Customer Reviews

Hell of the Living Dead

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

So far most people reviewing this film are pretty much picking out its flaws, which are many indeed, so I won't bother re-listing them. I will say this though; Bruno Mattei's blatant and shameless ripping off of Goblin's Dawn of the Dead and Alien Contamination soundtracks would have certainly made Edward D. Wood Jr. proud. From reading the reviews I was prepared for the worst when I purchased this dvd. I was actually surprised that it was better than most people seem to give it credit for! Sure it has an amazingly inept "Ed Wood-ian" sort of quality... ok yes, it IS in fact a terrible film, but it does have a lot going for it. #1 - The entertainment value. Like Ed Wood's "classics" this film remains totally enjoyable and even has a certain lovable quality despite the fact that it's such an awful film. It's lots of fun and there's never a dull moment.
#2 - There are some truly effective Zombie sequences. The scenes involving the zombie priest at the mission, the zombie kid coming to life in his fathers arms, the dead native coming to life after his "funeral ceremony". Also the zombie hag with a cat inexplicably ripping out through her stomach made me laugh. It made no sense, but it was still cool. #3 - Last but not least, the gore. As the producers said, without blood and entrails, a film like this would be pointless. This film will make your stomach turn. It goes far beyond Dawn of the Dead as far as blood and guts. Even farther than Lucio Fulci's Zombie. The gore is probably not as disturbing as in Day of the Dead because Tom Savini's fx were just so realistic in that one. However the use of real raw meat and pig guts definitely helped "Hell" live up to the splatter genre and then some. The extreme close-ups of maggots crawling through rotting flesh and a native picking them off and eating them were absolutely nasty! Also there are some well done exploding zombie heads. The zombie attack and gut munching scenes are hit or miss. Sometimes they come off as startlingly realistic, other times they are obviously fake. But this film doesn't skimp on the blood and guts. Also towards the end, there's a facial "violation" scene that rivals Fulci's "splinter through the eye" sequence.
Overall, if you're looking for Zombie crème de la crème, stick to Romero and Fulci, but if you're just in the mood for something gross and fun, check "Hell" out.

This movie is a classic! Full of wonderfully cheesy diologue, extremely gory special effects, horrible editing, terrible dubbing, and hilarious melodrama, this movie is a high-point in bad zombie film history. It's like "Dawn of the Dead" meets "The Gods Must Be Crazy", complete with out of place stock footage that doesn't even match the quality of the actual film...you've gotta love it! The poster art bears a striking resemblance to Fulci's "Gates of Hell" ( I think that might actually be the same zombie). There are 2 classic vomiting scenes which I laughed so hard at I replayed again for a second laugh. The gore in this movie is so over-the-top and some of it is actually shown in the stock footage. Even the make-up on the living dead is inconsistant. The majority of this film takes place on an island, which adds to the fun. Lots of stock footage of actual tribes dancing in their native dress (these scenes have been edited into the movie to make you actually believe that the cast is witnessing this). The two main actors look so much alike that at times it looks as though the same actor is playing 2 parts. Gratuitous nudity is also involved when the female lead sheads her clothing and dons herself with tribal art to fit in with the natives. Unfortunately, she puts it on her face so badly it makes her look almost dog-like. I'm a huge fan of zombie and cannibal movies and am giving this movie ***** for it's campy entertainment value, unintentional humor, over-the-top gore sequences, and the fact that there actually ARE zombies in this movie. I watched it alone for the first time to spare myself the embarrassment of having wasted money on such a dull film (like I did with the dreadfully boring, unfunny and zombieless "Cannibal Apocalypse"), but now I am going to have to share this one with friends. Yes, this is a bad film, but there's never a dull moment here.

This is the zombie film you get when you've already got all of the decent ones, and just need a complete zombie dvd collection. Where does one go when you've managed to buy the whole Romero and Fulci catalog? Well, you can get some good runners up like Burial Ground, Dead Alive, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Return Of The Living Dead and Zombie Holocaust, but then what? You can stoop to getting Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, and if you're able to still live with yourself, you can pick up this and Zombi 3(both associated with Bruno Mattei!). This is for the hardcore zombie movie collector, no doubt about it. That's why I got it. I was also curious, coz for years I had the cruddy VHS copy under the title Night Of The Zombies. In that VHS copy, I could barely see what was going on, the quality was so bad. I basically got this just to SEE it. I'll admit, I watch it once and awhile, but I do warn you-This is pretty bad, even by the low standards of the genre. I know alot of Italian horror fans who disown this film. There's no point in explaining the plot, coz it's not that important or original. The interview with the director is pretty funny. He says himself that he doesn't like his films! So, with that said, buy at your own risk.

For ZOMBIE MOVIE Lovers Only! Besides the bad acting, plot,
camerawork, and countless stock footage of wild animals,
HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD can be enjoyed, ecspecially if you
like watching how much Director Mattei stole the exact
same soundtrack by Goblin off of George Romero's DAWN OF THE
DEAD. But overall, I laughed and found this movie to be
quite amusing.

what can i say about this film its got everything, terrible script,actors talking utter rubbish,pathetic fx,lots of gore,what a great film! if you are a fan of trash cinema[and i am] then you need to buy this dvd.... so to sum it up if you like good zombie flicks ie romero then you may not enjoy this but if you love the italian rip offs zombie 3 etc then dont think buy.the picture quality is quite good but not as good as some of the ab discs but its uncut,w/s 16*9 and contains a very interesting 9 min interview with the director bruno.

I can't see why so many people call this horrible. People, if you take this movie seriously of course it's going to be horrible! The things about movies like this, is that you just have to sit back with an open mind and let it just rip! Evene if the acting is bad, and the dialouge is horrible, it's still great comedy in my mind. I've never seen a more funny Zombie movie in my life than this one. I still have my old 1988 VHS version "Night Of The Zombies" in the non-widescreen, dark, grainy, gory glory. I love this movie. One of my favorites. The stock footage itself it worth the movie, not to mention the gory FX, and the ending sceen with the repoter getting nher tounge ripped-out and her eyeballs gouged out of the sockets from the inside is PURE GENIUS!!!! Obviously you have to think a lot before you have a good Zombie death scene. I love the DVD version. Much more clearer, the sound is better, and the lighting, oh my god, you wouldn't believe how much better it is from the old 1988 VHS version. Hey, if you like horror movies for laughs, then this is the right one for you. If you don't, pick it up anyway.

perhaps one of cheesiest and most bizzare zombie films ever made, hell of the living dead is a very enjoyable undead gorefest. the story involves a team of swat commandos encountering zombies in the jungle of some foreign country. obviously inspired by dawn of the dead, hell of the living dead is a perfect example of the 70's and 80's cannibal and zombie craze. if it wasnt for the bloody gore effects and comical cheesiness of the film, it would be nearly unwatchable. the horrible overacting, riddiculouse dialouge and mind numbing use of stock footage are what keep this film from reaching 4 stars. overall hell of the living dead is an enjoyable, blood soaked zombie atrocity. only for hardcore zombie and euro sleaze fans, everyone else may want to avoid this one.

I can't believe the insults that the reviewers have written on the inside sleeve of this DVD. I must say that I was afraid at first that I had picked up the wrong film.....I hadn't. This movie may disgust some of you (it should) and thats why I love it. I just had to add this to my Horror collection (filed away in the Zombie genre). I admit there are better Zombie films, but considering 90% of this movie being shot in the light (unlike most horror films besides Shock Waves) you have to give it props. I cracked up when it showed the Zombie's biting legs....you could tell they where holding raw meat on someones leg then gnawing it off, LOL. If you love Italian or Spanish horror and love Zombie's pick this one up.

The big problem I have with this movie isn't the storyline. I love the storyline, it is a very Faustian, very grim, storyline about the desire to end world overpopulation by...well...as the chemicals show...creating zombies across the 1st and 2nd world countries. And things work out pretty darn well...no more overpopulation, everyone's a zombie, and everyone has a meal... the living... a great story, and while the actors and special effects aren't anything to write home about, I think the movie does a great job bringing the story from beginning to end. The big problem I have with the movie is the transfer of the movie onto DVD. Now, yes this is a fairly old movie, and it seems that the DVD company that's selling it isn't around (at least I couldn't find it on the net). Still, one would hope for this price we would see the transfer far clearer than when the movie was viewed on vhs. I really wish the film was cleaned up enough so that I can see what's going on. Still, if you like zombie movies, this is a great one, I give the movie itself thumbs up...you'll just be straining your eyes to see what's going on!

This delivers on the zombies and gore despite the craptastic story. Still fun.

When the guy lifts the rat, and it crawls into his cheap mask, the blood begins to spurt and you know you've entered the 'cheese zone', thanks to some horrendously acting (funny in a bad way) and strange story of project HOPE, which is really a sick plan of genocide that goes 'zombie' wrong.

Hell of the Living Dead is a classic cheeseball zombie film, with plenty of zombies (over 100), zombie gore (cheap fx but bloody), worms (real maggots), atmosphere (jungle, town, abandoned mansion, factory all of which contain zombies). Worth at least one watch, this is one for the zombie classic record books; on the bottom of the pile of course.