Customer Reviews

Zombi 3

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I loved Greoge Romero's Dawn of the Dead (aka Zombi) and Lucio Fulci's Zombie (aka Zombi 2), so I figured why not check out Zombi 3. I already knew the movie would be bad, so I bought it expecting just that. Of course its not a worthy sequel to the first two entries in the series, but its still enjoyable, for exactly the opposite of what made Zombi 1 & 2 so good. The acting, story, makeup, editing are all bad, but it just adds to the fun. This film has zombie birds, flying zombie heads, a zombie baby, and more off-the-wall outragousness. I found my self actually laughing aloud at some moments. Shriek Show Entertainment (a division of Media-Blasters) is only second to Anchor Bay Entertaiment to bringing these rare Italian gore gems to American DVD. They do a stupendous job restoring this movie to its full uncut format. For this, I applaud them. It's just awsome that these guys would go to so much work for such a bad movie. Finally, for those of you that loved Dawn Of The Dead and Zombie, just know what your buying here. This is NOT like those two films; it is almost a mockery of them. If you only like serious well-made horror flicks, avoid this film. If you like seeing rare gems like this to be entertained by the the outragousness and stupidity of them, pick this up today! As for me, I am going to pick up ZOMBIE 4: AFTER DEATH today!

No figure in the horror film genre is as divisive as Lucio Fulci. After watching one or two of his films, viewers tend to move into one of two camps. One side hails Fulci as a master of terror, a man who upped the gore quotient in his films while creating wonderfully atmospheric pictures. For these people, Fulci is right up there with the likes of Dario Argento as one of the best filmmakers ever to emerge from Italy. The other camp sneers at these claims, pointing to the plodding pace of his films, the use of extreme gore to camouflage plot holes, and the director's inability to draw good performances out of his cast as evidence of mediocrity. Initially, I enjoyed Fulci's films, specifically "Zombie," "The Beyond," and "The New York Ripper" because I did not know any better. When I came on the scene, you went to Fulci to feed your craving for gore. What a difference a few years exploring the genre makes! While I will not go so far as to remove Uncle Lucio from my play list altogether, I have seen enough of his films to realize he is not a cinematic genius. He is at best a good director, at worst an abysmal one, and there are plenty of examples of bad filmmaking in this director's filmography.

"Zombi 3" takes place in the Philippines, of all places, and involves some sort of toxic spill at a secret laboratory which, not surprisingly, results in all sorts of zombies running about the place. How does the toxin, which goes by the name of Death One, enter the public domain? Well, a bunch of terrorists steal the plague, but one of them is infected in the process. The army kills this guy and burns his body in a crematorium. The ashes released into the atmosphere apparently carry the virus--or plague, toxin, bioweapon, whatever you want to call it--to the native population via a flock of birds. Oh, before that happens the infected terrorist checks into the Manila Holiday Inn and experiences a catastrophic meltdown in the bathroom, thus infecting a few of the hotel staff whose only crime consisted of showing up with fresh towels. By the time the military types start to burn the corpse of the infected terrorist, a scientist guilty of some of the worst acting in the world pops in to warn about destroying the body. Doing so, he claims, could turn the toxin into an airborne contagion. Or something like that; I don't quite remember because by this point in the film my groans had assumed such ear shattering intensity that it was difficult in the extreme to follow the narrative. As if there is a narrative!

Anyway, a bunch of soldiers quickly form a cordon around the town and blast anyone they run into in the hope that they can somehow contain the Death One virus. A few soldiers--Kenny (Deran Sarafian), Roger (Richard Raymond), and Bo (Massimo Vanni)--hook up with a carload of kids--Patricia (Beatrice Ring) and Carole (Marina Loi) among them--in an effort to survive the increasingly hungry waves of zombies. At least I think that's what happened. Sorry, but following the ins and outs of "Zombi 3" is a lot like trying to find signs of intelligence in Paris Hilton's latest television program. I can say that lots of gory munching takes place, a zombie head soars across a room at one point, and the undead in this movie can swim, run, walk really fast, and play the harmonica like you've never heard. Mattei/Fulci also throw in a bunch of low rent shoot 'em up scenes between the soldiers and everyone else that are noticeable only because of their abject cheapness. Don't expect any "Godfather" level squib work here--the bullet wounds in "Zombi 3" are barely above the old "ketchup in palm of hand slapped over chest" trick. One thing I really liked about the movie, though, is the disco jockey issuing reports about the unfolding madness. What a surprise what happened to him, eh? Oh brother!

The morass that is "Zombi 3" should not rest entirely on Fulci's shoulders, however. At some point in the production, the famed filmmaker dropped out of the project and turned the camera over to Bruno Mattei. This director, if you're not familiar with his work, ranks as one of the greatest schlock masters to ever grace the world of Italian filmmaking. According to interviews in the supplements section of the disc, Mattei claims that Fulci filmed most of the movie but refused to lens additional scenes deemed necessary to pad the feature out to a decent runtime. Magical Mattei thus stepped in to help out. God help us. The result is a movie so atrociously bad that it's actually a great addition to the sleazy zombie genre. Really. If you love zombie films like I love zombie films, "Zombi 3" is a must see if for no other reason than to understand how not to make a movie. It takes an enormous amount of work to craft a film this horrific, so hats off to Bruno Mattei for unleashing yet another mangled piece o' pulp on the world.

Considering the "Zombi 3" DVD comes to us from the friendly folks over at Media Blasters (through their Shriek Show label), expect more than a few extras. We get a trailer for the film. We also get a still gallery. And we get interviews with Mattei, scriptwriter Claudio Fragrasso, Marina Loi, Massimo Vanni, and Richard Raymond. On top of all that, Media Blasters throws in trailers for "Buio Omega," "House of Clocks," and "Spasmo." Fun stuff, even if the movie doesn't really deserve this much attention. Watch "Zombi 3" for the occasionally effective gore, and to see if you can figure out which scenes came from Fulci and which ones came from Mattei. Good luck!

What if Troma remade "The Return of the Living Dead"? Well, here's the answer. Zombi 3. The only difference being that I don't think this was intentionally made to be so bad. It still works as an all-out, goof-ball, p.o.s. zombie flick that's so bad it's funny. Just don't go in expecting "Day of the Dead" ... Watch for the "main" scientist's spasticated body movements used to accentuate his nonexistent acting skills and the soldier's inability to react at people shooting at them. These I found particularly funny.

This movie had me floored. I laughed through 90% of this so-called zombie flick. The scene with the flying zombie head made me laugh so hard I nearly couldn't catch my breath. Another thing that was so stupid about that part was the fact that the head was waiting in the refrigerator just plotting on the off chance that two morons would have the munchies and check out the kitchen. Sure enough two idiots show up. Who on earth would be thinking about their stomach while hundreds of ravenous zombies are waiting to attack them?

I guess you can see that the plot and the writing isn't that great. Hell, just by looking at the cover will tell you that. Don't come into this thinking that you will get scares or something thought-provoking will ensue, because you'll just be disappointed. But if you like laughing at cheesy special effects, bad acting and down right stupid characters this film seeks to please. I gave it three stars for the laugh factor.

Here's a piece of advice. Don't forget to pack the Depends!!

Obviously, Fulci was dragged kicking and screaming to direct this film. He has since disowned it and for good reason. If you think Fulci's movies are bad, just check this out! This is yet another Zombi film that you're bound to pick up after you have already purchased every good one out there. This is basically scraping the bottom of the barrel. Actually, this lies somewhere beneath the barrel. Similar to Hell Of The Living Dead(how ironic, the same director of Hell.. is also the guy who completed this one after Fulci did most of it!), this title is one that you ask yourself, "What in God's name is this doing in my dvd collection?" At least Hell... has a cheese value that makes it entertaining, this just doesn't. This movie could have been good, it's got all the fixins for an entertaining, cheap zombie flick, but something went horribly wrong along the way. You know something's rotten in Denmark when another director is called in to shoot more scenes. Usually I tell people to just buy a certain title, but for Zombi 3, I strongly suggest renting it before doing something you may regret later.

Directed by Lucio Fulci as a kind of sequel to his hit, Zombi2. A scientist in the Philippines accidently creates a serum that turns people into zombies. It's stolen by terrorists and yadda, yadda, yadda, everyone is turning up zombies. Enter the gun happy military! Highlights include a funky narrative provided by a groovy DJ, zombie birds and a zombie birth! This one is good, zombie-flavored fun.

In many ways Zombie 3 can be seen as the end of an era; around this time the tide was starting to turn against horror and Italian horror cinema was reaching the end of the high point of its popularity.

Zombie 3 is also one of the last movies by Lucio Fulci that gained a large cult following, while Fulci would go and make 7 more movies, some of which have gained a following I would say Zombie 3 is the more well known among Fulci fans.

Zombie 3 is probably one of Lucio Fulci's lesser efforts; even in some of his weaker films, Lucio Fulci was able to build some tension and atmosphere and sometimes make a movie creepier than it should have been, where as other times he was able to do that, but unable to sustain it.

This time around there really isn't anything Fulci about the movie; apparently at the time he was sick and I think that shows. Honestly there is nothing Fulci about this movie at all. Lucio Fulci had a certain style. When you watch a Fulci movie good or bad you know its Fulci. Even though about half the movie was shot by Bruno Mattei, the scenes that were done by Fulci bare no resemblance to his past work. The visual style Fulci was so known for isn't seen at all here.

Claudio Fragasso wrote the script along with his wife Rossella Drudi who was un-credited. According to Fragasso, Fulci was dumping pages he said were too complex too shoot. Based on some other interviews with Fragasso he normally has an excuse on why his movies come out so poor.

True or not the script is obviously weak so it really doesn't matter if what Claudio Fragasso is true or not.

The funny thing is Fragasso and Rossella Drudi actually have a hint of a plot a clichéd one, but a plot nonetheless, the movie also attempts some social commentary, but the movie is so poorly written all this is lost and it comes out really silly.

After the movie was shot it ran at 70-min and was said to be too slow. The movie was chopped down to 50-min and Fulci refused to do any reshoots.

So in comes in Bruno Mattei who finished the movie along with Claudio Fragasso. Quite honestly this is probably Mattei's best work, which really isn't saying much. Make no mistake Zombie 3 is a bad movie, but that is why I love it.

The characters are idiots who say the dumbest things, but yet I loved every second of the movie. As for the zombies they range from slow moving to rather fast. Some zombies have a few lines and others are silent.

The highlight for me was the zombie with the machete I found that scene hysterical. We also have a very funny scene with a flying zombie head, now that was classic. And we even have zombie birds. I love how different the zombies are. As I said one minute they are really slow and weak the next fast and strong. Neither Fulci nor Mattei stuck to anything with the zombies.

The gore is fairly decent; it's not the gorefest like some of Fulci's prior work, but Zombie 3 has some decent gore, but could have used a bit more. But gore-hounds should be pleased.

Zombie 3 very much is the so bad its good movie. It's idiotic and poorly done, but a blast to watch. Though I will say if you are new to Lucio Fulci I would recommend working your way up to Zombie 3. In my opinion this movie doesn't show Lucio Fulci is about. While yes his movies do have their flaws, but he's a much better director than what he shows here.

For those interested in buying this movie I would recommend getting the Zombie Pack. The set includes Zombie 3, Zombie 4: After Death & Zombie 5: Killing Birds. The set is cheaper than any of the movies solo.

The information here on Amazon is wrong, Zombie 3 is Un-rated and not R-Rated, also the aspect ratio is actually 1.85:1 and not 1.33:1.

What we have in Zombi 3 is a bludgeoning of predominantly bad acting, wacky storywriting, and a whole lot of unnecessary fog. So far, it has all the makings of a cool Italian gore flick.

The gore never really comes though. But somehow that's ok. There's enough in it that you're not entirely disappointed. Like the scene where a man rescues a girl from some water only to find out her legs have been chewed away.

This film is incredibly entertaining. The zombies sorta do whatever they want. We got shamblers, we got crazy machete-weilders, and we've even got zombie DJs at the end.

The thing is, you can either go into this expecting Dawn of the Dead or Zombi 2 caliber zombie film-making, or you can watch it and make ties to movies like Evil Dead 2 instead. If you do that, the movie instantly becomes better. You no longer care that a FLYING ZOMBIE HEAD just came out of the fridge to kill someone. You don't care that when one man has become a zombie, you are showed that he has made the final tranistion by him saying, "Patricia, I'm thirsty.....FOR YOUR BLOOD!"

If you go into it expecting a fun romp instead of a clear cut zombie film, you'll be set. It's very entertaining as a fun romp. The first time I saw Zombi 3, I was very disappointed. But I gave it another try. And then another. And then I bought it. And watched it again. And I realized that I love this movie, despite all its flaws.

So yeah. If you're looking for serious zombie fare, Dawn of the Dead and Zombi 2 are where you should be going. But if you've come to accept that there's only 8 or 9, maybe 10 zombie movies that aren't incredibly, terribly cheesy, you should love Zombi 3.

I don't have much of anything in particular to say about this film, other than that I think it gets a bad rap. Maybe it's hurt by its lineage, as it is the pseudo-sequel to a genre classic, which was itself a pseudo-sequel to THE genre classic. And yeah, 'Zombie 3' is not a good zombie film, but there are plenty worse. As a matter of fact, it's actually more slick and professional than most Italian zombie movies. I think that may be part of the reason it's so disliked. It's not nearly as good as the genuinely good zombie movies, but it's not cheap and hokey enough to work that well on a camp level. Also, it isn't very gory and has some somewhat subpar zombie makeup, which is likely to destroy whatever other goodwill it may have received. But I, for one, think this is an amusing, reasonably competent zombie film with a ton of zombie action in it. Minute for minute, this movie has more zombies than just about any other one I can think of. It does have some excessively silly stuff, like the killer fetus and the flying zombie head, but if you're just looking for a lot of zombie action, this ain't bad. Most of it is at least passably entertaining, and the night assault by the zombies in the fog is quite cool, I think. It is pretty damn pieced together, moving from one plot point to the next in an utterly random fashion, but what do you expect. It's a zombie movie.

Anyway, check it out. It's fun.

Grade: C

If you get to see the trailer for this film, it is likely that your first reaction will be 'Wow ! It looks really pacy and exciting if a little silly'. See the whole film and you'll doubtless soon realise that 'Zombi 3' was a real wasted opportunity.
Overall, it is a poor film and derivative even by 'Living dead' movie standards (and that's saying something), but has some excellent moments which frustrate the viewer by indicating how good the film could have been. So what is good ?
1) The lush tropical setting, reminiscent of 'Contamination' and 'Day of the Dead'.
2) The guys in the white decontamination suits, reminiscent of 'The Crazies' (and 'Contamination').
3) The first machette-wielding zombie who attacks Beatrice Ring with real vigour (now that's what I call action and aggression).
4) The flying head (yes, it's stupid but a moment of gonzoid genius)
5) The moment when the blond soldier pulls the girl out of the pond (you'll have to see it yourself)
6) The soundtrack -which Amazon.com don't sell even though it is available, but be warned the soundtrack CD does not contain the most exciting bit of uptempo music from the film.
7) Beatrice Ring, who plays an annoying insipid character, but is cute.

What's bad ? The dialogue (is it badly translated or just very badly written), the dubbing (remember now that this is an Italian horror movie, so you should be prepared for this), the influence of 'Return of the Living Dead' and 'Day of the Dead' on the script and the fact that it was written by the guy who wrote 'hell of the Living Dead' (aka 'Zombie Creeping Flesh'). In fact, you could argue that 'Zombi 3' is a superior remake of the latter film. Finally, the silly DJ reminiscent of the DJ in 'Vanishing Point' whose dialogue belongs in a very poor seventies exploitation flick.
Now you're thinking 'he doesn't like it'. Wrong. This is a fun movie that all horror fans should enjoy: if you don't then you'll never understand what a missed opportunity is or how to have a good laugh at the more absurd moments in horror history...
Finally, the DVD quality. This 'Shriek Show' edition is very good, including as it does a 5 minute pre-credit introduction previously only available on Japanese versions. This extra material is taken from a 1" video master (the only surving source|) so is low quality compared to the rest of the film, which looks great, much better than the UK edition. BUT several of the gore scenes seem to be lifted from a similarly poor video master, which is unforgivable - the UK edition is better in this repsect. This is bizarre, as the Trailer (which included, and is as I've said one of the most exciting trailers I've ever seen) contains some of these scenes in a pristine transfer) , but overall the film looks miles better than other versions, despite the white haloes around many of the characters in bright scenes, presumably the result of poor lighting/shading control due to the low budget. Also included are trailers for other nasty Italian horrors like 'Beyond the Darkness'(which looks as perverse as you's expect) 'Spasmo' (which looks like a typically silly low quality giallo) and 'House of Clocks' (which just looks like garbage). The package is rounded off with 40 minutes of interviews with some of the stars, second unit director Bruno Mattei and screenwriter Claudio Fragrasso, all basically about Lucio Fulci, clearing up the issue of which bits of the film he directed (sadly no interview with Beatrice Ring) - basically, the 'Contamination' suited guys, the crap scientists and even stupider military men were pretty much all shot by Mattei, Fragrasso using elements of his own 'Zombie Creeping Flesh'/'Hell of the Living Dead' and 'Return of the Living Dead'. Perhaps a true Fulci cut, minus this stuff will emerge one day - it will only be about 50 minutes long, will need the gore scenes restored from a pristine source and contain a Beatrice Ring interview (plus new, more effectively written dialogue would be something) all in DTS sound. Any Fulci purist labels out there willing to take this on ?