Inspiring tale of two independent film-makers who set out to make a low budget zombie film, with a modern spin and succeeded. Hats off to Kevin Gates and Michael Bartlett for making a horror film that some people are calling the best zombie film ever. Its basically 28 Days Later meets Blair Witch. The film contains some really genuine frights, plenty of gore and an unrelenting downbeat tone with a haunting atmosphere. There are three intertwining stories of survival after a zombie epidemic, mainly set in rural England but the action begins in London. The time line is also made non-linear as the stories are broken up into small chunks, like Pulp Fiction. This approach means it won't be to everyone's tastes, but its found a very welcome place in my DVD collection.
Reviews
16 Reviews
Hell of the Living Dead
(1980)
Really awful zombie film
4 November 1999
Right, this definitely is the worst Italian gore film I've ever seen, but that's not to say it isn't highly watchable. I think about a third of the film is made up of National Geographic stock-footage. So we see kangaroos, storks, natives all carelessly spliced into the usual zombie mayhem. The plot, (oh why am I bothering!) concerns a group of swat-types who just turn up in the middle of New Guinea for absolutely no reason and join up with some journalists before heading to a factory and then all getting killed for being so incredibly stupid. It doesn't make any sense at all and the gore is terrible but it's a great laugh for fans of the genre. Great soundtrack as well from Italian band "Goblin" - sort of drum & bass with strings and in 1981!?
The Grim Reaper
(1980)
An average slasher movie, nothing more.
4 November 1999
Warning: Spoilers
Notorious film for having the scene where Luigi Montefiore scoffs down Serena Grandi's baby being screened on British TV as a 'clip from a snuff movie' - and I ask myself do the people who reported it actually know what a snuff movie is? Anthropophagous certainly isn't a snuff movie. What it is, is a very tedious 'monster on the loose killing various stupid Italian actors on an island' type of film. Starring Tisa Farrow in what must be her most embarrassing film career moment (if such a thing is possible). The film never really gets going until the last ten minutes when the aforementioned gore scenes kick in. And are they worth the wait? Well not really, no! The baby eating scene is obviously a skinned rabbit pulled from under the actresses' dress. Although Anthropophagous' demise is quite amusing as he proceeds to eat his own intestines as they fall out of his body after being pick-axed in the stomach. It's the sort of film that fans of the genre have to see, but I found reading comments and seeing stills from the film far more interesting than the experience of actually spending 90 minutes watching it.
Nightmare City
(1980)
100% Pure Trash
4 November 1999
Terrible "zombies on the loose" nonsense from Lenzi, as a plane full of radioactive zombies invade a Spanish city - which we are led to believe is in fact American. Hopeless acting and dialogue and some of the shoddiest make-up effects ever in Italian gore make this one of the all-time worst. Non-stop hilarity all the way with perhaps the geekiest film hero in movie history in Spanish actor Hugo Stiglitz.
Cannibals in the Streets
(1980)
Pretty Good Cannibal Trash
4 November 1999
Fantastic funky music and an intelligent script make this one of the better cannibal films. This time we aren't in the cannibal infested jungles - we're in downtown Atlanta and the cannibals are Vietnam vets tearing apart cops and thugs. It's a bit slow at times and there's not a great deal of gore. In fact it's hard to see why it's banned in the UK. I think if it was resubmitted to the BBFC they would only need to make a few cuts such as a prolonged leg-sawing scene in order to pass it. However I couldn't see anyone bothering to although it would be nice - come on VIPCO!
Zombie Holocaust
(1980)
A re-run of Zombi 2 but with the addition of a few cannibals
4 November 1999
This one's like a rip-off of Zombie starring Ian McCulloch again and another silly group of explorers who set sail for a tropical island only to find zombies and cannibals at play. Atrocious acting and dialogue and the worst ever fight scene in movie history where McCulloch battles a cannibal on what looks like the edge of a golf course in England! This film is nearly as funny as Night of the Zombies; there's plenty of gore and Alexandra Delli Colli gets naked several times "Wow!" The ending was disappointing however and occurs out of nowhere. The music on the Dr Butcher version was a daft electronic cacophony; the original Zombi Holocaust version is much better. Frankly ridiculous but great fun all the same. To sum up, its a rip-off of a rip-off of a sequel.
Cannibal Holocaust
(1980)
Should be one of the top 10 horror films of all time
4 November 1999
Amazing exploitation film from Ruggero Deodato; brilliantly made but also very disturbing. It concerns a documentary film crew who have disappeared in the Amazon (sounds like the people who made Anaconda had seen this) and an anthropologist who is sent to find them. He returns with their cans of film and the knowledge that they are all dead. The second part of the film shows the film that they shot in which they kill animals, rape and kill native girls before themselves being killed by the cannibals. The way the second part is filmed is truly amazing and very realistic. Some rather stupid people believed that the people were actually killed in the film although such claims are nonsense. Banned pretty much everywhere, if you ever get a chance to see it, do so as you will never see anything like it again.
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
(1974)
Classy Zombie Picture (a rare thing indeed)
4 November 1999
A truly great zombie film from Spanish director Grau and filmed in the Peak District in England! Wonderful photography, an interesting plot and plenty of gore effects keep this fantasy exciting. Arthur Kennedy is great as the disbelieving and rather ruthless cop who seems to shout at everybody in the film and then gets everything wrong. Some of the effects were rather shoddy though, such as the receptionist who has her very clay-like breast casually pulled off by a group of passing zombies. Otherwise though it's great and possibly even better than Romero's historically important but overrated Night of the Living Dead.
The New York Ripper
(1982)
Very good slasher movie
31 October 1999
The New York Ripper 1982 Perhaps the last great Fulci film before his demise into mundanity in the mid-80's, the New York Ripper serves up the epitome of all slasher films. Notoriously banned in many countries, it's the tale of a duck-voiced killer stalking attractive young girls in Manhattan. Plenty of nudity and gore, along with a good story and lively characters make this nearly as good as Zombie. Lots of clever touches in terms of camerawork and the Hitchcockian use of characters so we don't know who the killer is until right near the end. The gore was good throughout with the exception of the killer's demise at the end, this effect was ridiculous. I would like to say however that it is a hell of a lot better than Wes Craven's post-modernly derivative and dull Scream.
City of the Living Dead
(1980)
Plotless zombie mess with average effects
31 October 1999
City of the Living Dead 1980 City of the Living Dead is a disappointing entry into Fulci's zombie series in terms of a cinematic experience. Sure it's creepy and there's bucket-loads of blood, but it makes no sense whatsoever. It's a plotless film with an ambiguous ending - which to tell the truth is a real let down. Certainly not one of his best although the trademark gore scenes are worth watching if nothing else. Look out for Michele Soavi's fake head being pulled apart.
Eaten Alive!
(1980)
Fantastic jungle adventure
31 October 1999
Eaten Alive 1980 Hilarious Lenzi cannibal flick about a young woman (Janet Agren) going to New Guinea to find her sister aided by cannibal veteran Robert Kerman. Deep in the jungle they stumble across a purification sect and a religious nut very reminiscent of Jim Jones and the whole Guyana mass-suicide incident. Chock full of gore and nudity, stuttering actors and god-awful dubbing this is perhaps the most watchable of all the cannibal sub-genre.
Zombie
(1979)
Above Average Zombie Flick
31 October 1999
Zombie 1979 Fulci's Italian answer to Romero's excellent Dawn of the Dead, which is his most prolific and best effort. The gore, courtesy of the mighty Gianetto de Rossi is superb and although the acting is as lame as usual it is a good action picture. The numerous zombie attacks provide the focal point of course and some truly horrific moments such as the famous eye-splintering scene. The ending however is farcical and brings unintentional hilarity to what could have been a classic.
Cannibal Ferox
(1981)
Poor old John Morghen
20 October 1999
Notorious film for being banned in 24 countries but why! With the exception of the real animal cruelty (a staple part of all these cannibal shockers) it 's very hard to take seriously. Fantastic dialogue though; Tarantino should watch the opening gangster scene for the use of numerous obscenities. Funniest scene is when gore veteran John Morghen gets his manhood whacked off by a machete-wielding cannibal who then proceeds to scoff if down in one go! Apart from these gore scenes which to be honest aren't very realistic, the film is a boring travelogue around the Amazon and some badly constructed studio sets.
White Fire
(1984)
Belinda Mayne in more low budget trash!
26 July 1999
Absolutely fantastic trash....this one has it all: nudity, good fight scenes, gore, action, explosions etc. It also stars the wonderful Belinda Mayne as Ingrid - not Olga as the other reviewer pointed out - although Olga turns into Ingrid later on in the film (you'll have to watch it to see what I mean).
I won't bother to go into the story as it's far too long winded and not very interesting. The relationship between Ingrid and her brother Bo (Robert Ginty) is interesting - watch the towel stealing scene to see what I mean.
The fight scenes were at once quite good and then spoilt by some really shoddy gore effects that looked like they were done by the team who did City of the Walking Dead (i.e. strange coloured blood gushing out of neck wounds).
I'd advise fans of low budget trash to check it out if they can track down a copy - its pretty rare though and I couldn't ever see anyone bothering to re-release it so it'll become all the rarer in a few years.
Anyway I'd recommend it solely for Belinda Mayne's great nude scenes! That lady's a fox!
I won't bother to go into the story as it's far too long winded and not very interesting. The relationship between Ingrid and her brother Bo (Robert Ginty) is interesting - watch the towel stealing scene to see what I mean.
The fight scenes were at once quite good and then spoilt by some really shoddy gore effects that looked like they were done by the team who did City of the Walking Dead (i.e. strange coloured blood gushing out of neck wounds).
I'd advise fans of low budget trash to check it out if they can track down a copy - its pretty rare though and I couldn't ever see anyone bothering to re-release it so it'll become all the rarer in a few years.
Anyway I'd recommend it solely for Belinda Mayne's great nude scenes! That lady's a fox!
Contamination
(1980)
Ian McCulloch's finest acting moments...
11 May 1999
Well this was another movie that tried to pass itself off as Alien 2 long with Ciro Ippolito's Alien 2 - On Earth. The problem with doing this is that one immediately draws a comparison with Alien which had a much bigger budget and therefore is always going to look a lot better.
Luigi Cozzi's stab at Alien isn't too bad, although he himself has stated that his is a better movie than Ippolito's film although I don't agree - sure the effects are slightly better, but there is only one effect in the entire movie - the chest exploding (or popping) that is repeated about a billion times in super-slow-motion. Alien 2 - On Earth was much more fun.
Anyway the narrative begins as an exact copy of Zombie Flesh Eaters with the appearance of an abandoned boat floating into New York Harbour. Even the dialogue is copied from that film - "The skipper of that boat must be a real turkey!". Not only do the Italians rip-off Hollywood movies, they rip each other off as well.
Predictably the police who investigate the boat stumble across the dead crew, who fall out of cupboards and look as if they have been ripped open from the inside! They then discover some strange egg like shapes, "Maybe they're avocados!" enthuses one policeman. However when they try to pick one up it explodes, showering the police in sticky goo. The goo leads to immediate imflammation of the belly and "pop!" they're guts fly out all over the place. Not a bad effect although if you look closely at one of the victims, he has suddenly become a foot wider (to make room for all those animal entrails).
The police captain escapes and helps Commander Stella Holmes (Louise Marleau) in the hunt to discover the origin of the eggs.
They visit Hubbard (Ian McCulloch), who was part of an expedition to Mars some years previous who was declared crazy after talking about seeing thousands of eggs there. Now living in alcoholic squalor he moans at Lt. Holmes before telling his story. Cue flashback of the expedition to a Martian cave and a terrible attempt at recreating the exact scene in Alien. The acting in this bit is truly atrocious as McCulloch delivers his lines "I looked at Hamilton - and he was, his eyes, he was beginning to....Hamilton.....HAMILTON!" Followed by a Daa Daaa DAAAAAAAA on the soundtrack. Truly the funniest part of the movie using that same useless Goblin soundtrack that for some reason everyone raves about - why? It's terrible!
Well it's not great and nowhere near as fun as "Alien 2 - On Earth" but it's better than the average trash movie. Starts well and finishes okay but it sags very badly in the middle which does make you want to nod off.
Luigi Cozzi's stab at Alien isn't too bad, although he himself has stated that his is a better movie than Ippolito's film although I don't agree - sure the effects are slightly better, but there is only one effect in the entire movie - the chest exploding (or popping) that is repeated about a billion times in super-slow-motion. Alien 2 - On Earth was much more fun.
Anyway the narrative begins as an exact copy of Zombie Flesh Eaters with the appearance of an abandoned boat floating into New York Harbour. Even the dialogue is copied from that film - "The skipper of that boat must be a real turkey!". Not only do the Italians rip-off Hollywood movies, they rip each other off as well.
Predictably the police who investigate the boat stumble across the dead crew, who fall out of cupboards and look as if they have been ripped open from the inside! They then discover some strange egg like shapes, "Maybe they're avocados!" enthuses one policeman. However when they try to pick one up it explodes, showering the police in sticky goo. The goo leads to immediate imflammation of the belly and "pop!" they're guts fly out all over the place. Not a bad effect although if you look closely at one of the victims, he has suddenly become a foot wider (to make room for all those animal entrails).
The police captain escapes and helps Commander Stella Holmes (Louise Marleau) in the hunt to discover the origin of the eggs.
They visit Hubbard (Ian McCulloch), who was part of an expedition to Mars some years previous who was declared crazy after talking about seeing thousands of eggs there. Now living in alcoholic squalor he moans at Lt. Holmes before telling his story. Cue flashback of the expedition to a Martian cave and a terrible attempt at recreating the exact scene in Alien. The acting in this bit is truly atrocious as McCulloch delivers his lines "I looked at Hamilton - and he was, his eyes, he was beginning to....Hamilton.....HAMILTON!" Followed by a Daa Daaa DAAAAAAAA on the soundtrack. Truly the funniest part of the movie using that same useless Goblin soundtrack that for some reason everyone raves about - why? It's terrible!
Well it's not great and nowhere near as fun as "Alien 2 - On Earth" but it's better than the average trash movie. Starts well and finishes okay but it sags very badly in the middle which does make you want to nod off.
Strike Commando
(1987)
Atrocious Rambo II rip-off from the inept Bruno Mattei
23 March 1999
Directed by Vincent Dawn (ie Bruno Mattei) this is quite the shoddiest and worst acted war film in living memory. The plot "Ha!" is a direct steal from Rambo First Blood Part II with loser actor Reb Brown as a poor man's Stallone seeking revenge on a Colonel who deserted him and his buddies in Vietnam.
Brown continually shouts "Rah!" and "Die!" about a million times and good job too as when he is required to act, his lines are delivered in an atrociously wooden manner. I do feel (and hope) that director Vincent Dawn (Zombie Creeping Flesh) was taking the pi** slightly - if not then he is surely the worst film-maker in the entire world.
There are many hilarious moments such as when Brown awakes from a nightmare screaming and for no reason everybody else in the room stars screaming - including a small monkey. He then stumbles and falls backwards out of a raised hut!
I reckon this movie could have been made by a twelve year old. How on earth do such useless directors as Dawn get producers to waste their money on this crap? Can you imagine the premiere of this movie (well there probably wasn't one!) and to see the looks on the investors faces when they were shown what their money had been spent on.
No wonder Bruno Mattei has all these pseudonyms; Vincent Dawn, Norman Dawn(II), Bob Hunter(IV) etc - it's so he can pretend that he didn't actually make this hopeless mess of a movie. I also can't believe Dawn made a sequel to this - jesus, has the man no shame?
Brown continually shouts "Rah!" and "Die!" about a million times and good job too as when he is required to act, his lines are delivered in an atrociously wooden manner. I do feel (and hope) that director Vincent Dawn (Zombie Creeping Flesh) was taking the pi** slightly - if not then he is surely the worst film-maker in the entire world.
There are many hilarious moments such as when Brown awakes from a nightmare screaming and for no reason everybody else in the room stars screaming - including a small monkey. He then stumbles and falls backwards out of a raised hut!
I reckon this movie could have been made by a twelve year old. How on earth do such useless directors as Dawn get producers to waste their money on this crap? Can you imagine the premiere of this movie (well there probably wasn't one!) and to see the looks on the investors faces when they were shown what their money had been spent on.
No wonder Bruno Mattei has all these pseudonyms; Vincent Dawn, Norman Dawn(II), Bob Hunter(IV) etc - it's so he can pretend that he didn't actually make this hopeless mess of a movie. I also can't believe Dawn made a sequel to this - jesus, has the man no shame?
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