Search - Zombi 2 on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 9/18/2022...

Old school Zombie fun without all the overkill CGI. Also known as Zombie. A must watch!

Countenances of Carrion, Voodoo Ambiance, Sucking Gunshot Wo

Ian Robinson | 07/22/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The main setting is an obscure, uncharted and plague ravaged isle named Matool which is cursed by a most incredible and horrible phenomenon of obscure and inexplicable origin! Seems that the succumbed victims of the aforementiond pestilence are reviving as foul soulless creatures which commit atrocious acts of murder and canibalism and threaten to amass into an inexerable hord which will overteem the the isle and, in the words of one character, "transform it into a wasteland of terror!!",.. thus setting the scene for some of the most brilliant,amazing,grisly,gruesome and horrifying scenes in the whole collective annals of cinemacabre!
One particularly imaginative, visualy stunning and powerfuly shocking sequence takes place entirely underwater and depicts a skin divers confrontation with both a live shark and an aparently amphibious ghoul. The said shark appears first, thus establishing a sense of menace and impending peril, so that one expects a shark attack on the skin diver to occure,.. then the divers subsequent encounter with the aquatic ghoul provides an unexpected and horrifying twist!
Another amazing, horrifying and very dramatic scene, featuring very good acting, editing and make up effects work, is set in a graveyard and depicts a freshly revivified corpse, with a hideously decomposed and parasite infested countenance, slowly rising, like an erecting penis, from the soil while a young girl observes visibly transfixed with intense amazement, revulsion and horror ( which is very convincingly conveyd by her facial expresion ),.. the viewer cutting repeatedly between the two subjects all the while.
Another very creepy and well done scene has a terrified woman urgently attempting to push a door closed, while another, yet unseen force pushes simultaniously from the other side,.. then the viewer pans over to a close up of the doors gape, through which a rotted human hand, pressing against the door, is barely visible!
In this same scene above, the zombie, having punched it's arm through a wooden vent in the door, grabs the womans hair and pulls her by her scalp,.. then a large jagged splinter ( formed by one of the busted and protruding wooden shingles )peirces her eye ( graphic close ups of the jagged wood puncturing and slowly demolishing the soft moist orbal tissue ),.. then breaks loose and remains deeply embedded in the eye of the now screaming woman! This scene is not only grisly and explicite ( which it certainly is indeed ) but, moreover, it also efectivly demonstrates the zombies utter lack of pity and humanity ( they'll stop at nothing to gain their victim and comit the cruelest enormity to sate their hunger ), thus making them more sinister and terrifying!
The scenes depicting the plague victims ( set in a rather crude makeshift hospital converted from an old spanish mission ) are also very creepy, grotesque and disturbing,.. particularly a scene in which a heap of bloody, bound and shoud-coverd corpses are collectively dumped into a large grave, to the aural accompaniment of loud, ominous, haunting and very authentic sounding native chants, wails and drumbeats.
Now, many idiot "reviewers" ( including a few within the same vicinity of the one which your now reading ), influenced by a foolish personal affinity and bias for George Romero, have comonly insisted on comparing this film unfavorably to 'Dawn Of The Dead and 'Night Of The Living Dead, for the very obvious reason that it features the same basic theme of contagious flesh-eating zombies, and calling it "derivative", an "imitation" or an "inferior rip-off",.. but none the less, this film really is a classic in it's own right and, despite that obvious basic similarity, it actually does have some elements which do distinguish it from Romero's zombie movies,.. like the island setting, voodoo theme, the rotted look of the zombies and the over-all tone and mood is totaly diferent from that of Romero's films ( much grimmer ). I really think that Fulci did basicaly the same thing with flesh eating zombies which Hammer studios ( in England ) did with the old Universal monsters ( Dracula, Frankenstien, The Mummy, Werewolf, Phantom of the opera,.. etc. ) or that Sergio Leone did with the western,.. that is he took the basic theme and gave it a completely different and unique ambiance and visual/aural style,.. recaste it into a whole diferent meilieu, so to speak,.. and for that he definately deserves his fair share of acclaim and respect.
The gore and make up effects ( by Gianetto DeRossi )are certainly one of the better qualities of this film. The zombies ( in divers states of disfigurement and decay )are very realistic and frightening looking, most particularly the one featured in the previously related graveyard scene, and are also pretty well portrayed ( better so, in fact, than in Romero's films ) and are really quite frightening. Though they walk very slowly ( as other posters have already noted )they're also completely silent ( they dont make alot of noise or go "Ehhh!.. Ehhhh!! .. Ehhhhhhh!!" like in Romero'movies ). These zombies actually seem to sort of sneak up on their victims,.. aproaching them very slowly, silently and sedately ( in a seemingly mesmerized state ),.. then sudenly biting them when they get near.
The soundtrack and original musical score ( by Fabio Fizi and Giorgio Cascio ) is another of this films strong points. Truely eerrie, nightmarish and, at times, even sensual,.. almost like a creepy and macabre version of Tangerine Dream, and it perfectly suits the mood and imagery of this film. And, even despite these many alegations, made by other posters, about "poor writing and bad acting", it actually does have a few interesting characters and decent performances from some talented actors among it's cast. Inparticular, Richard Johnson as the scientist character who's trying obsesively to determine a "rational cause for the phenomenon" ( right,.. he is NOT a mad scientist "creating" the zombies, as some other "reviewers" have eroneously stated )while scoffingly dismissing the natives asertions about "voodoo" and "demonism", and being driven increasingly perplexed and frustrated by his own futile eforts ( "Nothing fits!!!" ), and his terrified and distressed wife ( played by a certain Olga Karlatos ) who just wants to depart the "damn island" before the ever-amassing horror overruns the place and claims her victim,.. which it indeed does eventualy ( she's the victim of the grisly eye puncturing related previously )!

"Too late!! Too late!! It's a waste of time to lock the doors!! For they will be here soon,.. to destroy us,.. ALL!!!!"

Not a great zombie movie but has two classic scenes !

mojoman | 07/21/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"this movie can be difficult to find due to the myriad of titles it has been released as. if you have seen it years ago just make sure you are purchasing the correct movie as there are also several non-related movies within this genre that you will be disappointed with once you sit down and press play and a completely different movie starts. with that said, zombie doesn't rate as one of the greats in this genre when you see the works of romero and the later bastardizations, albeit funny, such as return of the living dead. there are few truly horrifying scenes but the one is probably one of the most terrifying scenes ever to see the light of day, in any form of horror movie. the so called eyeball scene is something that even the great romero would strive for. you may wear out your rewind button as it is truly gruesome and very well filmed. the other so called classic scene is more comical in nature and has even recently shown up in a tv commercial. the zombie eating a shark while underwater doesn't scare the pants off you but you may laugh yourself to death. with so many zombie movies out there to choose from, most of which aren't worth the film they are put on, and while certainly lacking the creation of mood,intensity, and utter horror of the great zombie movies, this offering does please in the smallest of ways. you may find yourself fast forwarding to the two aforementioned scenes and rewinding to watch them again and again. i am sure that many people came away with eye phobias as you will if you haven't seen the film. i guess it's good to have to wear glasses !"