Zombie 3 (1988)

When a terrorist's body, infected with a stolen chemical, is cremated by the US military, a virus is unintentionally released into the atmosphere over a small island.

Directors:

Lucio Fulci, Claudio Fragasso (uncredited)

Writers:

Claudio Fragasso (story), Claudio Fragasso (screenplay)

Stars:

Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua

Cast

Cast overview:
Deran Sarafian	...	Kenny
Beatrice Ring	...	Patricia
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua	...	Roger (as Richard Raymond)
Massimo Vanni	...	Bo (as Alex McBride)
Ulli Reinthaler	...	Nancy
Marina Loi	...	Carole
Deborah Bergamini	...	Lia
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Plant Director (scenes deleted) (as Alan Collins)

Storyline

When a terrorist's body, infected with a stolen chemical, is recovered by the US military, the corpse is cremated, unintentionally releasing the virus/bacteria into the atmosphere over a small island. Soon the infected populace mutate into flesh-hungry zombies, and a trio of soldiers on leave must team up with a group of tourists and board themselves up in an abandoned hotel as they try to fend off the agile and aggressive living dead.

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Plot Keywords:

cameo | good versus evil | techno music | heavy metal | friends who live together | 

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and gore, and brief language

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

29 July 1988 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Zombie 3

Filming Locations:

Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Company Credits

Production Co:

Flora Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 72 min (heavily cut) 84 min (cut) (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso were hired to complete the film, they could not get the main actors again, so their scenes became subplots. Mattei claimed that he shot about 40% of the film, including all the early scenes in the film and the scenes in which the men are dressed in white anti-contamination suits.

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Goofs

Ottaviano Dell'Acqua's hair and beard are visibly longer in the scenes shot after Lucio Fulci left, such as when he is fighting the bald zombie at the abandoned kiosk, and his final scene with the anti-contamination squad.

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Quotes

Roger: [Spotting a helicopter sitting in a nearby field] Look! Do you believe it?
Patricia: Can you... can you fly one of those things?
Ken: Till yesterday it was my job!

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits appear over footage of three separate groups of characters travelling to the same destination (the helipad outside the chemical plant). All three groups converge once the credits end.

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Alternate Versions

The Spanish Castilian DVD release by Filmax Home in 2004, presents a 84 minutes censored version. Most of the violent scenes are reduced.

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Connections

Featured in The Problem Solver (2018)

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Soundtracks

Slow Think
Written by Mario Zaccagnini (as Zac) - Stefano Mainetti (as S. Mainetti)
Performed by Clue in the Crew

User Reviews

Disappointing Sequel To A Gore Classic

I am an avid fan of Lucio Fulci, and yet I must say that "Zombi 3" (aka. "Zombie Flesh Eaters 2") of 1988, which he made with two other directors, Bruno Mattei and Claudi Fragasso, was quite a disappointment. Especially compared to its great predecessor, Fulci's very own Gore classic "Zombi 2" (aka. "Zombie Felsh Eaters"/"Zombie") of 1979, this is vastly disappointing. Sure, the low rating of 4.5 already suggests that it's not a good film, but, these low ratings usually come from people who are not into Italian Zombie flicks, and as enthusiastic fan of Italian Horror films and low-budget Exploitation cinema, I love many films that have only been rewarded with much lower ratings. Also, many of my fellow Italian Horror buffs seem to think of this film as underrated, which I sadly cannot agree with. Not that the film was a complete disaster. It has some redeeming qualities, above all Fulci's nauseating gore effects, that are always a pleasure to watch for an Italian Horror/Gore buff. The basic idea behind the film is also not bad (allthough far from original) and I liked the ruthless portrayal of the military. Sadly, that's about it. While the great predecessor "Zombi 2" was extremely gory, but beyond that also genuinely creepy, this is not creepy or scary for a minute, and the nauseating and often grotesque gore is the only true reason to watch "Zombi 3". The film is sometimes fun to watch, but only for the gore, and as an unintentional comedy. I guess that it was mainly the gore that came from Fulci, and the disappointing rest that came from Mattei and Fragasso, the first of which was involved in a bunch of nasty cult-flicks (such as D'Amato's "Porno Holocaust"), and the second of which is responsible for one of the worst movies ever made, the god-awful "Troll 2". Overall, this is definitely watchable for the gore, but, out of all Fulci films I've seen so far, this is definitely the worst, and I've seen the majority of this great filmmaker's repertoire. I am a Fulci fan, and I always will be, but this sure isn't his magic moment. It may be fun for the gore, but I recommend to watch any other Fulci film before this!