Sam Panico Zombi 2 has nothing to do with Dawn of the Dead, which was re-edited by co-producer Dario Argento, rescored by Goblin and released in Italy as Zombi. It was a huge success and nothing succeeds like more, more and more. As Italian copyright law allows any film to be marketed as a sequel to another work, producer Fabrizio De Angelis quickly decided that it was time to make that sequel.Originally, Enzo G. Castellari (1990: The Bronx Warriors, Warriors of the Wasteland) was asked to direct, but he didn't feel like he was the right director. The second choice was Lucio Fulci, who had handled violence so well in Don't Torture a Duckling, and screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti, who had worked with Fulci on The Psychic (and would go on to write nearly all of Fulci's most famous films).Under the working title of Nightmare Island, the story was intended to be a mix of The Island of Dr. Moreau and classic zombie movies such as I Walked with a Zombie. What emerged was a frightful force of nature that takes Romero's film, jettisons the political undercurrents and gives viewers exactly what they want: more zombies, more gore, more blasts of pure insanity. In short: more, more, more.The film begins a zombie being shot in the head, letting you instantly know that this film is not going to wait around and take prisoners. That's followed by an effective on location New York shot, as an abandoned sailboat bumps and drifts before being boarded by harbor police, who discover that only one somewhat living creature remains: a zombie who kills one officer before being shot and falling overboard.The owner of the boat, Anne Bowles (Tisa Farrow, The Initiation of Sarah), is questioned by the police about the whereabouts of her father, who she hasn't seen in months. Meanwhile, at the morgue, the dead cop begins to stir.Upon meeting Peter West (Ian McCulloch, Doctor Butcher, M.D.) she decides to follow her father to his last known location: the Caribbean island of Matul, sailing there with Brian (Al Cliver, The Beyond, Endgame) and Susan. This is where the movie goes from slow first gear to pure menacing rollercoaster. It's also where sanity leaves the production, as a zombie battles a shark, an effect achieved by feeding shark tranquilizers and having shark trainer Ramón Bravo play the zombie. This scene was created by producer Ugo Tucci and shot without Fulci's approval by Giannetto De Rossi.On Matul, Dr. David Menard (Richard Johnson, Beyond the Door, The Comeback) is running a hospital but also researching voodoo, leading to his wife Paola (Olga Karlatos, Murder Rock and Prince's mother in Purple Rain) flipping out on him. But don't get too attached to Paola, as she soon is snuffed out by a zombie in what is this film's most celebrated and reviled scene, as a zombie sneaks up on her and smashes through a door, jamming a wooden splinter into her eye. Any other film would show this in shadow or off camera. Here, Fulci descends to his basest form and takes the window of the soul and pierces it for all to see.Menard soon tells Anne that her father is dead before asking everyone to check in on his wife. Of course, she's dead. But even worse, zombies are eating her corpse, a scene rendered in loving detail that seems to go on forever. They escape to a graveyard of ancient conquistadors who rise from the ground in another astounding sequence. Susan's throat is torn out and the three survivors battle their way to a hospital where they face off against a zombie horde -- a scene insisted upon by the producers.Only Anne and Peter escape, locking the zombified form of Brian below deck. As they approach New York, they learn that the city has been overcome by the undead. We see zombies slowly walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, effectively bringing us back to Dawn of the Dead all over again.Zombi didn't just make money. It made more than the film that inspired it and led to a wave of 1980's Italian gore shockers, as well as giving Fulci the cachet of the goriest director of them all.Even the music in this film stands out, thanks to the work of Fabio Frizzi, who was influenced by Carribean music and the Beatle's "A Day in the Life."I can't be objective about this film. I realize Fulci's shortcomings but it's such an effective shocker, unafraid to punch you repeatedly in the face. Loud, bombastic, brutal and ridiculous -- that's why it's a movie that gets played in my blu ray player every few months. Just look at that ad campaign -- WE ARE GOING TO EAT YOU! -- and know that this is a movie made to entertain on all levels.

christopher-underwood I had forgotten just how solid a piece of work this is. After an elegiac opening in the New York harbour and a drifting, seemingly innocent yacht (despite the now ominous view of the twin towers) things are about to kick off most dramatically. Watching on Blu-ray, when my previous viewing was on VHS the difference in picture quality was bound to be noticeable but I was a little anxious that the special effects might not look as realistic. Worry not, absolutely astonishing from the early US appearance through the amazing graveyard scenes as the undead emerge from below the surface to the later crowded scenes of mayhem. That the creatures are not all the same is most commendable and helps maintain the horror level. The individual scenes of extreme violence are also beautifully achieved and wincingly effective. I must also mention the underwater scenes prior to all this which in their own way are just as remarkable. The zombie fighting with the shark quite brilliant and I feel I should just also mention how delectable the young Auretta Gay is in these scenes too. Wonderful and meticulous film making and to achieve so much in an area of film, even now, so despised is to be much praised.

sean-57842 I've recently been on a bit of a kick to catch up on watching films that I've been putting off for years, and Zombie (or Zombie Flesh Eaters) was high at the top of the list. Initially, I found that the New York scenes and the scenes in the confines of the boat really didn't really grab my attention. The scene where Anne and Peter pretend to be lovers to avoid the wrath of the policeman didn't seem to make much sense at all, but there we go.Things definitely get better towards the second half of the movie, helped in spades by topless scenes of Olga Karlatos as Mrs. Menard and of course, a zombie fighting a shark. As the action ramps up towards the end, the zombies seem to become more and more disgusting. Absolutely fowl creatures! Fulci most definitely created the ultimate zombie; some of them are absolutely disgusting. Brilliant! Bit of a daft ending too, but I really enjoyed this film. The graininess of the footage really lent itself to the content. Classic!

Leofwine_draca The name itself is synonymous with the "video nasty" craze of the 1980s, when the lucky residents of the UK found that their favourite gory horror films were being taken from the shelves of the local video shops and put in a dark, damp cellar with the word "BANNED" on the door. ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS is perhaps the most notorious film of that era, and even non-horror fans are sure to come across the title some time in their lives. It certainly is Lucio Fulci's most popular film, even if it is not his best. The film is simply known as ZOMBIE in America and as ZOMBI 2 in Italy, due to the fact that it was partly intended as a spin-off following on from the success of Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD, released a year earlier in that territory as simply ZOMBI.Most modern people who view the film find themselves disappointed. It's slow moving, badly made, and with shoddy production values. However, opinion amongst horror fans is divided. Half of us think that it's rubbish and not worth watching due to the fact that it is simply too boring. The other half (of which I am included) see through the sometimes mundane nature of the film and see that it is in fact a good, old-fashioned adventure romp, harking back to the days of Lewton's I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, a Caribbean-set zombie film, with extra lashings of gore. Sure, I am ready to agree that the film is a little slow, that the acting is rather amateur, and the production values leave something to be desired. But rising above all these factors is the fact that the film's heart is in the right place, it's fun, and it was never meant to be taken too seriously. And that's why I love it.There's a lot to like about the film. It's one of those ones which grows on you. I didn't think much of it myself the first time I watched it, but after a few more viewings it now holds a special place in my heart. The music, for instance, is excellent. I once heard it described as "fairground" music but that's not the case. It starts off with a slow beat which lasts for ages and then becomes a drawn-out haunting score which appears whenever the zombies too. The acting isn't up to much but the cast includes a whole load of notable names. First off is Tisa Farrow, the sister of Mia. Then there's Ian McCulloch, who appeared in a number of cheesy horror films around this time. Al Cliver also appears and he too was in a number of Italian horror films. The final name is Richard Johnson who shot to fame in the 1963 Robert Wise classic THE HAUNTING. Johnson is the most believable character here, as the helpless doctor trying to find a cure for the sickness. The rest of the cast is adequate.The gore on offer is from one of the most respected names in Italian SFX history, Giannetto De Rossi, and is literally eye-popping. It's certainly realistic and also quite sickening in some instances (the infamous eye-piercing springs to mind!) The make up on the zombies is excellent, and these zombies are my favourite from any film you care to think of - they beat Romero's pasty-faced wisps into the ground! They're rotted, they've got worms coming out of their eye sockets, they're superb. So if you go easy on this film you'll find yourself enjoying it despite its many faults. Watch out for the scene at the end in the hospital where the survivors are throwing Molotov cocktails - one piece of footage is re-used four times! The budget obviously wasn't up to much but director Fulci succeeded in creating a memorable, much talked-about infamous classic in the genre.