Erotic Nights of the Living Dead

i think a lot of people where let down by this flick, as most catalogs and genre books describe it as a gore soaked zombie porno. honestly, this film isn't that graphic. the sex is what i would call "hard soft-core" and there isn't much gore (though what gore there is is pretty cool.)

anywho, the story, from what i can tell concerns some kind of scientist/archetect/developer who travels to a strange island to do something or other, most likely something bad. once there, he angers the natives and a voodoo priest raises the dead which leads to a really creepy zombie attack-no really, it's right up there with fulci's zombie. as i said, there isn't much gore, but there is a neat scene where a doctor is examining a cadaver that was found floating in the bay, it sits up and takes a big bite out of the guys throat. then at the end there's a few bullet hits, some zombie carnage and star marks shannon gets his johnson bit of by laura gemser. the sex is fairly tame but there's a hilariously sleazy scene of a woman un-corking a champange bottle with her naughty bits. this film also has a great atmosphere and some excellent photography (also by Joe D'Amato) look out for some cool trick shots like when mark shannon throws a voddo idle on the ground and it changes instantly into a black cat that jumps up and attacks him. i had to watch that one again in slow motion i was so impressed! i would highly recommend this film for fans of bizarre cinema, and despite the lack of english, i think most will enjoy.

Anyone who has seen Porno Holocaust will know exactly what to expect from Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, as the two films feature basically the same cast and plot lines. Joe D'Amato is often held in high regard by cult horror fans, and he has made some excellent classics in the genre; but to be honest, I really don't know where he's coming from with the whole porn/zombies thing. Last time I checked, the living dead aren't sexy and mixing an average zombie film with a load of porn isn't exactly a guaranteed recipe for success. As mentioned, the plot is basically the same as the one in Porno Holocaust and focuses on an isolated island. A group of sex starved (or not) people travel to the island for some reason or another, but naturally the island is infested with zombies. This doesn't stop the travellers having sex with each other every five minutes, the zombies do prove to be a bit of a nuisance. That's about the long and short of the plot really...

This film is slightly better than Porno Holocaust, but only slightly. The two films suffer from the same main problems: Erotic Nights of the Living Dead is also far too long, and it takes too long for anything to happen too. The sex is mostly quite boring too, which obviously does the film no favours. The film features two of exploitation cinema's biggest stars in George Eastman (also the writer) and Laura Gemser. Gemser, however, doesn't turn up until we get over the halfway point. There's a fair bit of gore in the film, some of it quite hardcore, but it's clear that the sex is the main focus. The zombies themselves are the typical Italian style crusty looking things; not very convincing! As mentioned, the film is far too long and the plot really drags on numerous occasions, which is a shame. There really isn't much to this film; it's very much what you'd expect, so if you're looking for something substantial then look elsewhere! I can't really say that I found Erotic Nights of the Living Dead all that enjoyable so I won't be recommending it, but I guess some sleaze fans may get a kick out of it.

Erotic Nights of the Living Dead was made back-to-back with Joe D'amato's other zombie shagathon Porno Holocaust (released in 1981), and shares much of that film's cast, plus its island location. It also shares its ability to bore me witless, with the quantity and quality of sex seriously waning after the first half an hour, and very little in the way of decent gore, despite featuring more of the undead.

D'amato regular George 'Anthropophagus' Eastman plays Larry, a sailor hired by mustachioed architect/stud John Wilson (Mark Shannon) to take him (and his current woman) to a mysterious island, which, according to local legend, is home to flesh-eating zombies which are ruled over by a cat. Once there, they meet a strange old man and his beautiful daughter (Laura Gemser), have sex, and run into lots of mouldy reanimated corpses.

As you've probably surmised, it doesn't make whole lot of sense, and, at 112 minutes (in its uncut form), is extremely tedious. As always Eastman stays well clear of any hardcore action, preferring to keep his trousers on during sex, whilst Gemser indulges in purely soft-core fumblings. And all of the humping is strictly between the living (unlike Porno Holocaust, which featured a very randy zombie).

Very occasionally, the film offers those seeking sleazy treats something to make them smile—a woman displays a unique way of removing a cork from a champagne bottle, and Gemser bites off Wilson's todger—but, on the whole, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead is a dreary mess.

In case you always wondered (or worried) whether or not you would get aroused by the sight of zombies having sexual intercourse...you still won't find out by watching this weirdo-flick. In spite of what the title suggests, "Erotic Nights of the Living Dead" does not feature copulating undead or strip-dancing corpses. This merely is a routine Italian zombie film, like "Zombi 2" or "Zombie Holocaust", with a handful of hardcore sex sequences thrown in during the first half hour. And as crazy as it may sound, it actually is a pretty decent zombie movie if you just ignore these totally redundant porno moments and focus on the beautiful island location and rather stylish gory make-up effects. There's the typically obnoxious businessman who buys a tropical island with a vicious reputation and intends to build a tourist resort there. Along with a macho sailer and a whore he picked up in some hotel, he goes to scout the place but stumbles upon an uncanny old man and his ghostly granddaughter that rule over the island. Laura Gemser, ravishing cult siren and regular D'Amato nymph, stars as the mysterious island girl but her role is rather limited and she doesn't really show much of her enchanting body. George Eastman clearly is in great shape again as the stud, but he still doesn't manage to script down one reasonably good dialogue. There are a couple of atmospheric zombie-attacks and explicit gore. You can't possibly expect more from a Joe D'Amato film, apart from sleazy oddities in the script maybe, like the girl who ingeniously uncorks a bottle of champagne by using her vagina only (!).

Okay, PORNO HOLOCAUST certainly isn't going to win any awards, but it's a fun, dirty movie from a classic director. Joe D'Amato has given us some REAL characters in a totally insane situation, but wallows in the fact that it's all in good fun. The players continually screw their brains out until they reach the deserted jungle island... at which time they continue screwing. The film builds to a climax (no pun intended) when a well-endowed native man appears to crush a few skulls and choke some folks to death. Then we've got MORE SEX, a little violence, and... you guessed it... MORE SEX! It may be the lowest form of entertainment, vulgar, and completely inappropriate, but who cares??? It's fun!