Virus (1980/I)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Bruno Mattei

Writers:

José María Cunillés (writer)
Rossella Drudi (writer)

Release Date:

20 January 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

When the creeping dead devour the living flesh!

Plot:

A tough female reporter and her cameraman boyfriend team up with a four-man commando unit in the New Guinea jungle whom are fighting flesh-eating zombies.

Plot Keywords:

Flesh Eating | New Guinea | Chemical | Chemical Leak | Zombie

Cast

Margit Evelyn Newton	...	Lia Rousseau
Franco Garofalo	...	Zantoro (as Frank Garfield)
Selan Karay	...	Vincent
José Gras	...	Lt. Mike London (as Robert O'Neil)
Gabriel Renom	...	Max (as Gaby Renom)
Josep Lluís Fonoll	...	Osborne (as Luis Fonoll)
Pietro Fumelli	...	Man on TV
Bruno Boni	...	Josie's Husband
Patrizia Costa	...	Josie
Cesare Di Vito	...	Technician Lawson
Sergio Pislar	...	Technician Fowler
Bernard Seray	...	Barrett's assistant
Víctor Israel	...	Zombie priest
Pep Ballenster	...	Reporter
Joaquín Blanco	...	Professor Barrett

Also Known As:

Apocalipsis caníbal (Spain)
Hell of the Living Dead (International: English title)
Inferno dei morti viventi (Italy)
Night of the Zombies (USA)
Zombi 4 (USA) (pre-release title)
Zombi 5: Ultimate Nightmare (Italy)
Zombie Creeping Flesh (UK)
Zombie Inferno

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Germany:(Banned) | UK:18 (re-rating: 2002) | UK:(Banned) (1984-2002) | UK:X (original rating: 1982) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM14 | Italy:VM18 (VHS rating) | Australia:R | Canada:R | Norway:(Banned) | Spain:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Badalona, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Beatrice Film

Trivia:

The documentary footage of the New Guinea tribe is real footage filmed of a burial service. The rest of the footage can be seen on the documentary OF THE DEAD (DES MORTS)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the abandoned house, zombies that are seen entering through the window upstairs are also seen entering from downstairs.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Angry Video Game Nerd: Chronologically Confused About Sequel Titles (#1.15)" (2006)

Violence, comedy, and gore...

'Zombie Creeping Flesh' (as it was originally entitled here in the UK) was one in an entire glut of zombie flicks to follow the success of Romero's endeavours into the (zombie) horror genre.

In it's entirety 'Creeping Flesh' is a decidedly 'weak' film. The acting is crass, macho and hilarious at times. And the fact that the film must consist of at least (I assume) 30% stock-footage gives the impression that director Bruno Mattei really wasn't that enthusiastic about making the film whatsoever - either that or he was severely lacking the funding that it so desperately needed.

Having said that, the film is an entertaining enough affair; in the sense that the comedy and violence is enough to keep most horror fans interested, if not glued to the screen. The idea that zombies, and cannibalism, are a sort of metaphor for Third World hunger is a somewhat unusual idea for a zombie film and I guess this is a sort of reflection surrounding the anxieties in the era in which it was made.

I personally don't believe that this film is as bad as some people have made out. It is, by no means, on par with any of Romero's or Fulci's work yet I don't feel it deserves to be totally written-off. 'Creeping Flesh' is certainly a lot more fulfilling than 'Zombie Holocaust', for example, and a great deal more 'gung-ho'. It just fails though because it is alarmingly 'corny' and very derivate of so much that stood before it. The fact that a fair portion of the soundtrack was originally used in 'Dawn of The Dead' just goes to prove this. If you thrive on gore, zombies, cannibalism, and insane violence then try and check this film out: just don't get your hopes up too high.