Customer Reviews

Elvira: I Eat Your Skin [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Oh, brother. We'd better start with the title of this movie. There is in fact no skin eaten by anyone at any time in this movie; in other words, the title makes no sense whatsoever. Some people seem to like the title; while it certainly gets your attention, I don't think it necessarily makes you want to pick this title up. Even I, a self-proclaimed epicure in the terrible, put off watching this monstrosity of a movie for some time because of the title; now, I Eat Your Heart or even I Eat Your Liver would make me eager to experience a movie; I Eat Your Skin just puts me off. So what's the story here? Well, for no reason I can figure out, Harris, a playboy author of adventure books that read more like trashy romance novels, is invited to accompany his agent to Voodoo Island in the Caribbean-it would make a great setting for his next novel, he is told. The place sounds less than glorious to me: poisonous snakes all over the place, natives practicing voodoo and human sacrifice, so-called zombies running amuck. When Harris' agent gets to the part about a female to male ratio of five to one, though, our hero is all gangbusters to go. After a harrowing beach landing, Harris is attacked by a zombie and watches him slice the head off of a fisherman (there's one good thing about the movie, at least). The gang eventually makes it to the home of a doctor working on a cure for cancer using snake venom. Harris immediately puts the move on the guy's daughter, but then zombies try to run off with his new girl. From that point on, it's man versus zombie.

The ending of this movie, like the rest of it, is quite ridiculous. The sound of airplane tires squealing on sand and the fact that Harris' thoroughly drenched gun fires perfectly well are early clues to an utter disrespect for logic in this script. There are also far too many minutes of natives jerking spasmodically around doing the voodoo that they do so well. The zombies are rather impressive, though (although the transformations from human to zombie we have to watch a couple of times leave something to be desired). Their faces are all scabrous with skin peeling away all over the place, and they really do have bugged-out eyes, looking as if they each have two boiled eggs slapped across their faces.

I'm sure that zombie lovers will find some enjoyment here, but I wasn't overly impressed. All I got out of this movie was some unintended comedy. For instance, with a horde of zombies close on their heels, the men tell the women to stay there at the edge of the jungle while they go down and get the plane ready. Guess what happens to the women? Then there is the inexplicable yet very fortuitous appearance of a boat on the island just when it is most needed; even one of the characters asks "Where'd that boat come from?" Can you say deus ex machina? Between the loopy story and Harris' frequent attempts to woo the ladies with atrocious pick-up lines, I wanted this movie to end before it really even got started.

I Eat Your Skin (Del Tenney, 1964)

To call I Eat Your Skin a bad film is sort of like calling a beagle a dog. You should know simply from the title that you're dealing with a sixties exploitation flick. The problem is, there's not enough exploitation. You've got some very attractive women, none of whom ever actually gets naked, and a bunch of zombies running around who never actually get to eat anyone. (No, despite the name, no skin is actually consumed during the film.) The script is horrible, the fight scenes are hysterical, and the acting is atrocious. About the only thing that kept me watching (and I'll admit, I hit the fast forward button more than once and skimmed) was that the zombie makeup, which was nothing but face makeup and, at times, a little on the chest, was creepily effective for no reason I can put my finger on. Unfortunately, special effects do not a film make, and are certainly not enough to have me recommend this film to unsuspecting movie renters. **

Well, I would have never seen this little flick if not for two of my friends. They were at a mall, shopping for DVDs and they saw the title... Instantly they thought of me, which really worries me...

But, not one to waste a free DVD, I watched this immediately. It's entertaining, to be sure, but it is really BAD. The acting, the writing, those good ol' "Special" effects. Awful, all of them, which, I think, is the reason it's so entertaining.

The zombies are great. They look as if they're covered in scrambled eggs.

But the best thing, of course, is the score. Why did they give it a "James Bond"-ish score? I don't know but it works!

My only problem is a story point: It's not a musical. If it had been, it would've been a five, easily. Alas, it's not, so it's only a three...

This is without a doubt, my favorite bug-eyed zombie movie! Del Tenney has done it again! If you are a shlock horror fanatic like me, you'll love this voodoo cheeselog! Plot?? Ok, a pulp fiction writer crash-lands on the beach of voodoo island. He's accompanied by his snobby friend and his annoying, bubble headed wife (who quite astonishingly survives to the end). While going through the jungle, he witnesess a decapitation at the hands of a mysterious zombie who looks like someone stapled his eyelids open.Turns out, there's a mad scientist on the island, who tried curing cancer with radiated snake venom, but ended up with an army of zombies instead. Wait, it gets better! There's a voodoo priest who uses the zombies to murder anyone who gets in his way. The hero of the film is a tough, macho, sex maniac, who smirks his way through the perils around him. I especially enjoyed his "stories by the pool", told to legions of fawning, bikini-clad fem-bots! I won't spoil this classic by giving away the ending. If you like ultra-cheese, this one's for you! Highly recommended...

This is a great film. You can get it on DVD as the second feature on the DVD of a Something Weird Video called The Child.
Check it out!!!

I eat your skin is the greatest in camp horror. You'll love the caracters, the scenery, and the rabid zombies roaming the uncharted island. Aside from the fact that no one gets their skin eaten, It's the greatest horror of it's time.

Take a largely no-name cast, pair them up with a bunch of guys with oatmeal-covered faces surrounding plastic eyes covering their real eyes, have them mostly shamble about, and you have a nearly instant zombie movie. Sadly, I am not joking.

The movie begins at a hotel in Florida that looked remarkably similar to the hotel where James Bond meets Auric Goldfinger in the movie "Goldfinger." This scene is mostly a throwaway scene that appears to be intended to entice the male crowd into hoping for more bikini-clad babes later in the movie. This scene is supposed to encourage our heroes to travel to (cue drum roll here) uncharted VOODOO ISLAND! Yes, VOODOO ISLAND, where there are ZOMBIES, strangely erotic native rituals, a doctor seeking a cure for cancer, and some other stuff far too exciting to mention.

I suspect most of the budget for this movie was for a real airplane to get to uncharted Voodoo Island. Yes, the plane was real. I was surprised that the plane seemed to be on a real sand beach; that can be tough on the landing gear.

I should at least give a role call to our "heroes." We have author Tom Harris, his agent Duncan Fairchild, and Duncan's unfunny ditzy blonde wife Coral. Once they get off the plane, zombies, following the "Plan 9 from Outer Space" style, amble toward our heroes, threatening mostly the women. In defense of the zombies, there did not seem to be any zombie women that I notice. So, if there are no zombie women, do you go after guys or do you go after women?

What follows is some stumbling about the island where we meet Dr. Biladeau and his daughter, Jeannie Biladeau. I should point out that Tom meets Jeannie first while she is swimming au naturel in a river. As with the bikini babes at the beginning of the movie, I suspect that the primary reason for having a beautiful naked girl swimming in the river in the movie is to keep people watching the movie hoping for more. Prepare for disappointment.

It seems that Dr. Biladeau is trying to cure cancer with snake venom. Of course, not just any snake venom, but snake venom that the good doctor has treated with radioactivity. Remember that this movie is from the 1960s when you could count on good old radioactivity for just about anything...giant Gila monsters, giant leeches, giant women, giant tarantulas, mutated whatever, and so on and so forth.

Things really heat up as Tom and Jeannie run through the jungle, chased by shambling zombies who need some serious help from a dermatologist. Now, I would love to continue to tell you what happens in this exciting movie, but then I would spoil the exciting conclusion, which involves some generic-looking electronics, a flashy light, and a sense of impending doom.

In fairness, this movie was actually mostly coherent. The plot is fairly linear and understandable. If plot made a movie, this movie could have been a decent movie. The voodoo-related stuff was halfway okay too. For comparison, try the voodoo scenes in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die." I must say that Jeannie Biladeau was attractive in the river. Sadly, those are all the good parts to this movie.

Now for the less than good stuff, like the dialogue, the special effects, and the acting. Yep, meaning that the framework had the makings of a good movie. Sadly, when all the parts came together, the movie turned into trash.

Speaking of trash, no skin was harmed - or eaten - during this movie. My speculation is that the zombies became vegetarians just prior to filming. I was hoping for at least a bit of blood, even if the blood was worthy of only an adhesive bandage. Thus, even the title fails to deliver on its promise.

If you are looking for a good zombie movie, you can pass this one by. On the other hand, if you are a big collector of zombie movies and are seeking to own them all, then knock yourself out. Just remember, you were warned!

Good luck!

I Eat Your Skin is the ulitmate in low budget horror for its time. Everything about it is just right for its audience. The zombies are eerie and sport wierd makeup with bulging eyes. It also contains probably horror's first decapitaion by machete. It is a must for all zombie film fans, especially since these zombies run around and are extremely dangerous,rather than just slinking around. I Eat Your Skin is by far one of the better films of the 60's.