Originally titled Zombie 2 as a craven attempt to piggyback on the success of Dawn of the Dead, Lucio Fulci’s Zombie has nothing to do with George A. Romero’s undead classic, though that doesn’t mean it’s not without its gruesome charms. The Italian goremeister’s breakthrough film features not a single believable character or plot point, no semblance of narrative cohesion or momentum, scraggly editing, horribly dubbed dialogue and a deadening lack of subtext. Yet via a few satisfyingly blood-splattered set pieces and some nice panoramic shots of voodoo-spawned zombies shuffling through a dusty Caribbean shantytown and emerging from the graves of centuries-old Spanish conquistadors, Fulci’s film nevertheless achieves a ghastly sort of brilliance. With close-ups of zombie mouths tearing flesh from victims’ throats, an eyeball being impaled on a shard of wood, and some hilariously unnecessary T&A, Zombie delivers the grisly B-movie goods even as it exhibits none of the depth or artistry found in the work of horror contemporaries Mario Bava and Dario Argento. Then again, unlike Fulci, neither of those esteemed directors was ever genius enough to stage an extended underwater fight between a zombie and a shark.
Ironically, you list many of the exact same reasons for your liking of the film as I would for my utter hatred of it (easily one of the ten worst things I've ever seen). It just didn't strike the proper chord of self-satire or self-aware badness for me to actually LIKE it, although it is a film I could recommend for those who enjoy bad movies. I do enjoy the underwater shark fight and the quality of the makeup effects, but the vacuousness of the film as a whole left me cold and angry. Still, I like to see that someone else could enjoy it within the parameters of what I'd say is quality taste.
Posted by: Robert Humanick | August 13, 2005 at 02:18 AM
Minor correction: The reason they originally called this one "Zombi 2" in Italy was to cash in on "Dawn of the Dead," which had been retitled "Zombi" for its own European release. On these shores, the film was only ever called "Zombie" (now with an E at the end).
And don't get me started on Argento's cut of "Dawn of the Dead," a whole different headache of cataloguing Italian zombie horror.
Yes, yes, I know I'm a year late on this. The internets are so vast, y'see.
Posted by: Aaron Hillis | September 15, 2006 at 07:30 PM
Aaaron - you are, of course, correct. Thanks for the note.
And as you surely know, there's no statute of limitiations on film blog commenting...
Posted by: Nick | September 15, 2006 at 07:57 PM
I'll further exploit the lack of limitations on blog commenting. :)
As it turns out, time and the evolving taste that comes with it has found "Zombi/Zombi 2" making its way into the favorable area of my taste. I think it's only a matter of seeing enough movies before every film lover comes to realize that story and character aren't everything - sometimes you just want an underwater fight between a zombie and a shark (or a good old, agonizingly-slow splinter-through-the-eye).
Posted by: rob | April 03, 2007 at 04:28 AM
Yes you do, Rob. Yes you do.
Posted by: Nick | April 03, 2007 at 07:24 AM
Does anyone remember the name of the movie that had a bunch of women at a lake when the zombies attack. One women runs into a cabin or shack peeks through a small hole to see if they are coming and gets a wood splinter stuck in her eye? Please send answer to [email protected]. Thank you.
Posted by: Rich Staeb | October 05, 2007 at 06:22 AM