Night of the Zombies

Filmed in 1979 as "Gamma 693", Night of the Zombies is a failed horror film that has an unusual premise but not enough budget to carry it out. Writer-director Joel M. Reed (whose earlier gore opus "Bloodsucking Freaks" continues in release) has included oddball humor but doesn't deliver the scares. Picture displays an "R' rating, but has never been rated according to the MPAA.

C. I. A. Agent Nick Monroe (Jamie Gillis) is sent to West German to investigate the murder of two NATO officers and to find missing canisters of Gamma 693, a U. S. experimental gas developed in 1944. Teaming up with scientist Dr. Proud (Ryan HIlliard) and his niece Susan (Samantha Grey), her ventures to a remote, snow-scaped Bavarian village where local legend claims zombies now inhabit the site of a W. W. II battlefield.

Far-fetched science fiction premise maintains that the missing Gamma 693 was invented to put wounded soldiers in a state of suspended animation, attempting to prolong their lives. In practice, it has been used to extend the lives of unaging U. S. and German W. W. II soldiers, who prey on human flesh in order to counteract the decaying side-effect of the gas. The opposing troops are supposedly still fighting the war, a corny gimmick that reflects "Zombies" having originally been set in the Far East about an isolated Japanese regiment before a budget-induced rewrite switched locale and lessened story credibility.

Disarmingly silly dialog and spoofing of the international intrigue genre makes this slow-paced picture watchable. Cheap makeup on the soldier zombies plus too-bright lighting renders fright scenes ineffective. Reed's conception of light-hearted zombies, who lack the expected catatonic stare and like to joke around, bears little connection to earlier screen versions, though an expert notes authoritatively: "Zombies don't devour human flesh -ghouls do".

Location lensing in Germany is attractive, but lengthy, static exposition scenes and lack of convincing action footage betray the film's low budget, financed by legit theater produce ("George M.", etc.) Lorin Price. Familiar porn star Jamie Gillis is physically right as the tough-guy hero bht too laid-back for the role. Supporting cast is unimpressive and features many of the behind-the-camera personnel doubling as performers.

Well, I guess I am the second person to say this movie is kind of good. This movie gets boring a lot. I think the advantage of this movie is the gore. The gore was great. The zombies moved really slow unlike other zombies I have seen in other zombie movies. The most bad part about the movie is that it is dark at times and you can't see what is going on. I give this movie 2.5 stars out of 5 stars (average).

The first time I saw this picture was during the era of "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark's Movies" in the early eighties.(around the age of 13 or so) It really seemed a lot more interesting and suspenseful at the time but I guess THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME COMMERCIAL BREAKS ACTUALLY ENHANCED THE VIEWING OF A FEATURE FILM ON TV!!!! After buying the movie for a few bucks in a drug store a couple years back I have to say that this film has a lot going AGAINST IT. Bad European actors, bad special effects, and Jamie Gillis. (Boy, I don't know how this guy NEVER became the next Bruce Willis!)This movie started with a great idea but never developed anything cohesive out of it. If you're really bored or drunk or just want to watch a bad piece of cinema check this one out, if you want a good scary German zombie flick check out "Schocktroops".

Imagine a movie with a completely nonsensical plot, something about zombie soldiers left over from World War II. Now slap a bit of blue make-up on someone's face and call them a member of the undead. Not convinced? You ain't seen nothing yet. Wait till you experience the face melting of one of these creatures, you won't know whether to laugh or cry. Special effects? I could have done better with some crayons and a piece of paper. And how's about the out of synch sound, the outrageously fake Germans and the not entirely convincing stabbing scenes?

As you can guess, this project was probably made with the change at the back of the director's sofa. Still, it wasn't all bad.. I did catch up on some sleep the first hour it was on. Sadly, duty bound to review it I had to rewind. You should be proud of me, I lasted for all of 50 minutes before fast-forwarding the rest. From what I gather, there is a big ACTION CLIMAX near the end involving those stunningly realistic cadavers attacking a bunch of hapless humans. This is shot and acted so ineptly that it quickly becomes a comedy masterpiece. There's plenty of unintentional laughs before that, but this scene really takes the cake. My final thought when the mess was over was "What were they thinking?!" Nothing else needs to be said really.. 0/10

My late wife, Debbie Jackson, was an assistant editor on NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES. Several years later, I found it in - of all places - a supermarket. I brought it home, but for some reason, Debbie refused to watch. That always puzzled me, but I guess the memory was just too painful. Years after that, the tape disappeared from our house. I can only assume she threw it away. My only memory of the movie is a chase scene shot in Europe, with pickup shots in Greenwhich Village, in an area that sorta looks like Europe.

Debbie told me stories about meeting Jamie Gillis and how the producers were always running out of money and bringing new investors to the editing room. There was a similar movie called SHOCK WAVES, also about revived Nazi Zombies, and according to Debbie, there was some talk that their priceless idea had been ripped off. Oh well.