Is Zombie a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?
Blu Ray Distributed by Blue Underground / November 27, 2018
40th Anniversary Limited Edition! New 4K Restoration!
In Italy, it was considered the ‘unofficial sequel’ to DAWN OF THE DEAD. In England, it was known as ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS and banned as obscene. In America, it was called ZOMBIE and advertised with the depraved tag line “WE ARE GOING TO EAT YOU!” Tisa Farrow (THE GRIM REAPER), Ian McCulloch (CONTAMINATION), Al Cliver (CANNIBALS), and Richard Johnson (THE HAUNTING) star in this worldwide splatter sensation directed by ‘Maestro Of Gore’ Lucio Fulci (CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY) that remains one of the most eye-skewering, skin-ripping, gore-gushingly graphic horror hits of all time!
Just in time for its 40th Anniversary, Blue Underground is proud to present ZOMBIE in a brand-new 4K Restoration from the original uncut and uncensored camera negative. This is ZOMBIE like you’ve truly never seen it before, bursting at the seams with hours of new and archival Extras!
Trashmen Rubbish Round Table
Jamie
This may be (director) Lucio Fulci’s most coherent film and while the opening boat sequence is great, the film’s plot moves slowly as a young woman (Tisa Farrow) searches for her missing father which she eventually ends up on an almost deserted island where a mad doctor is working on a cure to stop the recently dead from coming back to life. It was at the 30 minute mark where the film goes off it’s rails with a topless scuba diver being stalked by an underwater zombie which eventually leads to the zombie fighting an actual shark. The rest of the film is pretty entertaining with enough nudity and gore to please fans of the Fulci.
Travis
As for the Fulciography, Zombie is way up there. It’s actually well directed and the Italian “what the fuck?” factor is kept in check pretty much so it is very accessible for anyone unfamiliar with this ethnic slice of cinema. I think Jamie and I agreed that a highlight of this is the zombies themselves. While not having the huge zombie cast like Dawn of the Dead it allowed the film makers to focus on each zombie for the most part. That resulted in some really good make-up effects, where they really do look like rotting corpses versus maybe a quickie paint job (no slights intended to Dawn). Of course the gore is great, well done with very visceral and nicely hued blood.
Jimbo
The “what the fuck?” factor is still very much there though, even if it’s suppressed by Fulci and Italian cinema standards. There are still just little touches and details that you may not consciously notice but your brain does. Dialogue is clunky. Music is usually quirky. And then there are other little details…
For instance, in the beginning of the film the New York Marine Patrol are investigating a seemingly abandoned ship off Ellis Island. The cops are dressed in generic leather jackets or “beat cop” costumes, probably rented from the local costume rental shop. They look nothing like Coast Guard officials. It’s a small detail, but the film is full of these little details that make the film feel strangely inauthentic. That’s not a criticism, but an observation to explain why the audience on a full diet of Aquaman is never going to have patience for something like Zombie. Even if this Fulci entry is more “mainstream”.
Jamie
When there is a movie with a zombie fighting a shark, the “what the fuck?” factor is not checked at all. The plot may be more coherent than other Fulci / Italian horror films but Zombie certainly has some insane, batshit moments such as a zombie fighting a shark. I am shocked Blue Underground didn’t offer up a blu ray cover of that scene since you can get this 4K version with three different covers.
Watching the movie again, it still holds up as a really good and sick zombie flick. If viewers can get past the dubbing, they should have a good time. The eyeball scene is still pretty gruesome and the actress sells that demonic death scream as she gets pulled to her death. Would you guys put this as one of the best zombie films? How would you rank it with other Lucio Fulci films?
Craig
Jamie
Yeah the film has been talked about for years and years. It’s a classic and by now, horror fans have (or should have) seen the film. It sure has been released a bunch of times. I did show this film maybe 10 -12 years ago with some old co-workers (all women) and they seemed to get a kick out of it and enjoyed it for what it was. There wasn’t much laughing at it and they seemed pretty disturbed over a few of the deaths (it was actually the slow-motion throat bite at the end that caused more of a stir). It holds up pretty well in my opinion which may be why it keeps getting a re-release every so often.
Jimbo
To circle back to the music… The music in these Italian horror films always crack me up. It’s another area where you can feel a distinct difference between American and Italian cinema. Italians will take a piece of music and just shove it into a sequence. So a lot of times the music feels disconnected with the images. It’s also another reason that something like Zombie feels different than a Dawn of the Dead.
Jamie
And depending on which cut of Dawn of the Dead you are watching, music is also shoved into various moments of that film. I kind of like it as it gives the film a distinct feel. And probably one of the main reasons for getting the new 3 disc Blue Underground blu ray is because of the CD soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi that is now included.
Travis
Jamie
Do any of you guys have or have seen the new Blue Underground 4K transfer? It looks pretty amazing. However, the 2 disc blu ray that came out a few years back is still impressive and just as good. The new 3 disc set comes with a CD of the soundtrack, a new audio commentary by author Troy Howarth and an interview with Stephen Thrower who usually provides a lot of insight on the film maker’s career. He does the Jess Franco ones a lot. Here he speaks about how production for Zombie happened before Dawn of the Dead was released in Italy and that once it was, they tried to add or change a few things to make it an un-official sequel. All of the special features from the last blu ray are here. However, the 98 minute documentary on the Shriek Show DVD (25th Anniversary edition) is still missing so Zombie fans should still keep their DVD copies if they want to keep the documentary.
Jimbo
Did the commentary mention what they added or changed specifically? I’m always fascinated by these attempts to make “unofficial” franchises. Anything to make money, right?
Jamie
It wasn’t a commentary track that I watched, it was Stephan Thrower’s interview. He doesn’t specifically say what was changed or added but feels the opening and ending (everything in NY) may have been added.
Travis
If that’s the case, there wasn’t much of a movie left if you chopped all the minutes spent in NY. And that’s kind of a bold decision to make mid production, “Hey let’s shoot in NYC!”. I’ll consider myself skeptical on this one, besides they wanted to get a zombie movie made quickly to cash in, like all good Italian genre movies did.
Craig
Jimbo
I own Blue Undergrounds “2-Disc Ultimate Edition” blu-ray (guess it’s not so “ultimate” anymore) and Shriek Show’s “Zombi 2: 25th Anniversary Special Edition” DVD. So I’ve never had a burning desire to grab this release even though it does have improved image, sound, and a few new goodies. Based on the movie specs, disc 2 of the set is identical to the previous 2011 “ultimate” blu-ray. Maybe if the price is right or if they ever press a legitimate 4K UHD disc, I might dip again. But even though I like this movie very much, this is one of those titles I’ve bought so many times already and I can’t go back to that well.
Travis
I was mostly surprised at how well the DVD held up in regards to picture quality. There have been a lot of discs that I popped in to either compare to a new Blu or as part of our chats and noticed how much an upgrade was required. This time I was really pleased. There were a few times I noticed some film damage (some lines running down the frame for a few seconds, or yellow blotches) but it sounds like those have been cleaned up for new 4K restoration blu ray.
Craig
I thought that there were issues with the first HD transfer. There were a lot of film masters coming out of Italy that were plagued with digital noise. They were using old equipment and didn’t care enough to fix any issues. Some people were just putting the masters through a lot of DNR which, of course, strips a lot of good stuff (like grain) out as well. I think that’s why Synapse have sunk a lot of money into redoing a lot of the Dario Argento films themselves to give them a proper transfer. Still, I was fine with the first Blue Underground Blu-Ray, even if it’s problematic. I’d need to do a side by side comparison though to decide if it’s worth it.
I mean, I’ve really slowed down on buying discs lately. I’m usually only buying things that have never had a release rather than upgrading a film that I already have. Sometimes I’m perfectly fine with just a DVD. Money only goes so far and I don’t get raises anymore so the bosses can have their offices remodeled again or something. If they had released a UHD disc of this I’d be tempted but another Blu-Ray? I don’t know…
Jamie
I personally didn’t notice much change. There is a slight difference with the transfer between DVD and blu ray as Travis pointed out some print damage can be seen on the DVD.
I say this is a must purchase if one doesn’t own the older blu ray. The special features are plentiful, the image and sound are great, and it comes with a CD soundtrack.
Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?
| Jimbo: |  (4.0 / 5) |
| Jamie: |  (4.5 / 5) |
| Travis: | (4.5 / 5) |
| Craig: | (4.0 / 5) |
| Average: |  (4.3 / 5) |
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Disc 1 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- NEW! Audio Commentary #1 with Troy Howarth, Author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films
- Audio Commentary #2 with Star Ian McCulloch and Diabolik Magazine Editor Jason J. Slater
- NEW! When The Earth Spits Out The Dead – Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Radio Spots
- Poster & Still Gallery
- Guillermo del Toro Intro
Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Extras:
- Zombie Wasteland – Interviews with Stars Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson & Al Cliver, and Actor/Stuntman Ottaviano Dell’Acqua
- Flesh Eaters on Film – Interview with Co-Producer Fabrizio De Angelis
- Deadtime Stories – Interviews with Co-Writers Elisa Briganti and (Uncredited) Dardano Sacchetti
- World of the Dead – Interviews with Cinematographer Sergio Salvati and Production & Costume Designer Walter Patriarca
- Zombi Italiano – Interviews with Special Make-Up Effects Artists Gianetto De Rossi & Maurizio Trani and Special Effects Artist Gino De Rossi
- Notes on a Headstone – Interview with Composer Fabio Frizzi
- All in the Family – Interview with Antonella Fulci
- Zombie Lover – Award-Winning Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro talks about one of his favorite films
- BONUS! ZOMBIE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by Fabio Frizzi
- BONUS! Collectable Booklet with new essay by Stephen Thrower
