Zombie 5: Killing Birds (1987)
"Killing Birds: Raptors" (original title)

A group of students goes into the woods to study birds, and soon the dead begin to rise to devour the living.

Director:

Claudio Lattanzi

Writers:

Claudio Lattanzi (story), Sheila Goldberg (story),

Stars:

Lara Wendel, Robert Vaughn, Timothy W. Watts

Cast

Cast overview:
Lara Wendel	...	Anne
Robert Vaughn	...	Dr. Fred Brown
Timothy W. Watts	...	Steve Porter
Leslie Cumming	...	Mary (as Leslie Cummins)
James Villemaire	...	Paul
Sal Maggiore	...	Brian (as Sal Maggiore Jr.)
James Sutterfield	...	Rob
Lin Gathright	...	Jennifer
Brigitte Paillet	...	Steve's Mother
Nona Paillet	...	Steve's Grandmother
Ellis Paillet	...	Steve's Grandfather
John H. Green	...	Dr. Green

Storyline

In Louisiana, a soldier returning from Vietnam finds his wife in bed with her lover and he kills them both as well as a couple of friends, but he is attacked by a bird and he loses his eyes. Years later, the bodies have not been found and the former soldier is now a bird specialist (Dr. Fred Brown) living in a house nearby the swamp. When a group of college students go to the swamp on an assignment to research a species of woodpecker that is almost extinct, they head to Dr. Brown's house to get some tips of how to find the rare bird. They drive through the swamp where they find the house where the murders happened and they decide to stay there. During the night, weird things happen.

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Plot Keywords:

swamp | murder | hot wiring | head ripped off | strangling a boy | 

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

19 August 1988 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Zombie 5: Killing Birds

Filming Locations:

Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

ITL 150,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmirage, Flora Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ultra Stereo)

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The house featured in the beginning of the film is the same used in The Beyond (aka 'The Beyond').

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Connections

Referenced in Paura nel buio (1989)

User Reviews

Bottom of the barrel for Robert Vaughan

(aka: ZOMBI 5)

Gawd, what a waste of time. Viet-Nam vet comes home and finds his wife sleeping with another man. He slits her throat, then he slits the guy's throat. Phony to say the least. He then throws a knife at another guy and it sticks into his forehead. Lame.

Then one of the caged birds on the porch gets loose and starts plucking the vets eyes out, blinding him. More phony. At least the dialog isn't overdubbed and they used mostly American unknowns, but it's terrible and amateurish and should have been scrapped altogether.

Cut some 20 years later and the vet (Robert Vaughan) invites some university students over to his property to study the wildlife and sleep over at the now-abandoned house for the night. But it's not really abandoned because some zombies are around and start killing the teenagers. "Where'd they come from....?" you ask... At least I did.

This is worse than Jeff Stryker in the Philippines (ZOMBI 4) or Bruno Mattei in Spain (HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD) so if you think those were the most awful zombie films out there, guess again...

On the short interview included with the Shriek DVD, Robert Vaughan says he can't remember too many details about the film (that's how 'memorable' it was) and instead talks a little bit about his family and career. What did that have to do with the film?

I guess to flesh out the interview. Another flop from the likes of Joe D'Amato.

2 out of 10



PS: This one's filmed in Louisiana so I guess that makes it a domestic, huh?