Those who regard Lucio Fulci as a talentless hack and his Zombie as little more than a Dawn of the Dead rip-off should be made to sit through Frank Martin/Marino Girolami's Zombie Holocaust .
Conceived of as a cash-in on Fulci's film, being produced by the same company recycling locations and a couple of cast members (Ian McCulloch and Dakkar) the film is inept on every level.
Like its progenitor the story starts in New York but soon switches locale to remote islands, as series of bizarre morgue desecrations are discovered to be the handiwork of Molluk islanders. Once in the islands, the investigating team – a couple of doctors, an annoying journalist and her boyfriend – discover not only cannibalistic natives but also zombies, the product of Dr Obrero's mad experiments…
The make-up and gore effects are enthusiastic – the death of a zombie by outboard motor propellor to the head being particularly spectacular – but entirely unconvincing. One representative moment sees a dummy being thrown out a window and have an arm come off on hitting the ground, yet when we cut to the actor lying there the arm has re-attached itself.
Donald O'Brien hams it up wonderfully as Obrero, treating the risible dialogue with the respect it deserves, while Alexandra Delli Colli was obviously cast for her willingness to disrobe at every opportunity.
Stonevision's Region free PAL formmat DVD presents Zombie Holocaust in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The picture quality is variable. At times it's pretty good, all things considered, at others very grainy. Scratches and damage are near omnipresent, though less distracting than the ragged bottom border to the picture. Yet, in some ways, this roughness adds to the film's appeal, giving it that sleazy grindhouse feel.
Sound is, er, there.
The extras are surprisingly good. Besides the obligatory filmographies, we get art and stills galleries, three trailers – US, UK and German – and even a deleted scene.
Only one thing is missing: As the US trailer reminds us, the film was released there under the alternative title Dr Butcher MD , with a different score and an otherwise unconnected introductory scene using footage culled from an aborted American project. There is, however, no information on this elsewhere on the DVD nor any of the Dr Butcher material. With a Region One DVD of Dr Butcher available, one can only assume that it's one of those distribution rights issues.
As it is, I don't feel dedicated enough to want to own both versions for a head-to-head evaluation.
Copyright © K H Brown 2002-2005
Rating:
4.0 / 5
(3 votes)
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