Right from that excellent
opening moment where a gun is pointed at us, but then fires into the head of
someone tied up in a sheet, this movie has me. The shooter announces that the
boat can now leave. Then, after the opening credits, we see what seems to be an
unmanned boat entering the New York harbor. When two harbor patrol men board
the vessel, they discover someone is on the boat, just no one who is alive.
After one of them is killed by the zombie, the other shoots the zombie several
times until it falls overboard. There is a great shot when the zombie falls
into the water: the camera pans up from the water to the city, indicating that
the trouble is only beginning, that now everyone there is in danger. That’s
something about this horror film. It is thoughtfully and beautifully
photographed.
Anne Bowles (Tisa Farrow) is
the daughter of the man who owned the boat, and she is determined to learn what
became of her father. She begins sneaking around, trying to gather information.
Peter West (Ian McCulloch) is a reporter who is also interested in the story,
and the two join forces. There is another excellent shot when Peter is on the
phone with his boss, reading the letter he found on the boat. The letter was
written to Anne from her father, and while he reads it, Anne stands next to
him. The camera starts on Peter, pulls back wider to include Anne, then pushes
in on her, focusing on her reaction to her father’s last words to her, words
about contracting a mysterious disease. What’s also interesting is that this
horror film begins as if it were a crime drama. And as the two travel to the
island where Anne’s father was working, we get the sense that trouble is brewing
in New York, since the coast guard officer who was bitten by the zombie won’t
remain still during his own autopsy.
Peter and Anne convince a
couple on vacation to take them to the island on their boat. The movie has some
awesome underwater photography, with sharks and nude scuba diving. And the
sharks aren’t the only dangerous creatures down there. This whole sequence is
fantastic and surprising. Meanwhile, the natives on the island are not doing
well. Dr. Menard (Richard Johnson) is trying to learn the scientific cause of
the troubles, but his wife is eager to just leave. Soon, of course, Peter,
Anne, and the others arrive. And that’s when the real excitement begins. One
unusual aspect of this film is that it is a horror movie that takes place mostly
in daylight. The movie not only has plenty of excellent horror, such as that
famous bit with the eye, but also quite a bit of suspense, helping to make it a favorite of the genre.
Disc 1 Special Features
This three-disc set contains a
whole lot of special features. The first disc includes a brief introduction by
Guillermo del Toro, and two separate commentary tracks. The first is by Troy
Howarth, author of Splintered Visions:
Lucio Fulci And His Films. He talks a bit about the fact that the shark was
trained and drugged. Actually more interesting are the anecdotes about the
actor who couldn’t swim although she’d sworn she could. He also goes into the
reasons why in Italy the film was titled Zombi
2. The second commentary track is by actor Ian McCulloch and Diabolik Magazine editor Jason J.
Slater. Ian tells an interesting anecdote about how they filmed illegally in
New York, without permits. Weirdly, doing this commentary track offered him his
first opportunity to see the film in its entirety.
The first disc also includes When The Earth Spits Out The Dead…, an
interview with Stephen Thrower about Lucio Fulci and the film. Interestingly,
Enzo Castellari turned down the project before Fulci came on board. Stephen
talks about that great underwater sequence and of course that fantastic eye
shot. This disc also contains two trailers, two television commercials and four
radio spots. And there is a still photo gallery, including posters and lobby
cards.
Disc 2 Special Features
The second disc contains a
series of interviews with several people who worked on the film. Zombie Wasteland is a featurette with
interviews with Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver and Ottaviano
Dell’acqua. They talk about the film being banned, and about the effect the
fans have had on them. It includes footage from a convention, and thoughts from
some fans. This is approximately twenty-two minutes. Then Flesh Eaters On Film is an interview with co-producer Fabrizio De
Angelis. Interestingly, he starts by saying that as an audience member, he’s
not a fan of horror films because he gets too frightened. This interview is
approximately ten minutes. Deadtime
Stories contains interviews with co-writers Elisa Briganti and Dardano
Sacchetti, who talk about how the project came about. This is approximately
fourteen minutes.
World Of The Dead contains interviews with cinematographer Sergio
Salvati and production designer Walter Patriarca. Salvati talks about the eye
scene, and the use of several different shots, as well as about the footage
from the helicopter, and how that was accomplished. Patriarca talks about the
church set, and the use of a bulldozer to make it tilt. This is approximately
sixteen minutes. Zombi Italiano has
interviews with special effects artists Gianetto De Rossi, Maurizio Train and
Gino De Rossi. They talk about the need to give the zombies a look they hadn’t
had before, and about the use of worms in the makeup. They talk about the
shark/zombie scene and of course the eyeball scene, and also about the bridge
scene, having to create the zombies quickly for it. This is approximately seventeen
minutes.
Notes On A Headstone is an interview with composer Fabio Frizzi,
and is approximately seven minutes. That’s followed by All In The Family, an interview with Antonella Fulci, who talks
about her father and his work. That is approximately six minutes. Zombie Love is an interview with
Guillermo Del Toro in which he talks about Zombie, which he calls one of his
favorite movies.
Disc 3: Soundtrack
The third disc is an audio CD
containing the film’s soundtrack, approximately twenty-eight minutes of music.
The first track has a pleasant, bright, cheerful island vibe. Then beginning
with the second track we start getting into the creepier, more intense themes.
The third track is percussion, giving the sense of impending danger, the
impression of being stalked on an island. The fourth track is also percussion,
but faster now, louder, like everything is closer to you. The fifth track has a
more electronic, eerie sound. Then we get back into tense territory with the
sixth track, which builds in intensity. The seventh track is more cool
percussion. The eighth track contains the familiar theme. The CD’s final track
is titled “There’s No Matter,” and is a disco song with vocals. This song quickly grew on me.
This set also includes a
booklet with an article by Stephen Thrower titled “We Are Going to Eat You!
Zombies Vs. The Critics.”
This special 3-disc edition of Zombie was released on November 27, 2018
through Blue Underground.
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