Michael Delahoyde, PhD

Professor of English

Zombie (1979)

ZOMBIE

(1979)


All notes and summary below by Sopang Men (2006).


Notes:
Anne Bowles: Tisa Farrow
Peter West: Ian McCulloch
Dr. David Menard: Richard Johnson
Brain Hull: Al Cliver

Directed: Lucio Fulci


Type of Zombies: The slow-stepping, rotting variety. An unnamed disease is the cause for their reanimation but it’s hinted that the source of the sickness is voodoo related.


Summary:
An abandoned ship floats into the coast of New York. Intercepted by members of the Coast Guard, the sail boat contains a large, decaying zombie that mauls one of the guards. The ship’s owner turns out to be a missing doctor last seen on the uncharted isle of Matul. His daughter, accompanied by a British journalist, goes out to search for him on the isle, but finds out too late that Matul is inflicted with a disease that causes the dead to rise again.

This Italian horror classic is horribly dubbed, poorly acted, and cheaply made but those are what give the film its charm. The zombies themselves are more elaborately detailed than Romero’s grape-faced undead; maggots pour out of eye sockets, skin deteriorates to a muddy brown, and chunks of flesh are missing, exposing bone.


Gore Factor:
Two scenes are infamous in Zombie for their originality and gore. The first one contains an unrelenting zombie, a half naked beauty, her exposed eyeball, and a sharp piece of wood. The second scene needs only three words to get you to watch: zombie versus shark.


No Brains…No Brains…:
It’s not a smart idea for the doctor to leave his wife alone in a paper-thin cottage on a zombie-infested island. It’s downright stupid to leave her alone to get drunk and pass out on the beach of said island. Also, it’s helpful to remember the old saying, “Don’t throw Molotov cocktails while in wood houses.”


Undead Quotable:
“I just been informed zombies have entered the building. They’re at the door! They’re coming in! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” — Radio Announcer


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