Die Rückkehr der Zombies

The Vestron Video version of this film appears to be uncut (it's hard to imagine what might be missing). Truly, though, the creepiest part of it is the one woman's so-called "son", Michael, who is OBVIOUSLY not a child but, in fact, some kind of 'little person'. Why the producers of the film decided to cast an actor who is clearly an adult as a child is beyond me, but it certainly ups the "ewwww!" factor in several scenes. Most notably is that following one of the (many) zombie attacks when Michael goes to his mother for comfort and then starts nuzzling her breasts and reaching up her dress. I'm not sure if this would have actually been creepier if the actor had actually been a child, but it is far more disturbing than any of the gore on display. The rest of the film is alright. I actually liked the fact that very little time was wasted on explanations on the source of the zombie-ism (eccentric professor raises the dead and then is eaten by them - "No, stop - I'm your friend!"), that they pretty quickly get down to the business of gut-munching and flesh-ripping. Any normal viewer will either despise or at least feel indifferent toward all of the non-zombie characters; we are aren't in any way asked or persuaded to identify or sympathize with anyone here, so (like all of the 'Friday the 13th' movies and most slasher flicks) you end up hating all of the victims and cheering on the zombies, taking great satisfaction when they get their intestines pulled out or heads cut off. It doesn't help matters that all the living humans behave, almost without exception, in a fashion that can at best be generously called moronic (no offense intended toward any of you morons out there) - which only makes you want to see them all die that much more. One complaint: the video transfer of this film is rather on the darkish side, which makes some of the best scenes (especially those at night) difficult to fully appreciate (most notably the maid's crucifixion/decapitation). There are better zombie movies, definitely, but you can also do a lot worse.

This is one of the most brilliantly funny movies in the history of film. It displays humor that is so complex, and it's so unbelievably fall-on-the-floor-until-you-can-no-longer-breathe-and-your- friends-have-to-dial-9-1-1-but-they-can't-because-they can't-breathe-either-and-you-all-end-up-suffocating-funny that it should not be missed. What's almost as funny are some of the other reviews on this site. People actually admitting to being scared by this unintended laugh fest. The soundtrack is the stuff Academy Award-winning scores are made of. I want to turn that kid who played Michael into a cult hero. I know he's no longer living because I think he had that aging disease. I love the 40 year-old man who dubbed Michael's voice with that soprano-mock-child voice. Paper machet zombies always liven up a film that wears it's no-budget aesthetics proudly on it's sleave. What may be the funniest thing of all is that I own this movie(not the rights, just the video, although I could probably afford the rights.) The blurb on the box says that it's about a "group of jet-setters and a mysterious professor that we don't see too much of." Priceless. This is a rare movie to find at rental stores, but if you look hard enough, it may pop up and your searching efforts will not go unrewarded when you find it. You can trust me on this one. To quote the professor at the beginning, "I'm your friend."

Zombies attack three couples in Italy after their Burial Ground is disrupted in this entertaining horror flick from 1985.

We first see a man who seems to be digging around and exploring a burial ground site. While chipping away at the stones on the site, he appears to let out some vicious zombies who kill him. Meanwhile we see that a group of 30-somethings head up to a large mansion for the weekend near the burial site where the zombies attacked.

It isn't long before the dead start rising from the ground as grotesque zombies and roam the grounds of the large property. After all three of the couples are attacked during broad daylight but the undead creatures, it becomes a battle to stay alive and survive the night. They barricade the mansion to keep the zombies out, but the zombies in this one prove to be very strategic in their attack...

I found Burial Ground to be a very fun zombie flick! One of the main positives for me was the fast pacing of the movie. The zombies attack the group at the 20 minute mark of the movie, making pretty much the entire duration about the humans barricading themselves in the house for safety. Very fun to watch. The acting was pretty strong (it was the dubbing that was problematic). I thought Maria Angela Giordan as Evelyn was the strongest and led the way with her over the top dramatics.

The film quality and picture is very poor. I have the old 80's Vestron Video VHS, so perhaps there is a better quality version out there. The picture is dark and murky, with some of the night time scenes next to impossible to see clearly. Another thing which was low quality was the dubbing and whoever some of those voice over actors were. It was comical at some points. The gore was there, and gave a lot of blood and guts, but was nothing spectacular.

Despite those negatives, Burial Ground is a high entertaining "so bad it's great" Italian zombie flick from the mid 80's. I highly recommend giving it a watch if zombies are your thing.

6/10

Burial Ground is an Italian bonkers mix of audio horror, vile imagery and gutsy character work.

In the best manner, Burial Ground does all it can to make you feel uncomfortable. Forgetting the slow march of the decaying filth following the cast, the cast themselves are playing some of the most egregious characters ever committed to film. Each and every one of them seems wrong in some way. The framing of the violence, often in close up, with the camera remaining long after the skin's been torn, or the skull cracked makes for seat squirming viewing. The zombies, with live maggots and worms and eyes falling out of sockets, stir nasty feelings of disgust as they shamble and stumble and lay seige to the mansion.

In it all, though, is a sense of beauty. The grounds of the mansion and its interior are epic. The cast, even though they're being terrorised all night, look absolutely stunning in their pearls and perms and high neck sweaters. The blood flows like paint on a wet canvas.

But the kicker, the reason to watch this film, is the final scene. In a moment built up over the runtime, we get one of cinema's most depraved and insane developments ever committed to in film. A real horror crowd pleaser that I'm sure if played at any late night horror show would get whoops and gasps and screams of delight from the audience.

"Le Notti Del Terrore" (aka. "Burial Ground") of 1981 is a film with a mixed reputation. While some of my fellow Italian Horror fanatics regard it as being among the greatest Italian Zombie gore flicks, others seem to regard it as being completely worthless junk. In my opinion, it is neither. As far as I am concerned, "Burial Ground" does not nearly rank among the greatest Italian Zombie flicks, and yet it is an absolute must-see for my fellow fans of the living dead, mainly because of its extreme gore and its value as one of the most demented Zombie flicks ever made. Director Andrea Bianchi had already proved to be an expert for the sleazy kind of Italian Horror with his delightfully smutty Giallo "Nude Per L'Assassino" ("Strip Nude For Your Killer", 1975), and he also proves that he's a master of extreme gore with this yummy flick.

The storyline is extremely thin, and the existence of the zombies gets even less explanation than in other zombie films. However, the film's nauseating qualities easily make up for what it lacks in plotting. The living dead in this film are, without exaggeration, some the most disgusting Zombies ever in cinema. The makeup department really did an amazing job here - zombies do often look rotten, but these guys are literally in the process of rotting. The zombies have disgusting worms and maggots crawling out of their eye-sockets and other orifices, and the mere look of them is already a delight for every fan of nauseating and disgusting gore. Additionally, the film provides an enormous amount of remarkably nauseating gore, even for Italian Zombie flick standards. The film furthermore includes an extremely irritating little boy who has the face of an adult (and who was actually played by an adult, Peter Bark), and whose looks are not the only strange thing about him... I don't wanna give away more, as I don't want to spoil any of the fun, but I can assure that the fans of the really explicit and demented kind of gore-cinema will have the time of their lives watching "Burial Ground". The film is never even remotely eerie or suspenseful, and the plot is as thin as it gets, but there is no doubt about one thing: this is demented stuff! I recommend "Burial Ground" to all my fellow fans of Italian Horror cinema, especially to those who like their Zombie flicks extremely gory. If you want GORE, then this is for you!