Horror Feast: Zombi-O-Rama

There's nothing quite like an Italian zombie flick, and one of the best is of course Lucio Fulci's ZOMBI 2 (aka ZOMBIE, aka ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS etc etc). But while I've seen it more than a few times, it occurred to me recently that I've never had the pleasure (or perhaps displeasure) of watching any of the sequels. But last night changed all that as I sat myself down with some bourbon and snacks to treat myself to a 4-film Zombi-thon.
It's not something I plan on doing again. Ever.

ZOMBI 2 (1979)

While it definitely isn't his best film, ZOMBI 2 is probably Lucio Fulci's most well known contribution to the horror genre and basically reinvented him as a horror icon. There was controversy about the film being unofficially linked to Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD when the opening and closing scenes were added, but nevertheless ZOMBI 2 is still a great standalone film. There's not much to the plot, it's essentially about a cursed island called Matool where the dead are rising from their graves. But since when does a zombie movie need a plot? The film showcases some quite good make-up and practical effects (well good by 1979 standards at least) and also includes two of the most badass and iconic scenes in horror; the underwater zombie vs shark fight and of course that extreme close-up shot of eyeball vs splinter. In contrast to the zombie films of Romero, this is devoid of any kind of social commentary and is basically just a straight up gory, gross-out flick. While definitely not the goriest zombie movie, it was extreme enough to make the infamous video nasties list.
Essential viewing for any fan of the zombie sub-genre.

ZOMBI 3 (1988)While Lucio Fulci is credited as its director, ZOMBI 3 was in fact only partly directed by him. After a few weeks of filming Fulci stepped back and Bruno Mattei took over. The result is a film consisting of approximately 60% footage from Fulci and the rest from Mattei (and Claudio Fragasso), and therefore does resemble Mattei's films more than Fulci's. A sequel in name only, ZOMBI 3 only resembles it's predecessor in that it has zombies in it. Its plot revolves around a top secret bacteriological military weapon known as Death One, which has been released and infected a man. Once the man is found dead his body is burned, the ashes float up into the atmosphere before spreading and falling back to earth, infecting people and animals alike. After dying, their corpses come back to life and they attack the living. This movie (as you might expect) is a huge disappointment after watching the original film. It has almost no redeeming qualities whatsoever and is really   only worth watching for the gore and to laugh at the horrible acting and even more horrible music.

ZOMBI 4: AFTER DEATH (1989)

Directed by Claudio Fragasso (who also helped direct ZOMBI 3) this movie somehow manages to be even more ridiculous and trashy than it's predecessor. It focuses on a zombie outbreak which occurs on a tropical island. A team of researchers trying to find a cure for cancer test out their serum on a young girl but to no avail. She dies and her father - a Voodoo priest - curses the researchers and the entire island by opening a gate to hell and unleashing the undead. From the terrible (yet somehow awesome) 80s electro theme song all the way to the closing credits, this movie stinks. The acting is abysmal, the English dubbing is horrible and distracting, the characters are stupid and the movie even recycles a couple of actors from ZOMBI 3. The gore and effects are decent when you take into consideration the low budget but everything else is crap. Also worth noting is that somebody thought it would be a good idea to have pornstar Jeff Stryker star in this.




ZOMBI 5: KILLING BIRDS (1988)

This movie was never supposed to be a part of ZOMBI franchise and was initially released in Italy under the title UCCELLI ASSASSINI. But when ZOMBI 4 made money (somehow) upon its US release, this was released as ZOMBI 5. I won't even try to explain the 'plot' because it is so incoherent. There's something about a guy killing his wife then being blinded by a bird, some students looking for woodpeckers and a house in the middle of a swamp. The title is extremely misleading since zombies only appear towards the end and nobody is killed by any birds. ZOMBI 5: KILLING BIRDS is by far the worst of the franchise. The acting is somehow worse than in all of the previous films, the screenplay makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and the gore and effects are cheap and nasty. The characters all wander around making the stupidest decisions possible and some scenes completely contradict others. Don't watch this movie. Ever.

TETSUO: THE IRON MAN (1989) Review

Directed by: Shin'ya Tsukamoto

Starring: Tomorowo Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Shin'ya Tsukamoto

This is one of those films you would find almost impossible to describe accurately with just words, just like Begotten or Eraserhead. It really does need to be seen to be properly understood, and even then I can imagine a lot of people would probably find themselves confused. I've only seen it once but I believe a second viewing and even a third would probably be very helpful. 

Tetsuo is based on a play which Shin'ya Tsukamoto wrote, directed and performed in college. It tells the horrific cyberpunk inspired tale of a man known only as the 'Metal Fetishist' who has an insane obsession with implanting and attaching pieces of scrap metal in and around his flesh. It also follows a businessman and his girlfriend who are one day transformed by a brief encounter with this fetishist when they are involved in an automobile accident. The victim in this accident is of course the Metal Fetishist, and believing him to be dead the couple take his body and dump it before fleeing. The businessman soon finds that he is being overtaken by some kind of disease which is slowly turning his body into scrap metal. It becomes obvious that the Metal Fetishist is not in fact dead but is instead masterminding this strange transformation.

This physical transformation is accompanied by bizarre and nightmarish visions and metal filled sexual fantasies. He also seems to form some kind of telepathic connection with his nemesis and soon they are involved in a violent battle.

This is a low budget, black & white experimental movie shot on 16mm film. There is minimal dialogue but the accompanying cold industrial soundtrack is more prominent and important to the movie. The entire hour-long film is a fast-paced visual assault with its stark, high contrast black and white sequences and a ton of stop-motion scenes. The effects are fantastic for a movie over 20 years old, although probably masked by the black & white format. 

TETSUO is definitely a movie which will divide people. Some will hate it and others will love (I love the shit out of it) it but there is really no middle ground. As long as you don't go into this expecting some modern cinematic masterpiece then you shouldn't be disappointed. This movie's strength lies in its stylish, surreal and sometimes horrifying visuals and effects. Also if you do too much research before viewing you may stumble upon a lot of people who have obviously read way too deep into the film and have come up with ridiculous ideas that it has an anti-gay message or is a social commentary on post-industrialism. Just enjoy the movie for what it is, a fucked up and frenetic array of surreal and psychotic imagery set to an underground industrial soundtrack.

I would highly recommend this to anybody who loves Eraserhead and fans of Nine Inch Nails, especially the earlier albums such as Broken. If you can watch TETSUO and not have NIN pop into your head then you have a serious problem.