo cult. In addition, there's a cancer researcher who is doing work with irradiated snake venom who seems a bit oblivious to the fact that the locals are into human sacrifice. Sounds like a nice place, huh?!

This is one of many horribly low budget horror films I have seen in my lifetime and the biggest thing that sets it apart is the title. After all, the release title "I EAT YOUR SKIN" sounds amazingly exploitative and sick. However, despite a promoter changing its title, the film itself is amazingly conventional--and it's just another grade-Z schlock horror film--complete with bad acting, camera work, makeup, and the works! While it's very bad, it isn't quite bad enough to be fun to watch and make fun of the film. No,...it's just bad!

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6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
great bad acting boosted by hackneyed script & reckless direction, 11 November 2006

Author: dearnhar from Fredericksburg, VA

Come on, if you love B drive-in movies this is a must. Stocked entirely with a phoned-in plot, a great Johnny-Quest-like soundtrack, stereotypes (the devil-may-care, hunky romance-writer hero, expendable blacks & Latinos, bimbo wives with stupid jealous husbands, mad scientist, zombies with sunny-side-up eggs over their eyes & bad skin--it's got them all).

Like draftees into the government-sanctioned moral hygiene videos of the '50s & '60s, the C-actors seem quite willing to mutter the screenplay's bizarre malapropisms: Rich guy welcoming guests to dinner at his uncharted island plantation: "If you want those cocktails I'm afraid your'll have to bring them with you. Juarita (?) is an excellent cook. One thing she will not tolerate is food getting cold. Perhaps it's just as well--I have a Borjelais (sic) I'm very proud of. Hard liquor will just dull the palate." The Spanish is even more improvised--as if translated by Google.

No less fun (to me, anyway) for its utter predictability. Cashing in on the James Bond trend for the Busch-&-popcorn drive-in set 50 years ago (though substituting clashes of race and class for the Cold War), the scariest thing about it is the window it offers into prevailing views of (white) manhood, (white) womanhood, and the nefarious darker-skinned people who try stand in their way.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
I Was Promised Skin Eating, 27 October 2010

Author: brocksilvey from United States

Sadly, no skin is eaten in "I Eat Your Skin," but that's still a much better title for this low budget stinkeroo than its alternate, "Zombies."

Filmed for what looks to be about five dollars, "Skin" tells the tale of a playboy writer who's whisked away by his agent to a jungle island where stories of strange going on abound, in the hopes that the writer will be inspired to compose his next bestseller. Once there, they find...you guessed it....freaked out zombies made so by some sort of scientific experiments being conducted by the wealthy man who lives on the island and serves as host to the writer and his posse.

The handsome but completely unknown (to me at least) actor William Joyce plays the writer and delivers some beefcake eye candy to the ladies in a couple of shirtless scenes. But there's not much of a compelling reason for the rest of us to watch, unless it's to make fun of a bad movie.

And oy vay does this movie do nothing for 1960s civil rights. All of the black people in the movie are either oogie-boogie savages, zombies, or zombie accomplices. Martin Luther King, please look the other way.

Grade: D

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Leave it on the shelf, 30 January 2009

Author: Zeegrade from Doomed Theater of Despair

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

William Joyce is Tom Harris a womanizing writer that travels to Voodoo Island, no hint there, to investigate a forgotten tribe who sacrifice virgins for the sake of the inflicted. This is standard sixties drive-in fare and the quality shows. The screen jumps frames like a kangaroo on steroids and some of the sound is choppy and at times inaudible. Unfortunately the sound quality remains for the lines spoken by Coral (Betty Hyatt Linton) using the most gratingly annoying voice I've heard in a film. The voodoo zombies are laughably awful and the plot surrounding their creation even worse.

I eat your skin can be summed up for me in one scene. Tom Harris and his companion are swimming up to a boat that is guarded by an evil henchman with a rifle. It doesn't seem to matter that they are making more noise than a comet hitting the earth with all of the splashing they make. Dumb henchman looks over the side of the boat out of curiosity and Tom grabs him and pulls the poor dope into the water. Next, he throws the RIFLE, into the water as well. As he and his companion climb into the boat Tom begins rummaging through equipment on the boat grabbing a flare gun to which his partner asks, "What are you going to do with that?". Tom shrugs his shoulders and replies "It's better than nothing" as the waterlogged rifle hits the riverbed. I'm going to guess this film was greatly ignored as part of the double feature and bodily orifices were vastly explored due to bored filmgoers.

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