Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies (Paperback)

~ Jay Slater (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Eaten Alive! tells the story of the graphically gory movies created from the late 1970s through the early 1990s by Italian exploitation moviemakers. Jay Slater explains how the myth of the Haitian walking dead (zombies) merged with legends of third-world cannibalism to create such gruesome zombie cult films as Cannibal Holocaust, an acknowledged influence on The Blair Witch Project.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Plexus Publishing (September 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859653145
• ISBN-13: 978-0859653145
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,466,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cannibal Zombie A Go-Go, October 28, 2002

By	Carlos G. Diaz "losman" (San Antonio, Tx) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cannibal and Zombie films are a unique genre in horror film making as both are American influenced yet it took a few inventive and often times plagiaristic Italian producers to push the genres to the extreme. Eaten Alive is a collection of these films with informative reviews by the author Jay Slater. The book explores the early films of Italian directors such as Mario Bava and Jess Franco and how American director George Romero's Dawn of the Dead would influence the magnum opus of the genre Zombie Flesh Eaters. Classic shockers such as Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox are included as well as lesser known yet equally gruesome films by Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi and Michele Soavi . Included are exclusive interviews with the directors and actors who brought life to these films as well as hundreds of films stills. The perfect book for those who wish to explore the most extreme of films from the Masters of the Cannibal and Zombie Menace.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time, October 17, 2002

By A Customer

Finally, somewhat of a definitive study on Italian exploitation films. Bravo! This has reviews and sometimes interviews of all the zombie and cannibal films ever made in Italy. I'm a diehard fan of horror, and especially like the Italians ones, that were generally more graphic than their American counterparts. The writers often acknowledge that the films are bad. My favorite actor, Giovanni Lombardo Radice is now ashamed to have been a part of such films and pities their fans. I find it ironic he would pan his only claim to fame. I love how Giovanni hams it up, and the animal cruelty he shuns. That's part of their appeal- they're so wacky and over the top, you can't help but love them. There are many posters from the films to spice it up. I got this for a college project, and it helped out big time. The clerks where I ordered it from noted the gross cover art. Slater and company really outdid themselves with this book. If you're a fan of Italian exploitation, look no further.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for what it is..., March 31, 2005

By	Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jay Slater, Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies (Plexus, 2002)

I was hoping, in Eaten Alive!, for a real critical study of the cannibal and zombie subgenres of Italian horror in the late seventies and early eighties. That's not what I got. Instead, it's a list, with reviews of the films by various folks (mostly Slater himself, but with guest reviewers of some stature as well, e.g. David J. Schow) and a few interview pieces with various cast and crew on various films.

For what it is, it's a good enough book. Slater obviously has quite a comprehensive video collection, and there's probably at least one flick in here you've never heard of, no matter how well-versed you are in the genre (I'd heard of about ninety percent of them before reading this, and I've been well-versed in the genre since... well, I remember seeing the original TV trailer for Fulci's Zombie, if that tells you anything). Just expect Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese instead of Four Senses of Dante Alighieri in Film, and you're liable to enjoy it much more. ***