Zombi 2 (25th Anniversary Special Edition 2-Disc Set)

Starring:Ugo Bologna, Al Cliver, Stefania D'Amario, Dakkar, Alberto Dell'Acqua, Arnaldo Dell'Acqua, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Roberto Dell'Acqua, Franco Fantasia, Tisa Farrow, Leo Gavero, Auretta Gay, Captain Haggerty, Richard Johnson, Olga Karlatos, Ian McCulloch
Studio: Shriek Show
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

In Lucio Fulci's genre classic Zombi 2, the dead rise once again to terrorize and consume the flesh of the living, this time Caribbean style! Those new to Fulci should note Island of the Flesh-Eaters, Zombi 2, and the more commonly known Zombie all refer to the same film. Though there is no Zombi 1, Fulci's film was titled Zombi 2 to capitalize on the commercial success of Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Though marketed as a sequel in Italy, the only similarities to Romero's classic are the title and the fact that the dead rise to eat the flesh of the living. Instead of being a metaphor for consumerism, Zombi 2 is a straight-out adventure story that ends in a horrific, apocalyptic nightmare. The plot is fairly straightforward, and more or less exists simply as a structure to hang scenes of extreme gore and terror on. Dr. Bowles's boat floats into New York Harbor missing its crew and carrying an undead passenger. The doctor's daughter (Tisa Farrow), dead set on finding out what happened to her father, teams up with journalist Peter West (Ian McCulloch) and heads to the cursed island of Matool, where a zombie epidemic is growing and Dr. Bowles's friend, Dr. Menard (Richard Johnson), is desperately trying to find a cure. Will Anne find her father? Will Dr. Menard find a cure? Will our heroes escape? In all honesty, who really cares? Because those in the "know" already know you don't come to a Fulci film looking for Shakespeare. What Zombi 2 lacks in plot development and continuity, it more than makes up for in atmosphere, intensity, and of course the trademark Fulci gore. Some of the unique high points are the never-duplicated zombie-versus-shark vignette, the rising of the Spanish zombie conquistadores, and Fulci's trademark eye shot. Fans of Italian/apocalyptic/cannibal/zombie films should not miss Zombi 2. Along with The Beyond, it defines the genre. --Rob Bracco

Description

We Are Going To Eat You! The Fulci Classic Returns, And Once Again The Dead Are Among Us!

Customer Reviews:

Not deep, but fun zombie classic.......2007-06-12

This is one of my favorite zombie movies. It's just fun. Whereas Dawn of the Dead [which this is supposed to be the Italian sequel to] has real characters and motivations and you feel like you're watching something put together with a greater plan in mind, here you feel like you're watching something with just the efficient delivery of thrills in mind.

The movie opens with a scene that successfully creeped me out: an abandoned boat drifts into New York Harbor. There's a zombie aboard who bites of a police officer. The boat belonged to Tisa Farrow's [Mia's sister], father. So Tisa has to go down to the Carribean to look for him, and she brings along this reporter she's hooked up with, and they hire a boat from this bearded blond sensitive 70s hunk and his girlfriend.

There's lots of mumbo-jumbo about the island being cursed and a strange illness going around the island, but finally they get near [the movie DOES take its time getting going] the island and the showstopping set pieces start. The first is a battle between shark and zombie--less exciting in reality than it sounds, though still cool, and gaining redemptive points just for the IDEA.

I also got a creepy frisson out of the moment when the freaked-out snorkeler [Auetta Gay] comes up from the deep and says "There was a MAN down there!" The idea of underwater zombies is ripped off in the execrable House of the Dead.

There's another notorious scene a few minutes later, after they're reached the island, and the good doctor Menard asks them to go in and check on his wife. Unfortunately the wife is already zombie chow, but first they speared her eye on a wooden shard. Obviously this is gory, and has lots of fans, but it kind of bugs me... why would a zombie want to do that? It kind of took me out of the movie. But they make up for it a few minutes later when the body is found, and the zombies are just quietly feasting on her organs as though at a relaxing picnic [with attendant slurpy sounds].

This movie also features the famous convention of standing there utterly stupefied for five minutes while a zombie slowly, slowly, slowly shuffles over to you and takes a bite out of your neck.

It all builds to an exciting climax in a burning hospital, and featured some effectively creepy shots leading up to then. It ends on a note that has become somewhat of a cliché [and probably was one then], but you expect it by that time. All around, a great, gory, lighthearted and fun zombie movie.

Classic video nasty gets a well deserved touch-up.......2007-05-18

Fulci is synonymous throughout his film making and within the horror community for his stark (and very sadistic) vision of intensely gory and horrific imagery and Zombi 2 (known as Zombie Flesh Eaters over here) is no acceptation.

I remember the first time I saw this film on Channel 4 (a gore weekend if I remember) and how much it differed from Romero's trilogy. For starters, the zombie effects (in my opinion) are much creepier and therefore better. The music, although slightly grating, gives the film a real "atmosfear" and intensifies the ominous presence of the walking dead which gave me the occasional chill down my spine to see those things slowly rising from the grave (the Conquistadores scene) and walking about so.

I bought this film under the possible hope for a better picture and sound and it has not disappointed. This DVD DOES has improved picture and sound quality (although it's a shame it cannot improve dubbing acting, but it's still low-budget) with all the gore scenes intact and in brighter detail, I found this to be much better than the release we have over here. Which kind-of leaves me wondering why it is only available to America and not for the rest of us Europeans, it is after all a European film.

This film is a horror cult-classic and it is good to see that such care has been put into restoring it. The extras are OK, but nothing worth shouting about, but I did like the free poster you get with it. Well worth the buy and a good addition to a zombie collection.

Excelente.......2007-05-02

Si te gusta el gore, esta película es para ti. A pocos minutos del comienzo ya posee una escena bien hecha. Todo se desarrolla en Nueva York y en una isla llamada Matul, donde se esconden los secretos de los zombies y de la desaparición del padre de la protagonista. Esta película no es continuación ni antelación de Dawn of the Dead, simplemente es otro film con una explicación de cómo los zombies podrían llegar a USA. Hay un ambiente de suspenso constante, que en varios momentos se convierte en horror con buenos efectos de maquillaje. La banda sonora es buena. Una obra indispensable de Lucio Fulci.

Awesome Film.......2007-04-05

This film was a real winner. Again, had that "Grind house" feel type movie and sure enough, you can see why this movie tried to cash in on the "Dawn of the Dead"(old version) buzz of the 70s...very cool zombie flick and the best i've seen in some time. Highly Recommended!

Zombi 2's Easter Egg Revealed!.......2007-03-20

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!

Zombi 4: A Virgin Among the Living [Region 2]

Average customer rating:

One of the most disturbing gothic films ever made!
It's finally on DVD!
Haunting Euro Horror
One of Jess' Best
What???

Zombi 4: A Virgin Among the Living [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

( Z ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Erotic Nights of the Living Dead
Female Vampire
Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay
Jess Franco's Count Dracula (Special Edition)
Bacchanales Sexuelles

ASIN: B000068C3V

Customer Reviews:

One of the most disturbing gothic films ever made!.......2007-06-01

I have to admit something. I first rented this movie about a year ago, and didn't watch more than the first 15 minutes got bored and took it out. I finally rented it again just to give it a better look. I can admit when I was wrong. This is a truly surreal, disturbing , haunting work of horror and sensuality. It is erotic and yes even sinister at times. But it was really good. I'm surprised I had never given this film a chance before. The title always sounded stupid..but once I saw it I understood why. The point of this film is really....well....that there are places on the earth that are just damned without redemption. A great number of people would really hate this movie. I'm gonna stand up and say..if the point of celluloid is to educate, entertain, stimulate and emulate human nature as opposed to spiritual awareness...this movie did both in a dark way.
I must say I feel a bit shocked...but thrilled as well.

It's finally on DVD!.......2004-11-14

WARNING -- This is NOT, I repeat, NOT a Zombie movie. If anyone out there typed "Living Dead" into the Amazon search engine and come up with this little golden nugget Of Jess Franco weirdness, click the back button right now!

I know this movie has been re-titled "Zombie 4" and "Zombie 5" when intercut with footage from the 1980 film "Zombie Lake." But the "Living Dead" of the title refers to Vampires. The original title was "Cristina, Princess of Eroticism," but for some reason, they chose to mislead unsuspecting Zombie movie fans, as well as to reveal cause of the strange goings on we are meant to be wondering about.

I'm a great admirer of Jess Franco. I like to watch his movies, but unfortunately, it's impossible. Not only because he has made over 200 movies, and each one of them has about 5 different titles, but because the overwhelming majority of his films are crap. From what I read about Jess Franco, he would not argue with me on this particular point, because he allegedly believes ALL of his films are crap, whereas I actually like some of them.

The DVD has options to watch the film in its original language with English subtitles (which I didn't do, so I don't know what language that actually is, although I would assume it was French.) or dubbed in English. Most people probably think the preferred viewing option would be subtitles. As you can imagine, the dubbing is pretty atrocious, but there is a very specific reason why someone would want to watch the film this way. This film has been famous for several years (well, famous in a cult-like way) for being the source of many prominant and more lengthy samples on My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult's classic album, "Confessions of a Knife." Long time Thrill Kill Kult fans remember the eerie, "I hear her...she's calling me tonight.." and of course, "I'm blind, but I can see the color of souls, and yours is white," which is still used in their live show today. We've sought after it for years, and it's finally available on DVD! Although, sadly, my fellow TKK fans, the now legendary, "I'm gonna find her! And I'm gonna kill her!" sample is NOT in this film, but if you found that, don't you think you'd only end up disappointed?

Cristina is traveling to visit her extended family in a mansion, and everyone tells her not to go there, because no one lives there. Unless you blocked out the title of the movie, you can probably guess why they think this, even after Cristina arrives, and meets her family members. This movie doesn't have a lot of gore, but plenty of nudity, and general Jess Franco weirdness. The people who live in the house, and some who just hang around for no apparent reason, like to come into Cristina's room while she's sleeping. This never stops her from sleeping naked above her sheets, however, and if it did, it wouldn't be much of a Jess Franco movie.

One such person is Linda, a blind woman who says she wants to help Cristina, although it is never really explained how or why. One morning, Cristina wakes, naked of course, to find a big black dildo on her floor. When she flings it away, Linda says, "Oh, no, you've shattered the great ebony phallus! You are now doomed to eternal misery!" I haven't exactly figured out how Linda knew that Cristina shattered the great ebony phallus, since she is blind. But, since it is never mentioned again, I have to assume one of two things: 1) Linda knew Cristina was doomed to eternal misery anyway, in a mansion with the living dead, and shattering the phallus had nothing to do with it. She just put it there because she knows that a girl who sleeps naked when strangers keep coming into her room might find it useful or 2) Jess Franco wanted to shoot a scene with a naked girl sitting in front of a big black dildo, and wrote in Linda's line in a failed attempt to incorporate it into the plot.

Did I say, "plot"? I didn't mean to. Don't watch this expecting a story to unfold. Like most of his best films, it's a lot of weirdness and very little story. But if you're interested in Jess Franco enough to have looked this up, I would recommend it. It's also a must-see for Thrill Kill Kult fans.

Haunting Euro Horror.......2004-06-21

I was dying to see this film after reading about it in "Images in the Dark" ( a must have book on gay and lesbian films) The film is a lot better than I expected. Yes it does suffer from a low budget and atrocious English dubbing; but director Jesus Franco creates some haunting images that will stay with you after the final fade out.

One of Jess' Best.......2004-02-26

Franco's 150+ films can be divided into two types: crude, deritive films he quickly cranked out in order to maintain an income, and those into which he poured his heart and soul. The fact that most of his films fell into the former category, that he had low budgets and short filming periods, his films are often poorly translated, and ill-advised cuts were often created by his american distributors, has led to an underappreciation of Franco's skills. Although most of his films deserve all the criticism they receive, this disk should help lead to a reevaluation of Franco.

This film, despite the unfortunate title imposed upon it by the producers, is one of Franco's better films, although those looking for a horror film or one of Franco's more fun-filled movies, such as The Girl From Rio, will likely be disappointed.

After the death of his favourite star, Soledad Miranda, in a tragic accident, Franco spent about a year cranking out lousy films in order to quickly fulfill his contractual obligations with a German distributor. Afterwards, he created this film which is a very personal, poetic, surreal and melancholy rumination upon death, most likely inspired by Soledad's death. One of the themes touched upon is how death is especially tragic when it happens to someone who is young and innocent.

Attempting to describe the plot only does this film injustice. Without conveying the film's actual mood created through image, music, and acting, the story sounds absurd and simplistic. Fortunately, Image has for the first time released Franco's true vision of the film. As another reviewer notes, you should watch this in the original language. Previously the dozens of different cuts available in the american market were bastardized versions with inserts created by different directors. Some of these schlocky inserts are included on the disk as an extra, including some by Jean Rollin (from whom I would have expected much better).

What???.......2003-05-01

I first came across this movie on vhs rougly 6 or 7 years ago. I was browsing the horror section of a local Suncoast when I first discovered it. The cover had several grotesque looking zombies on it and the description of the film sounded pretty good so I took it home and watched it thinking I was in for a real surprise! I sure was! Too bad the surprise was that not only was this film so bad but it didn't even have anything to do with zombies. I have watched this movie a dozen times and still have no clue what it's about. There's no story, no plot, no zombies and it ends so abruptly that if you're not sitting down when it ends you'll fall over. It's like having the carpet pulled out from under you. Funny thing is I thought this would be the one film that would never see the light of day on dvd. Shows how much I know about marketing. I gave this film one star but only because that's the lowest I could go. Otherwise this movie would be in the red.

Average customer rating:

Not deep, but fun zombie classic
Classic video nasty gets a well deserved touch-up
Excelente
Awesome Film
Zombi 2's Easter Egg Revealed!

Zombi 2
Starring: Ugo Bologna , Al Cliver , Stefania D'Amario , Dakkar , and Alberto Dell'Acqua
Manufacturer: Shriek Show
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video