Zombie (1979)

Strangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writer:

Elisa Briganti

Stars:

Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tisa Farrow	...	Anne Bowles
Ian McCulloch	...	Peter West (as Ian Mc Culloch)
Richard Johnson	...	Dr. Menard
Al Cliver	...	Brian Hull
Auretta Gay	...	Susan Barrett
Stefania D'Amario	...	Nurse Clara - Menard's Assistant
Olga Karlatos	...	Mrs. Menard

Storyline

A zombie is found aboard a boat off the New York coast which belongs to do a famous scientist. Peter West, a journalist, travels to the Antilles with Ann, the daughter of the scientist. On the way, they meet with with Brian, a ethnologist, and Susan. When they arrive at Matul Island, they find Dr. Menard, and discover a terrifying disease which is turning the islanders into horrifying zombies which devour human flesh and seem indestructible....

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Plot Keywords:

tropical island | zombie | zombie outbreak | virus | end of the world | 

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Taglines:

When the earth spits out the dead, they will rise to suck the blood of the living!

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence/gore and nudity

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

18 July 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zombie 2: The Dead are Among Us

Filming Locations:

Studio Mafera, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

ITL410,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Variety Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 89 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite being called "Zombi 2", the film is not a sequel to anything. When Dawn of the Dead (1978) was released under the title "Zombi" in Italy, this film was retitled "Zombi 2" to cash in on the success of the American film. This was done by the studio without Director Lucio Fulci's permission or knowledge, and he often told fans this wasn't a sequel, and that it is its own film. He was relieved to find out the film's actual title "Zombie" was kept in the American release.

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Goofs

While defending the hospital from hordes of zombies, Peter and Brian throw Molotov cocktails at the entrance. Despite throwing several that result in fireballs and flames, each time one is thrown the hospital entrance is clear of any flames.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[repeated line]
Dr. Menard: The boat can leave now. Tell the crew.

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Alternate Versions

The 91 minute, uncut version of this film finally passed the Australian film classification board (the OFLC) in February 2004, effectively ending the censorship of this title in Australia. It is to be released on DVD. Prior VHS video releases, on both the Starbase and Video Excellence labels, were heavily cut.

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Connections

Featured in City of the Living Dead: The Making of 'City of the Living Dead' (2010)

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Soundtracks

There's No Matter
(uncredited)
Composed by Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, Vince Tempera, Vittorio Pezzolla
Performed by Linda Lee

User Reviews

"The boat can leave now...tell the crew."

"Zombi 2" is without a doubt one of the all time classics of the zombie sub genre, kick starting a cycle in director Lucio Fulci's career of no holds barred horror movies that combined in your face gruesome violence and tons of overwhelming doom and gloom atmosphere. It contains a few set pieces that are extremely iconic to horror fans; who can see the slow eyeball piercing, the underwater battle between a zombie and a shark, the sight of the zombies rising from the earth, and the fiery climax and forget them?

The movie begins with just such a set piece, a hint of things to come, when a seemingly deserted yacht sails into New York harbour, and the cops who board it are attacked by a corpulent zombie. Intrepid reporter Peter West (the engaging Ian McCulloch) teams with Anne Bowles (Tisa Farrow), the daughter of the yacht's owner, and they travel to the obscure Caribbean island of Matul to track down the father, learning that he was only one of a number of victims of a zombie epidemic there.

Commendably, screenwriter Elisa Briganti (given uncredited assistance by her husband and fellow screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti, a very familiar name to fans of Italian horror) stresses a mystery element, never giving a conclusive answer to the strange happenings - is it some disease to blame or is it really the result of voodoo? Fulci (appearing on screen as a newspaper editor-in-chief) stages the assorted bits of gory mayhem with great flair, yet parcels them out carefully, keeping the pace steady but never really cutting loose until the final act, which is intense and exciting; West proves to be a pretty kick ass hero. And the music sets the mood extremely well with a hell of a memorable main theme. The movie co-stars the always excellent Richard Johnson ("The Haunting" '63, "Beyond the Door", etc.) as the weary Dr. Menard, stubbornly struggling to find the answers, Al Cliver and Auretta Gay as the helpful Brian and Susan, lovely Stefania D'Amario as the nurse, Dakar as Lucas, and stunning Olga Karlatos as Menard's wife Paola. Both Gay and Karlatos also show off a lot of skin as well.

A thoroughly enjoyable movie with an ultimately apocalyptic feel, "Zombi 2" features some of the most convincingly ugly zombies captured on film, with "worm eye" (played by stuntman Ottaviano Dell'Acqua) having become the movie's most enduring image. This is simply one of those "must see" movies that horror fans should see as part of their experience.

Eight out of 10.