Old Review: Zombie

I know Zombie can mean many different movies, but the one I’m talking about was directed by the Italian guy, Fulci. He’s a real master. I heard it was also released as Zombie 2 and it was known as a sequel to Dawn of the Dead in Italy. I dunno if any of that is true. Anyway, I saw this a while back when I was watching Zombie movies like I eat goldfish crackers. I was just reminded by a friend yesterday that it was post-apocalyptic… So here goes.
Very Dawn of the Dead-ish. Zombies eating humans. Brain shots the only way to kill them. It basically has our heroes (a group of whiners) stuck on an island with a bunch of dying natives and more zombies. I never will understand the Zombie/Jungle combination… but i’ve seen it in lots of movies. The best part of this movie has a Zombie underwater, fighting a shark. Can you believe that. It’s a real shark too I think. The shark would try and bite the zombie and the zombie would return in kind. Fantastic!
I can’t remember who the special effects guy was on this movie, but he made it. There’s a real famous scene that all the kids in the horror circles talk about. Mia Farrow’s sister is looking for her husband, and happens upon a zombie. She runs from him and closes the door on him. He smashes his hand through the door and there is a big splinter of wood. Then the zombie grabs her head and slowly pulls it toward the splinter. You watch the splinter actually puncture the eye. I don’t know how they did it. It was gross.
Anyway, what does this all have to do with the apocalypse? Well, of course noone can stop the zombies, so they make it on a boat and get to America. The last scene has them all shambling over the Brooklyn Bridge. The End.

Zombie (1980)
Zombie (1980)

Editor’s Note: Hmm.. I was corrected on this one. Apparently the eyegouge chick wasn’t Tisa Farrow, it was Olga Karlatos. I know, I know, you don’t give a rat’s ass. Well, believe me, there are some people out there who get pissed.

Additional Editor’s Note: This original review was written sometime during 1996-1997, when I was a drunken, twenty-something nincompoop.  I am no longer that person.  Or, that is to say, I am in my thirties now. 😉