Tag: virus

Old Review: Night of the Zombies

You know, I never claimed to be the brightest guy in the world. In fact, I may just be right above Jim Varney. Anyway, I just saw this 4 days ago and I can’t remember if this is the name of the movie or not. I’ll go back and check, but I figured I’d point out my idiocy to you all.

Anyway, on to the movie. This is your basic, Italian zombie movie. Only, they didn’t have much money for special effects, and they didn’t have much money for film, and they really didn’t have much money for actors either. I say this for several reasons. 1) There is more gratuitous usage of stock footage than even an Ed Wood movie. I think they managed to get ahold of a national geographic special on tribes and junk. Because they aren’t picky, there are pygmies, aborigines, massai warriors… you name it. But they are all supposed to be one group. 2) The zombies are just people with black-face on. Unless they are black, in which case they have blue-face one. I swear I am not making this up. 3) In a scene with a device that is measuring something or other, the readings go “off the scale”. This is accomplished by the actor carrying the device. He merely turns the little knob by the needle and makes it go “off the scale”. This was actually pretty dang funny. The plot is simple, zombies, tribal anarchy, eco-terrorists, mother earth revolting, the military and the press. Doesn’t that all sound like it should fit together? Heh heh… blew my mind I tell you. There was nudity in this movie though… just a touch. For some reason, the heroine in the movie decides she needs to strip naked and paint her body, to better relate to the natives… They still tried to eat her. You may be wondering what this all has to do with the Apocalypse? Well, that’s fair enough I guess. You see, the earth is mad, so it makes a nuclear power facility (or some such junk) leak poisonous gas. This gas makes everyone turn into zombies and eat the living. Pretty soon, almost everyone is dead. OK.. it’s weak, but I’m still counting it.
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. ;)

P.S. No, I didn’t link the wrong movie. This movie is apparently also known as Virus, Zombie Creeping Flesh and Hell of the Living Dead.

Guest Review: Virus (1980) aka Fukkatsu no hi

Guest review by tetsuo:

There are two versions to this film: the first is edited export version in which they cut out most of the Japanese scenes(obviously translating them to English is a hassle) which were about 30 to 40 minutes of the film and the unedited Japanese version. The movie is about a russian virus which is accidentally released and then goes to contaminate the rest of the world, it kills so fast that civilization collapses in a couple of months, the only survivors are those in antartica because the virus becomes dormant in extreme cold temps. From their they learn that there will be an impending earthquake in washington(as to how they found out, I have no idea) and this will automatically launch all the nukes at russia then russia will launch….(you get the idea). This is film is nicely shot and well done, the casting is somewhat biziarre with Chuck Connors playing a british submarine commander! Some scenes here are downright funny such as in the Japanese version, there is a scene featuring virus victims doing the disco(yes the Travolta style) before they drop over, another scene is when a lover of the Japanese guy in antartica tries use a speed boat to get to the north Pole from Japan!(well good luck). There are also two endings for this movie, the good ending is in the Japanese version and the bad ending is the export version(as I watched it when I was in the Phillipines). This movie is supposedly the most expensive Japanese film done(because of all those famous actors), it is well shot and done(it better be worth it). Also watch out for other actors such as Robert Vaugn, Olivia Hussy, Glenn Ford, Edward James Olmos(before Blade Runner), Bo Svenson, Henry Silva(the bad guy from Escape From the Bronx) . Recomended.

Virus (1980)
Virus (1980)