Zumbi 2 - A Volta dos Mortos

Surely the best film Fulci has ever directed, involving several zombies on a Caribbean island. As with all Fulci films, the movie suffers from rather bad dubbing, but all Fulci films seem to have this problem, so it`s almost a hallmark for the director. The gore is graphic & over-the-top, but when you`ve seen a zombie deep in the ocean fighting with a shark, nothing is over the top. A few memorable scenes, (the eye scene has to be the highlight) but this is movie is all about escapism. If you can handle the explicit gore (and if you`re watching Fulci, you better had!) this is a definite `lads night in movie`. Just don`t try to find too many subtexts in it`s, ahem, plot. (7 out of 10)

When it's good, it's really great. C'mon, this film has a shark fighting with a zombie...it doesn't get much better than that!

I liked the scenario - not the usual in the city - even if I would the vudu part to be much better explored. The acting is bad - especially when zombies are attacking - and Fulci brought a lot of the giallo bad tropes. That's the only reason why this isn't, for me, the masterpiece a lot claim to be.

A sail boat arrives in New York without a living soul but a zombie that attacks two guards from the Coast Guard. The daughter of the owner of the ship, Anne Bowles (Tisa Farrow), requests information about her missing father that was in the Antilles to the detectives that are investigating the crime without success. She meets the journalist Peter West (Ian McCulloch) and they decide to investigate what might have happened to her father. They travel to Matul Island with Brian Hull (Al Cliver) and Susan Barrett (Auretta Gay) in their boat. Once in the tropical island, they meet Dr. David Menard (Richard Johnson), who is trying to find a cure to a disease that brings dead back to life, turning them into zombies that eat human flesh.

"Zombie 2" is a horror classic of Lucio Fulci with a simple, but interesting screenplay. The unforgettable story begins like Nosferatu, with an empty boat arriving in a harbor with a zombie instead of a vampire; shows the naked body of two beautiful actresses, Auretta Gay and Olga Karlatos; is very gore, with a death that slightly recalls the famous scene of Buñuel in "Un Chien Andalou", when the zombie perforates the eye of Paola Menard; and has a very scary and impressive make-up, with zombies eating human flesh and biting and killing people. The sister of Mia Farrow, Tisa Farrow, has a good performance in this cult-movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Zombie - O Retorno dos Mortos" ("Zombie: The Return of the Dead")

Note: On 05 Jun 2018, I saw this film again.

'Zombie Flesh-Eaters' is the movie that put Lucio Fulci on the map, after a career of over twenty years. Initially presented as a sequel to Romero's (superior) 'Dawn Of The Dead' there is actually no connection between the two, and is best regarded as a stand alone horror movie. Unfortunately I watched the Australian cut from several years back which is missing a lot of the most explicit violence and gore, but even so I recommend this for lovers of Zombie movies.

The plot here is pretty simplistic, the acting variable but usually above average (including a few familiar horror veterans and Tisa Farrow of 'Fingers'), but after a fairly dull first half hour it picks up the pace. Fulci and his special effects crew must be congratulated for creating such realistic and repulsive looking zombies on such a low budget. They really are something to see, and arguably better than Romero's. And 'Zombie Flesh-Eaters' features an extraordinary sequence involving an underwater zombie/shark fight, which must be one of the highlights of any zombie movie, Romero or otherwise. Fulci went on to more spectacular and original movies ('The Beyond' is highly recommended), but this is still a very credible effort, and essential viewing for horror fans.

This has got to be one of the best Zombie films ever. It is one of Fulci's best. Great gore effects and cool zombies. Rent or buy this now if you are a fan of the Living Dead, or just a fan of gore.