Zombie (aka Zombie 2, Island of the Living Dead)
| release date | November 30 1978 |
| studio | Anchor Bay |
| director | Lucio Fulci |
| writer | Elisa Briganti |
| starring | Tisa Farrow, Al Cliver |
| rating | R |
| tagline | When the earth spits out the dead, they will rise to suck the blood of the living! |
| site | amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005U128 |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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Great gods in Hades, this was one of the stupidest films in the genre I’ve ever seen. Zero plot, bad acting, and not even in the “so bad it’s great” vein. This just sucked. The ONE redeeming feature: shark vs. zombie. Beyond that, don’t waste your time.
this film is BRILLIANT.
Yes..I have the iconic zombie tattooed on my arm for life..rather than go into a long detailed review of why I love this movie with all my heart I will just state the obvious in 5 words
THE ZOMBIE FIGHTS A SHARK
This movie is scary for something made back in the 70′s and the gore is very realistically done!
(Please Note: This review and Easter Egg of Zombi 2 are only related to the Shriek Show July 2004 2 Disc release.)
Okay, let’s be brief: If you didn’t grow up in the horror lovin’ 80′s or are not an established fan of Italian horror films, this movie probably won’t work for you. This is the unofficial sequel to Romero’s “Dawn Of The Dead” (the 1978 version of course) made primary for Italian audiences when Dawn was released there under the title of “Zombi”. Even though this one doesn’t take place in a mall or feature anything or anyone like the original storyline of Dawn, it does have almost the same feel. Eventually in America, this film came to us with English dubbed audio under the title of “Zombie”. But now Shriek Show has finally released a remastered 2 disc set of this classic movie fully uncut for the first time in the states.
Or so I thought.
Ya see, when the movie starts, there’s a brief scene set-up (as it always was), then it goes into the opening credits. I was expecting to see the original Italian credits showing it finally under it’s original title “Zombi 2″, like the box. But it isn’t, it’s the American version with the title “Zombie”. Nitpicking, huh? But after a little searching I found an Easter Egg that shows that original title sequence that finally shows that this film was called “Zombi 2″. Here’s how to get to it (it’s easy….):
On Disc One go to the “Features” section. In there, press the number “6″ on your remote. It will activate a red skull button in the upper right on the screen (you CAN’T activate it by searching around the menu with your arrow buttons, very rare by Easter Egg standards!), and it will press the button automatically and take you to the original Italian opening credits and clearly show that this film was called “Zombi 2″, logo and all. Also, after they’re done, it will show an alternate end credits, but honestly I couldn’t see any difference on them as opposed to the ones on the movie now.
All in all, this movie has never looked or sounded better ever. Some say it’s looks too cleaned up now. They might have a point because the picture is so perfect now (colors bright, sharp image, brightness exact, sound crisp, etc) that it gives away the effects in the movie. Well, I’d rather have this movie perfect picture than a dark, grainy VHS anyday.
This movie is a classic piece of horror history and should be owned (especially the Shriek Show 25th Anniversary version…the extras here are superior….the making of documentary is as long as the movie itself!) by anyone with two or more “Living Dead/Zombie” DVD’s already in their collection. I’m glad I got it, THIS is the way classic horror should be re-released.
P.S.: If you look hard enough (the DVD’s trailer section has their previews), there is a “Zombi 3″ and a “Zombie 4″ movies out there too. Trust me, you don’t need them or want them, as they don’t have the same feel or quality of “Zombi 2″ or “Dawn Of The Dead”. Just be happy with their trailers. Enjoy!
(RedSabbath Rating:9.0/10)
Zombie is a very cool movie that holds up nicely 30 years after its initial release date. I can remember seeing this movie in the theater when I was about 8 years old. The “eye gouging” scene made a lasting impression on me, and was really the only thing I could remember about the film all these years later.
So I popped this movie in my DVD player and gave it another spin. Boy, was I glad I did! This is a film that belongs in any horror film collection. I have not seen many Fulci movies, but I can certainly see why he is so admired and respected as a brilliant horror film director.
Zombie has a nice blend of beauty and gore; with the backdrop of the film taking place on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. John. What a very intelligent choice of locale to shoot this blood fest! The underwater shark/zombie sequence is a masterpiece of cinematography and direction. I was floored at how well it was done. I have seen nothing that rivaled that segment in any film ever!! It left me gawking and with the burning question “How the hell did they do that”??
The make-up of the all the Zombies is also quite impressive.
A very intriguing film from beginning to end. The dubbing was slightly annoying, but most of the film is in English; which makes it more than tolerable. Definitely recommend to any fan of the horror/zombie genre.
this is definately one of my favorite movies of all time. lucio fulci is nothing short of a horror film genius. well paced, gore soaked, zombie ripping fun. the highlight of the film is the famous underwater fight scene between a zombie and a big shark. perfectly shot. some of the best zombie effects ever made. never a dull moment. note: this was meant to be an unofficial italian sequel to romeros dead films, hence the name zombi 2. not much similarities of the two films, but stil a great addition to any fulci of zombie fans collection.
A great gore film one of fulci’s best
A great movie with a lot of gore, fun throughout and some great scenes like The eye scene and zombie feasting scene. Makeup and gore are much better than the original Dawn of the Dead .
i didn’t like this movie as much as other people i don’t know why i couldn’t get in too it it was too slow to me the gore was great but it seemed all pointless in the end =|
Zombie was a highly anticipated movie for me. I have to say that I am going to give this a 7/10. The last 30 minutes of this movie saved it. Zombie has a decent story to it, but it dragged on too long. There was a nice amount of gore, but too spread out throughout the film. I felt myself nodding off at times, and really wanting more to happen than what did. This movie had the potential of being amazing, just not as good as some other movies I’ve seen. I would definitely give it a rental referral,just because there was some nice gore. The zombies are some of the best I’ve seen in a film..
I am the big movie fan in the family, and I had never seen or heard of this film until my wife mentioned it when I was trying to think of films to get through my netflix. She could only remember the scene on the boat, so I ordered it. I’m not the huge fan that some claim makes this great, but I was humored by all that I was watching. The fight scene with the shark and the zombie was so bad it was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time.
I enjoyed watching this and plan on getting it again so a friend of mine can watch it and if I can find it on DVD will probably buy it for a good laugh.
I will have to say that my wife who is not a big horror fan loved this movie and that is a good enough for me to get it, because it is one of those rare films that she will actually sit down and watch.
Fulci is classic,whether or not you actually liked this movie it stands out as pure oldschool zombie gore.With a great eye gouging scene,to the rather ridiculous zombie versus shark scene,this flick is just fun to watch.Well…Fun to watch muted as the dialogue is a bit hard to listen to.Still any living dead fan owes it to see Zombie.
A prime example from my favorite era/style of horror… The gore! The atmosphere! The soundtrack! The nudity! The cheesy dialogue! … … The splinter-in-the-eye is still one of the few gore scenes that make me wince. And, truly, how can anyone deny the sheer cheesy brilliance of the underwater zombie-fighting-shark-while-topless-scub-girl-watches scene? Good stuff…!
I was pleasantly surprised. Even though there were some cheesy scenes this movie is fun to watch and got points for nice kills, aka splinter in the eye…the topless blonde fighting the underwater zombie didn’t hurt either.
Writing from a modern standpoint, it’s hard for me to give any zombie movie a good score, no matter how supposedly classic it is. I’ve seen zombies doing everything from conventionally tearing people apart to unconventionally delivering mail, but I’ve never once seen a single zombie movie that wasn’t entirely predictable, and, in the end, also forgettable. No matter what the director has the zombies doing, the movie itself always ends up showing the same generic story that more than 99% of zombie movies tell. I realize it’s almost ludicrously harsh for me to sit here and insult an entire subgenre of horror, but what else is there for me to do? After you’ve seen a generic storyline once, seeing it again will be much less exciting than it was the first time. After you’ve seen a generic storyline thousands of times, seeing it again will almost give you as much thrill as watching a white wall. I don’t review my movies from the point of view of the decade it came out–there are thousands of people who do that, and the world doesn’t need one more. I review movies from the point of view of the modern person. If you don’t like it, don’t read my review. But I know people appreciate it. In that stance, Zombie 2 just feels bland at best. And even in 1979, I’m not so sure everyone would have disagreed, either.
The main problem with Zombie 2, as I said, is the overt lack of anything even mildly different from the countless films just like it that came out before it. I do give it credit for being pretty creative with some of the scenes and using a less-clichéd story than I expected. The music is spot-on and sets a great atmosphere. The use of primary colors and the island setting make it pretty fun to watch. The directing is very solid and the entire film has a grade-quality that is certainly impressive. The zombie make-up was flawless. But all those nice things I just said don’t make Zombie 2 anymore memorable whatsoever. It’s at least worth one viewing, but after that you’ll forget you even watched it–a staple with zombie movies.
I’m always hearing about how great the gore is. Some websites have even gone to the extent of calling some of the kills in Zombie 2 the best kills in horror history. Maybe so. The gore is very scarce for a zombie film, with only around 7 on-screen kills that go into any graphic detail whatsoever. However, when those kills take place, they’re all very graphic for their decade. This is certainly something that needs to be commended, but calling it the goriest film of all time, or even the goriest film of the 70s, is completely biased and stupid. The average 10-year-old could most likely sit through this without squirming once.
The other main flaw in Zombie 2 is lack of intensity. As with all zombie films, the uncreative writer decides to throw in cliché dramatic subplots, and it becomes boring fast. I actually laughed out loud through my boredom when I heard the 10-minute long “What are these things?” conversation that goes on and on as if the audience has the intelligence of a Down syndrome-plagued walrus.
What more can be said of a typical zombie movie? To branch of my opening metaphor, I’ve seen zombies walk across screen and tear people up as much as I’ve seen the walls of my own house. I don’t write reviews of my bedroom, do I? No, but that’s certainly how I feel writing this. There is nothing to say because Zombie 2 is so paper-thin. Yes, the directing is good and thus Zombie 2 some sort of “classic”. Who cares? The more “classics” I watch, the more I find they’re only given that title because back in 1979 a bunch of 5-year-old kids watched the said movie, grew up with gnawing nostalgia, and now that they’re the oldest group in the population their biased opinion becomes the final one. Just because a movie is a “classic” doesn’t mean it’s any more original than the most recent blockbuster about generic aliens or generic cannibalistic families or generic gangsters. All the term “classic” means it that a group of people have nostalgia for a certain film and thus everyone must love it or their opinions are “childish”. Hopefully I’m not the only one who catches the irony there.
I’m sorry when I say it, but Zombie 2 is nothing special now and it wasn’t anything special when it was first made. It’s just another generic, copy/paste zombie movie. Did I have some fun watching it? Sure. The flashy primary colors held my attention in the same way any children’s cartoon would. The eye scene is great stuff, and ballsy for its time. I might even go as far as to say that Zombie 2 is my favorite zombie movie of all time. It’s not a terrible movie. But that’s not saying much, either.
one of the best zombie movies. love the makeup and practical effects. fulci’s pretty consistent in terms of a visual style, no different here, like the cinematography. i don’t know why, but i love the music. there’s nothing remarkeable about any of the music used, but i love it, and how it’s used within the movie. love the zombies. nothing really original or genre expanding about them, they’re just the classic walking corpses from back in the day, but i do love them in this movie. not a huge fan of the protagonist, but by the end of the movie, his comb over reminds me of bill murray in the big lebowski, so his receding hairline kinda redeems the character. in any case if you love zombies, this is definetly worth renting, if not buying.
Definately worth watching for zombie fans and italian horror.
great zombie movie!! better than most of the new movies!!
One of the best Lucio Fulci’s films ever made. It is one of my favorite movies ever and is a cult classic. It is filled with blood and gore. See this movie
def the best of the italian zombie flicks with one of the nastiest death scenes to grace the screen, zombie is a bit slow at times but it realy doesnt matter because it keeps you watching. good flick!
As Gory As The Law Allows-Totally Uncut & Uncensored! Topless Skin-Diving! Shark Bites Zombie! The Dead Are Among Us-Belongs In Every Horror Film Collection!
One of the better zombie films out there. The eyeball scene was amzing, and also very creepy music that set the mood. Ya some parts were kinda slow but really didnt take to much away from the overall movie.
It’s got a fucking shark/zombie fight! I could excuse anything else in any movie (though, I don’t have to with this one as overall its fuckin’ cool) if it has a shark fighting a zombie.
Most people that talk about this movie will talk about the eyeball piercing scene, but that scene doesn’t have a shark in it, so fuck it. Anytime there’s a scene where a shark bites off zombie parts all the rest will be fodder.
They should have added a shark/zombie scene to “Schindler’s List”. Then that movie would have deserved its Best Picture Oscar.
Some films require extensive details when reviewing it. Lucio Fulci’s Zombi 2? Just give me a few words.
Lucio Fulci. Lucio Fulci Zombie Film. Lucio Fulci Zombie Film containing a Zombie fighting a Shark. The end. Buy this.
One of my favorite zombie film of all time! Shows how great of a director Lucio Fulci was,may he r.i.p.
My favorite zombie film
This is just one of those movies that gets better with repeated viewings! I’ll admit, I nodded off the first time I watched it, but I gave it another chance and simply fell in love! It’s got a frigging shark fighting a zombie as a topless chick watches while skindiving! There’s no topping that!
Its REALLY hard to see why Zombi 2 is so highly recommended. Zombi 2 starts off with a few quick kills but sadly thats the end of the fun. I don’t know how you can make a zombie movie this bad, but its been done. Maybe its the dreadfully slow story telling or the repeated scene of zombies coming from the ground, over, and over again in the slowest possible motion. The zombie vs shark hype is exactly that, the “zombie” hugs the shark, u see some blood in the water, shark swims away. I don’t get what is mindblowing/epic about it, its different… but definitely not worth sitting through the movie for.
The one shinning gem of this film is the possibility of a drinking game. Every time the camera zooms in (or out) you take a drink. Maybe because I wasn’t playing the drinking game while watching the movie I missed why this is even a “good” movie or I could have missed the inside joke on this film…but there is nothing to like about this movie.
Probably my east favorite Fulci zombie movie, but still fucking awesome. The shark scene is a let down after all the hype, but taking into consideration the time… WOW! GREAT kills throughout. the Movie IS a little slow.
This is a great, hands down, Fulci zombie film. I loved this movie all the way through, but it was a bit slow at parts, but regardless it is AWESOME. The zombies looks soooooo great, and for a movie in the 70′s, it is so realistic and sh**!!!! Watch this movie, WATCH FULCI!!!! FULCI LIVES 9/10
Absolutly loved this movie. In my opinion it is Fulci’s best work.
I have nothing negative to say about this movie.
We are going to eat you!
A great zombie film. I especially love how it’s a Italian style zombie film as well. It doesn’t get any better than the eye scene from the movie!
An awesome, awesome, awesome zombie film. It may not be filled with as many zombies or as much action as Dawn, but still a very well made movie. For the Fulci zombies, it’s all about quality, not quantity. And that was definitely the way to go. Great gore effects.
This movie is a bit boring and has terrible acting, but it gets 4 skulls because of the awesome zombie effects and the awesome music.
The first time I saw this, I didn’t like it that much. It was one the first foreign zombie film that I had seen. The reason I saw it was because it was the unofficial sequel to my favorite movie George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. I didn’t know what to expect while watching it. As I was watching it however I kept comparing it to Dawn. There wasn’t that much humor and it just seemed dull. About a week after I first saw it, I had an urge to watch it again and it was then that I realized how amazing it was! The gore was fantastic and the score was creepy. It was also very creative. The shark vs zombie scene was just….wow. Such a great zombie film. If you like zombies, see this!
This is definitly a great film! It’s a little slow, but the great gore and zombie effects make up for it. The music is awesome too. The eye gouging scene is one of the best scenes in horror movie history! The kills look so real in this movie! Not the greatest horror film ever made, but definitly worth watching lots of times. I’m adding this one to my collection!
Pretty good flick, worth checking out.
Okay, before I bash about how bad it was, I will start off saying some positive things about it. First off, the gore effects were pretty good and some of the shots were very good especially the last shot of the movie. The music was great also. Okay, those are some positives. Some negatives are the acting mainly. What the fuck is up with this acting? It weighed down the movie so much. It was extremely boring. It dragged on ALOT. The storyline made no sense whatsoever. All in All, Zombie 2 is definitly not a movie I would recommend but if your into lame cheesy zombie flicks with terrible acting and no storyline but has a few good gore effects, then you should check it out.
Great gore…. just slow as hell. Fulci has done better with The Beyond.
I expected A LOT better from this film. I totally agree with cadaver, this movie was so damn slow. It didn’t get really good until the last 15 minutes or so from then on it was gold for any gorehound. But the eye gouge was pretty awesome too. All in all a good movie but IMO a little overrated.
I know this as “Zombi”, but it’s the same movie. This one had lots of title permutations.
Listen, zombie movies don’t really have a plot. It’s people running away from zombies, so you don’t need Yale graduates for actors.
What you watch zombie movies for is the frickin’ gore. And the gore in this one is pretty well done for the time period. If you want zombies and gore, this be for you. Otherwise, you should probably avoid because there’s not much else on offer here.
This is one of the best fucking zobie movies ever made! Fulci at his best!
Yes, this is a classic, must see zombie movie. Yes, it’s important to the genre. Did I enjoy it? No. But it’s a classic for a reason and you can’t consider yourself a zombie movie or a horror fan if you haven’t seen this.
Best zombie film ever.
zombietasic!!
One of the greatest zombie films ever and Fulci’s masterpiece in my opinion. Atmospheric, ghastly and full of show stopping set pieces and gore effects. This film grabs you by the throat until the credits roll; essential viewing for zombie aficionados, gore hounds and horror movie buffs alike!
Just discovered this film and all I can say is Wow. Fulci’s films are really like no other. The way he creates atmosphere and dread is nothing short of genius. The movie does move at a slow pace but when every frame just drips with menace it’s hard not to be mesmerized. The plot is basic but it all comes down to the tone and the set pieces. The eyeball scene, the zombie vs shark, the dead slowly rising from the earth and the hospital attack scenes are vividly brought to life. I’m even going to say that this is miles ahead of Dawn Of The Dead, and the ending is as bleak as hell. There really isn’t any hope in Fulcis world, at all. Loved every second of it.
The plot is absurd, the actors/characters are terrible, and the plot drags on like a mind numbing grade school book report or something, fuck I dunno. But it has some of the best fucking zombie sequences ever, and damn, it has an impressive amount of them. For a movie with acting and plot on-par with something the MST3K crew would tear to pieces, scenes like the zombie vs. shark, the maggot-eyed zombie, the eye gouge scene, and the molotov fuckfest have all become iconic in the zombie genre. And the GORE, goddamn. It has the awesome brutality and realism of that in Dawn of the Dead, plus it doesn’t have that lame orange blood that was so popular in movies from that era for some reason. Decent score too. Anyway, watch the fucking movie I guess, but fast forward whenever you see someone opening their mouths to do anything but take a bite out of someone else.
I can’t understand someone liking “Zombie”. It’s poorly made, poorly scripted, and a pretty lame rip-off of Romero’s more intelligent romps with the undead. However, it has some sort of cult following, and only now do I understand why. It’s impossible to actually like this movie in terms of craft, but it’s not that hard to enjoy the ride. Me, I think the movie isn’t fun, interesting, or silly enough to be particularly entertaining. But that’s just me.
The zombies here are highlights of the show. They are why you arrive and stay; and they are sometimes what makes you leave. You know you’re in for some sort of film- good or bad- when the trailer jokingly suggests that you bring along a barf-bag to the occasion. For the time, you may have needed it. Now, just bring yourself. It’s not that bad.
The zombies in this film are the problem. They look good- thanks to fairly solid make-up and effects- but they lack the humoristic elements of the Romero zombies. They move like them, and sometimes look like them, but never feel quite like those brilliant little undead fiends. Here, the zombies are conveniently placed on an island, brought to life by some sort of Voodoo curse.
The dead walk the earth as they always do; killing people who are too stupid to run from them and their slow-ness. There’s not a whole lot of horror involved, as you can see. The film’s redeeming factor could have been humor, but alas, there’s nothing to laugh at.
There are things that make the experience bearable, if not a bore. The “memorable scenes” are indeed pretty solid, one involving a face-off between a shark and a zombie, whilst underwater, and another involving a piece of wood from a door going right through a woman’s eye. The film is as gory as it needs to be, and that shall please some people. Zombie movies need gore to be zombie movies, and taking that away from them is a sin. So right there, this isn’t the worst movie, or zombie movie, ever. In fact, I’ve seen much worse. There’s just nothing for me to enjoy here; nothing to like. I enjoy a cheesy film once in a while, but this isn’t dumb fun, it’s just dumb.
I have complaints about direction and acting when it comes to this film. The director, Lucio Fulci, is an inspired director without an artistic (or entertaining) vision. He’s made a movie here without originality and without much of a soul. If that really appeals to you in some freaky-ass weird way, then I’m glad I don’t know you. However, if you enjoy Fulci’s work here as a guilty pleasure, then I can respect you. As for the acting, all of it is incredibly mediocre; with nobody standing out a whole lot. The people playing the zombies deserve some credit though, as do those who designed and applied their make-up.
There are better zombie films out there. My advice would be to skip this one, and see the ones that matter. Romero exercises originality in this genre, while director Fulci does not. He’s able to pull of a visually repulsive (and sometimes presentable) production, but he comes short on characters, story, and actual scares. But if you’re in for a true video-nasty, then you’ve got one.
I heard about this on this website and decided to look it up. What i saw was a painfully boring zombie film. The only scene i like was the end credits.
Its a REALLY slow movie,but its decent zombie film at least. Gore was okay.
5.5 out of 10
this is probably the best zombie movie ever. i really like that the ending is not a happy one. the gore was done really well. highly recommended.
an awesome zombie flick not as good as Dawn of the Dead but its part of the Italian Zombie genre not American zombie genre and yes there is a difference. If you want to see zombies that aren’t comical but look really creepy and rotting check out this film.
intersting…….
+ Very well-made overall (not just because of the remastering)
+ Very cool scene where a REAL shark attacks a human and a zombie
+ Classic eye gouging scene
+ Traditional zombie-like behavior, but looking extra macabre
+ Unofficial sequel to Dawn of the Dead
○ Interesting music at times: not sure whether it felt misleading, or perfectly odd
9/10