Visitors Review

(2012-05-23 07:49)

Cannibals and some Zombies

This review is from: Zombie Holocaust [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Looking at the cover you and seeing the name of the film and picture of the zombie, you might think this is a zombie film. It is not. You mostly see cannibals and sometimes a few zombies. Who i think mostly looks good, but not all of them. A pretty bloody and gory. I like some of the music in this film like for example that addicting-guitar-porno-esque song you hear when Alexandra Delli Colli undresses. Speaking of she, i think she is sexy and also the lovely Sherry Buchanan.Picture quality: 3.5/5This actually looks better than my old Shriek Show DVD. Improved colours, blood, gore, details and such. This has some trouble with DNR and noise. The DNR makes it look smooth and too clean. Also some scenes was too dark.Audio quality: 3.5/5Yes, some of the music and gunshots effects have bass. Not much else to say, but the English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 dual Mono is improved compared to the DVD.Film: 4/5Overall: 4/5

Jasper Sharp (2012-05-22 18:45)

A Cut and Paste Hack and Slash Job

Blimey! Did this really use to pass as entertainment? A real cut-price jobof all the most cost commercial aspects of early 80's Italian exploitationcinema incoherently tacked together. Here we have zombies, cannibals and amad doctor, and a script whose only purpose is to act as a tenuous linkbetween each cheap, splashy gore or full frontal nudity scene. It's the sortof film that after the first 15 minutes, gets bored with itself and wandersoff somewhere else. Atrocious dubbing; dialogue which makes Fulci's 'ZombieFlesheaters' look like Mamet; Italian exteriors ludicrously masquerading asPhilipino jungle and the usual inherent racism of the cannibal moviesub-genre, this film is just plain awful even by the low-standards set bythe rest of this cycle of Spaghetti splatter. The version played at the ICAwas titled 'Dr Butcher MD', so I assume it to be the full US uncutone.

(2012-05-22 17:58)

Really bad, but it's quite amusing.

This attempt to cash in on the success of Lucio Fulci's Zombie (which itself was an attempt to cash in on the success of Dawn of the Dead) turns out to be a very silly and badly directed, but still quite amusing gorefest. Ian McCulloch is in this one, and he and Alexandra Delli Colli head to some jungle island to investigate a cannibalistic tribe. The gore is the movie's selling point, and the effects range from surprisingly good to hilariously awful, and the lovely Delli Colli does look quite alluring in the buff (note: she appeared about three years later in The New York Ripper, and somehow looked a dozen years older in that one!)

Benjamin Gauss (2012-05-22 07:05)

Island Gorefest Extravaganza

A splatter classic, Marino Girolami's "Zombi Holocaust" of 1980 doesn'tscant with blood and gore. A true B-movie and pure exploitation, thismovie is probably not high art, however, I don't suppose that anybodywho is about to watch a movie entitled "Zombie Holocaust" is gonnaexpect Citizen Kane.After several mutilations of corpses in the morgue of a New Yorkhospital, and the appearance of a mysterious cannibal sign, a group ofpeople, amongst them a beautiful female doctor and a bitchy journalist,decide to go on an expedition to a tropical island, where they expectto find out about the sign's origin. This is, of course, not a verygood idea. Not only is the island inhabited by cannibals, but it isalso haunted by the living dead.One of the classic Italian splatter flicks, "Zombi Holocaust", is a funand entertaining, although not very thrilling movie, that mainlyconcentrates on the enormous amounts of blood and gore and on constantvery graphical violence. The acting in this movie differs. As a hugefan of Spaghetti Westerns, I found it cool to see Donal O'Brien, whodelivers a great performance as a mad scientist in this, in anon-western role. The Italian and English title is maybe not the bestto describe the movie, since its the Cannibals, and not the Zombies whokill the most people. The German title "Zombies Unter Kannibalen"("Zombies Amongst Cannibals") is probably better to describe the film'scontent.All things considered, "Zombie Holocaust" is a highly entertaining andvery bloody Gorefest that fans of the Cannibal subgenre should notmiss. Entertainment guaranteed!

Jonny_Numb (2012-05-20 19:11)

Doctor Butcher, Monkey Dung

Being an obsessive-compulsive fan of old-fashioned Euro-gore forseveral years now, I've come to expect the absurd (and usuallynonsensical) plots, the constant 'borrowing' from other films, and theover-the-top gore, all mixed together to form what is usually anenjoyably trashy cocktail. I picked up "Zombie Holocaust" with someoptimism and a little knowledge of its reputation, and after watchingit, could only help but wonder what had just happened. No, it wasn'tthe incoherently surreal thrill of watching "City of the Living Dead,"but a general, head-scratching confusion that raised questions such as:"How was this awful waste of time ever released?" As Tom Servo wouldsay: "Meanwhile, in YET ANOTHER MOVIE..." "Zombie Holocaust" doesn'thave a brain in its head (even though the title Doctor is a derangedneurosurgeon)--it's a low-budget splatter flick without even theslightest hint of innovation. It borrows settings and characters fromFulci's "Zombie" (not to mention a few actual snippets from that film),jungle savages from "Make Them Die Slowly," and a couple bronze-facedzombies that look an awful lot like the wooden-toothed wonders in"Burial Ground." Sounds like a swinging good time, but the movie isdownright distracting in its own indecisiveness, flipping back andforth between these awkwardly, incompetently blended genres without ahint of wit or style. Perhaps this is attributable to Fabrizio deAngelis, who is known less for his screen writing capabilities than asa producer on Lucio Fulci's most notable works. It is conceivable thatthe producers wanted to churn out a genre-bending smörgåsbord knowingthey would get some return on it, but the utter ridiculousness of thefinished product is an endurance test for the viewer's patience.Ian McCulloch (his usual stuffy self) and Alexandra Delli Colli ("NewYork Ripper") venture off to some faraway island to investigate adoctor's odd practices. Along the way, they encounter hostile natives,zombies, and an climax that looks suspiciously like another, betterzombie flick. Eyeballs are gouged out, entrails are eaten, and DelliColli is painted in the nude for a "Laugh-In" audition.There's ultimately nothing in "Zombie Holocaust" that hasn't been donebefore, and better. Pass.

(2012-05-19 23:42)

So bad it's good.

Have always loved this one, since only having it in a murky, laser-disc-transfered edition. Not much to recommend this if you want quality, but if you're like me, enjoy the atrocious acting, extreme violence (love that motor-kill), and the cool 80's synth score (had a time finding that on c.d.!). Sort of a must for us Zombie-thriller lovers.

Claudio Carvalho (2012-05-18 00:26)

Hilarious and Messy Trash

In New York, body parts are missing in a hospital where Dr. Dreylock(Walter Patriarca) teaches anatomy. When one cannibal worker is killedafter taking the heart of a corpse, Dr. Dreylock's assistant andanthropologist Lori Ridgeway (Alexandra Delli Colli) recognizes thesignal of a tribe in the Moluccas Island that worships the god Kito onhis body. Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch) organizes an expedition toMoluccas with his assistant George Harper (Peter O'Neal) and invitesLori and the journalist Susan Kelly (Sherry Buchanan) to travel withhim. They meet Doctor Obrero (Donald O'Brien) that asks his servantMolotto (Dakar) to guide the group to Moluccas. Once in the island,they are hunted by hunger cannibals and zombies, and they find a darksecret about the spot."Zombi Holocaust" is a hilarious and messy trash movie, with a lamestory, awful screenplay and edition and terrible acting. The leadfemale character is a complete mess with her doctorate in medicine andalso in anthropology, performed by the sexy Alexandra Delli Colli thatis shot naked most of the time without any reason. The lead malecharacter is performed by the ham actor Ian McCulloch that makes thestory hilarious with his ridiculous acting. In spite of the countlessflaws and the awful edition, this forgettable movie is cult for manyviewers and entertaining. My vote is three.Title (Brazil): Not Available

franco-28 (2012-05-17 07:40)

Splatter gore zombi's & canibals

Here is a film that has it all, evil Dr's experiments, cannibals on theprowl, gross zombi's seeking flesh as well. plus a soundtrack that wouldbegreat on Holloween. Ian McCulloch stars in this flick, he also starred inZombi II, which I believe was better done, but this one still had manygreatpoints to it. Sure the acting, the dubbing, & the special effects leftsomething to be desired but it was a fun film to watch at least if you areahorror fan.

zombi4life (2012-05-17 11:44)

must have for gore fans!!

This movie rulz it reminds of zombi 2 some of the same actors andsets.Thisone could be more gory. Anyway you have a mad dr cannibals and somezombiesnot that many zombies tho could upset zombie fans but thats ok with me andlike I said lots of crazy gore. This movie is one of my favorites a mustforzombi gore fans anyone else would probebly hate this movie!!Ian rulz andsodoes Dakkar I give this one 7/10!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(2012-05-16 23:11)

worth seeing

This is your bsaci italian Zombie film with a cannibaL twist. worht checking out for any cannibal, zombie, or Itaian horror fan

beyondthegore (2012-05-13 13:14)

Zombie Holocaust from beyondthegore

It's supposed to be a zombie film, it's got a zombie on the box art andon the back cover. However 'Zombie Holocaust' has more cannibals andtits than zombies....and there's not much of that either! I love mycheesy 80's films mainly the reason that drew me to this title evenafter its poor scores around the net, it definitely has the 80's feelabout it, the synthesizer is in full flow the attire is definitely 80'sand it does have that classic feel. Shame it's a poor effort at azombie movie.Its only saviour that doesn't make this worthy of a zero are the fewgore scenes it has. They are pretty savage and the effects have the80's feel which is nice. One scene that stands out is where our team isambushed by the cannibals and one of the unlucky ones is stabbed andhas his eyes gouged out for a little cannibal snack! Nice! Howeverthese scenes soon die off and the dribble plot kicks in to full swing!Read the full review at: beyondthegore

sledrew (2012-05-13 01:44)

NOT a classic

Had to write in response to the many posts here claiming that this filmis "great fun", and should be seen by anybody who liked Fulci's"Zombie". First of all, Zombie Holocaust is in no way on a par withFulci's film, it's not even close. Fulci's Zombie had some cheese, butit also had some pretty decent production values, generally goodeffects, great make-up, convincing zombies, and was alwaysentertaining. This film is slow and boring, misleading (there'sactually very little zombie action, it's mostly about cannibals), andjust generally stupid and amateurish. As far as the gore goes, thisdoesn't offer nearly the same outlandish gruesomeness as Fulci's film,the gore effects are quite fake-looking and silly, and there is never amoment of real tension, whereas Fulci does manage to achieve somesuspense. Disappointing in a major way, not even really fun on theso-bad-it's-good level. Don't be taken in by the references to Fulci'szombie films, real horror fans will only laugh at this film (and not inthe good way) and be bored.

Coventry (2012-05-07 20:36)

A really brutal horror experience...but fans will LOVE it !

Zombi Holocaust is one of the biggest pleasant surprises I purchased in along time. And that's a really positive thing to say because you probablyknow this kind of horror films...Fully made and produced in Italy in theearly 80's, these movies have like a dozen alternate titles and versions.Tons of similar movies like this were made during this decade but most ofthem only seem promising but disappoint in the end. Zombi Holocaust doesn't!! This movie is an extremely enjoyable mixture of all kind of interestingand nasty horror topics. Okay, the movie is called "Zombi" Holocaust andthere ARE a few zombies to detect, but Zombie Holocaust is sooooo much morethan that !!Actually, the plot of Zombie Holocaust is about a mad scientist / doctor whouses a tribe of cannibals to perform medical experiments on. Due to thoseexperiments, the aborigines become zombies.Now, in that simple plot summary, we've had ZOMBIES, CANNIBALS and freakin'MAD DOCTORS !!! I don't know about you, but to me that already sounds likeevery fan's dream. And I can assure you that - if you have the privilege towatch the fully uncut version like I did - you'll have a true gorefest !!The level of sickness and utterly nasty scenes is very extreme and it evensurpasses the work of undeniable masters in the field like Lucio Fulci andRuggero Deodato in certain sequences. Zombie Holocaust contains a gruesomeautopsy, many throats are being slit, faces and guts are being rippedoff/out etc etc...the gore highlights really are numberless. If I have topick one, I'd say the scene where a zombi is hacked up for barbeque by apropeller !! Classic need-to-see stuff for horror fans !!!Furthermore, the plot contains many, many holes and the acting isabominable. Even though O'Brien shows a lot of potential as the freakydoctor, he's given too less screentime to impress you enough. And eventhough Alexandra Delli Colli has a gorgeous body, ( and she proves thatmultiple times by showing it ) she isn't much of a talented actress. Butseriously...who cares about all these things ? Besides, bad acting isnecessary for this kind of early 80's horror...it adds a lot more charm tothe production. Zombi Holocaust is just a magnificent splatter movie that comes with myhighest possible recommendation. I've only got to known this movie recentlybecause of all the confusing aka's. It was listed as "Zombie3" in my localvideostore and as "Zombie Holocaust" in another. But there are just way tomany Italian movies called like that to let it bother you. Seek this one andenjoy it !!

tomgillespie2002 (2012-05-07 13:35)

Forgettable entry into a very crowded market

A common occurrence with film titles, particularly in the internationalhorror genre, is that many territories have different names - this filmis on our grindhouse project list as Doctor Butcher M.D., but is also(exhaustively) known as: Island of the Last Zombie; Medical Deviate;Queen of the Cannibals; and even Zombie 3. The version of this film hadthe original Italian title. And boy is it a standard, genericcannibal/zombie film. After a series of strange mutilations andamputations in hospitals, a team make an expedition to the East Indies,in search of the answers to the strange ritualistic symbol left at each"murder".The film is essentially two previous Italian schlock movies, Slave ofthe Cannibal God (1976) and Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979), combined. Theteam encounter what turns out to be a "crazy" doctor who has beenexperimenting on the dead local cannibals, manipulating them to hispower. It's not a particularly memorable inclusion into a very crowdedmarket. There are some effective gore sequences, but it doesn't at allsave a very tired, predictable, and often clumsy narrative. There isone piece of dialogue that amused me, that occurred towards thebeginning of the film, after a hand has been severed and stolen from abody used for medical education. A conversation between two medicalstudents goes as follows: Student 1: "I bet it was you who chopped thathand off". Student 2: "Why would you say that?" Student 1: "Well,didn't you say you needed a hand to help you study?"www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

(2012-05-01 17:00)

.......And He Makes House Calls!

With a snappy title like "Zombie Holocaust" you're lead to believe that this film has hordes of the living dead tearing into people like a 20 piece order of hot wings, but that's not the case. In fact, there are very few zombies, and though those few look really cool, they're relatively wimpy and harmless. Plus, they don't kill anyone and they're easily dispatched. The gory mayhem in this film comes from a cannibal tribe, and they certainly do excel in it. An earlier reviewer already covered the fact that this film is way too influenced by Fulci's Zombie, but I'm going to talk a little about that as well. It starts in New York(So does Zombie. Italian horror directors have an obsession with New York for some reason), and our cast of characters set out to find the island that the cannibals are coming from. Good ol' Ian McCulloch is once again in the lead(as in Zombie) as a New Yorker named Peter(as in Zombie) taking a trip to some doomed island of zombies(as in Zombie). In reality, these people wouldn't even go to the island, it would just be an open and shut case of murder....... but we wouldn't have a movie then, would we? Peter gets some servants to escort him to the island(one of them is a guy from Zombie who basically played the same role), and their boat goes on the fritz(as in Zombie). Once we get to the island we're treated to some creepy voodoo drum music(like the kind in Zombie), and our gang is assaulted by the cannibals! Alot of them get wasted in pretty gruesome fashion. The "jungle noises" sound like a guy repeatedly twisting a very rusty faucet(same "Jungle Sound" in Jungle Holocaust). Well, after slipping by the cannibals and zombies, our guy and gal end up at the lab of a deranged scientist doing wacky experiments involving zombies(as in Zombie). The doctor's sadistic to be sure, but comes across about as scary as the Three Stooges. And after the action packed climax of the film, the zombies and lab go down in flames(kinda like in Zombie).

Scott_from_Modesto (2012-05-01 03:04)

Too much monkey business

Zombie Holocaust is an entertaining diversion. If you regularly combthe drecks of Italian horror garbage, you've seen much worse. This is aspliced-together film, like Mattei's Hell of The Living Dead, only thisone cobbles two dumb gory b-movies together. There's a heavy dip in thefondue pot in store for this stink-ridden pile of sleazy excrement, andby that I mean I like it. Not only does this s hit sizzle but its gotrecognizable faces in it: Ian McCulloch from Zombie; Alexandra DelliColli from The New York Ripper; Donald O'Brien from Emanuelle and theLast Cannibals, and a black guy who was in Zombie. I'm not racist, Ijust don't remember his name.Like I said, there's two movies here (at least!)-- one involving apsychotic doctor and the other being a cannibal/zombie film. So you'dthink there would be a lot going on here. But there isn't. It's just anonslaught of cheap gore scenes. One scene has Ian McCulloch defendinghimself with an outboard motor to an attacking zombie's face. HIS FACE.And if that ain't enough, Delli Colli has the camera pointed at herbush for the last fifteen minutes of the movie. Based on that alone,you should be scrambling to get to the video store. But seriously,there's dozens more treats in this movie including disembowelings,throat gashings, and skull-sawing autopsies.If you love films like Hell of The Living Dead, Virus, or City of TheWalking Dead, you'll probably enjoy this one so give it a shot. It'sbrain taffy.

Miyagis_Sweaty_wifebeater (2012-04-28 18:19)

Doctor Butcher M.D. (Medical Deviate). Italian zombie horror!

Doctor Butcher M.D. (1980) was a cheap remake of Zombie. Why wouldanybody want to remake a movie that was already out a year ago stillboggles my mind after all of these years. Several key players fromZombie make appearances as well (even the main zombies are played bythe same cast). Another cheesy entry in the Italian zombie sweepstakes.Unlike the others, this one is not as enjoyable or that entertaining onany level. I also saw Zombie Holocaust as well. It's the same wonderfulfilm except it has all of the gore and goo that was edited from DoctorButcher.For die hard Italian zombie fans only

B.M. (2012-04-28 09:50)

yet another "so bad it's good" movie

The problem with a movie like Doctor Butcher M.D. is that it's budget issolow it kind of brings the movie down a few notches. The productionvalues,music (although fun in a cheesy way), acting, and plot are so amateurish Iswear this could have been made by a couple of high school kids. Even afewminor scenes were later re-used in the flick just to extend the length ofthe movie. No joke.Then again I have grown to like the movie also. I mean it's action packedand very fast paced with many scenes of gooey violence for you gore fansoutthere. A few good looking Italian babes screaming their heads off,zombies,cannibals, mad doctors!...it just doesn't get any better than this.Doctor Butcher M.D. is the epitome of the "bad" movie. Good luck findingitthough it's pretty rare I'm just glad I found myself a nice looking usedcopy for a measly 5 bucks.I recommend this only to fans of exploitation, horror/gore type movies, orextreme Italian cinema. Anyone else will most likely be shocked anddisgusted...don't say I didn't warn you.

(2012-04-26 20:04)

outrageous italian horror film on blu

This is a fun 1980 horror film from the italians. The movie is outrageous with elements of zombies , brain surgury mad doctors and crazed natives. ON blu ray , like all shriek show blu rays the film has more definition but the colors are not restored. The damage to the movie print wise is little to none though,and that's a good thing. Still for fans of blu ray this one is just a step up and not restored so it's what you get and that's it. I wish shriek show would restore more but at least they don't put out scratched up and really dirty prints. They look ok, and that's it. The story though for fans of low budget wacky movies is good and this is dubbed into english. Non fans of italian horror will not be happy with this one proabably.

Glen McCulla (2012-04-26 08:31)

You like Zombies? You like Cannibals? You'll love this one!!

Shambling hot on the decaying heels of Lucio Fulci's seminal "ZombieFlesh Eaters" came "Zombie Holocaust", featuring the same lead actor,the same filming locations, and same of the same behind the scenescrew.Known in its US release as "Dr. Butcher, Medical Deviate", this is afilm that truly throws everything at the wall and sees what sticks.After an opening sequence featuring some nicely gruesome corpseeviscerations in a New York hospital, Ian McCulloch of "Flesh Eaters"and TV's "Survivors" fame teams up with lovely looking, wooden actingand seemingly clothes allergic doctor Alexandra Delli Colli (of SignorFulci's "The New York Ripper") to investigate. After a bizarre scene inwhich a cannibalistic hospital employee is caught quite literally "redhanded" eating a patient's guts - whereupon he flings himself out ofthe window and plummets to his doom - Ian and Alexandra decide to taketheir investigation to the "Molacca" islands in Indonesia, home of acannibalistic cult.Upon arrival, we are plunged into all kinds of fun and frolicsinvolving a mad doctor experimenting on the local cannibals to create azombie slave race that numbers about four. Much enjoyment ensues fromvarious disembowellings, eye gougings and general dismemberment. Ourrugged hero Ian mashes a zombie's face using the outboard motor from aboat, the lovely Ms. Della Colli disrobes to show off her impressivebody at regular intervals, and many racial stereotype native guides getgotten by the cannibals and zombies. One of said guides even seems toyell "Macarena, he went to de boat, he deed not come back" at onepoint. I watched that bit about five times til i almost blacked outfrom laughing.I am still baffled by the ending, however: Lori (Della Colli) iscaptured by the cannibals, who strip her (wahey!), paint her withflowery tattoos, and prepare to sacrifice her on an altar. Then, for noapparent reason at all, the cannibal chief changes his mind, does alittle dance, and the next thing we know the cannibals accompany Loriand help her save Ian and battle the zombies. Why?!? It seems likethere's whole scenes missing here, but i'm certain my copy is uncut.Maybe the cannibal chief was just a nice guy, and was just muckingaround with all that sacrifice stuff. Answers on a postcard, please.