Zombi 3

I can't even began to write a review on this movie as my i.q. has dropped so sharply after watching it. Everything about it, from the atrocious acting to the recycled theme played throughout spoke of utter garbage. It's a miracle we made it all the way through the movie. Weapons are randomly placed throughout the town such as a crate of machine guns in the basement of a motel or a grenade under a jeep that had the blast radius of an atomic bomb. Don't even get me started on the dialog. It was garbage, garbage, garbage!!! For some reason the characters felt they had to spell out everything for us. Like when their car would break down they would say "Looks like our car broke down. I'm going to go to that abandoned gas station right over there and see if i can find some water" - this brings me to my next point - the director's obsession with water. At least three times the characters would wander off alone in search of water as if it was a miracle cure for the zombie disease. It's killing me to write this so i have to stop now. A warning for all those planning to see this movie: don't. You will walk away a mindless, babbling zombie yourself.

From the word go, Zombie Flesheaters 2 (AKA Zombi 3) makes very little sense, but thankfully it's one of those trashy 80s Euro horrors that is so shoddy in virtually every department that one cannot fail to have some fun with it.

Just one look at the film's pedigree is enough to give a pretty good idea of how crap (and therefore how enjoyable) this film actually is: Lucio Fulci, fast approaching his end-of-career worst, directed some of the action before a stroke forced him to hand over the reins to Bruno 'Hell of the Living Dead' Mattei; actor turned TV director Deran Sarafian leads the incredible no-star cast; and Claudio Fragasso, the man responsible for Troll 2 (considered by many to be the worst horror film ever made), provided the derivative, nonsensical plot that gleefully rips off a variety of zombie/infection classics, including Romero's The Crazies and Dan O' Bannon's Return Of The Living Dead.

The cause of the zombie plague in Zombi Flesheaters 2 is a top secret genetically engineered virus called Death One, which is accidentally introduced into the atmosphere after a victim is cremated (on the orders of a contemptuous general, who ignores warnings from concerned army boffins, accusing them of "talking science fiction!"). Pretty soon, the area is not only crawling with flesh hungry reanimated corpses, but also squads of haz-mat suited soldiers who have orders to contain the virus by any means necessary—which isn't exactly great news for the small group of survivors trapped inside the contaminated zone (which, within a single day, has become inexplicably derelict and overgrown with vines!).

Lacking any sense of logic, the film stumbles awkwardly from one daft scene to another in a shambolic manner that makes its mouldy walking corpses seem positively well coordinated in comparison. For connoisseurs of extremely trashy horror, this can only be good news, with the complete absence of rationale resulting in some mind-bogglingly bonkers moments: zombie birds attack a bus full of babes; a severed zombie head, shrouded in an eerie green light and smoke, flies from inside a fridge to chow down on a man's throat; a survivor discovers a box full of weapons in an abandoned building ("I found a crate full of guns downstairs," he casually declares); a lady is attacked by an unborn zombie baby that tears its way from its mother's womb; and a hand grenade, conveniently found under a truck, not only knocks down several of the undead but also destroys an entire building!

Factor in some truly awful acting, unconvincing gore, dreadful direction, zombies that can talk, jump, fight, and use weapons, and a jive-talking radio DJ who joins the ranks of the living dead, but still carries on hosting his show, and what you have is one hell of a mess—but one that really needs to be seen to be believed.

It doesn't really deserve it, but I'll give Zombie Flesheaters 2 a rating of 5/10 just for being a genuine one-of-a-kind experience.

I am an avid fan of Lucio Fulci, and yet I must say that "Zombi 3" (aka. "Zombie Flesh Eaters 2") of 1988, which he made with two other directors, Bruno Mattei and Claudi Fragasso, was quite a disappointment. Especially compared to its great predecessor, Fulci's very own Gore classic "Zombi 2" (aka. "Zombie Felsh Eaters"/"Zombie") of 1979, this is vastly disappointing. Sure, the low rating of 4.5 already suggests that it's not a good film, but, these low ratings usually come from people who are not into Italian Zombie flicks, and as enthusiastic fan of Italian Horror films and low-budget Exploitation cinema, I love many films that have only been rewarded with much lower ratings. Also, many of my fellow Italian Horror buffs seem to think of this film as underrated, which I sadly cannot agree with. Not that the film was a complete disaster. It has some redeeming qualities, above all Fulci's nauseating gore effects, that are always a pleasure to watch for an Italian Horror/Gore buff. The basic idea behind the film is also not bad (allthough far from original) and I liked the ruthless portrayal of the military. Sadly, that's about it. While the great predecessor "Zombi 2" was extremely gory, but beyond that also genuinely creepy, this is not creepy or scary for a minute, and the nauseating and often grotesque gore is the only true reason to watch "Zombi 3". The film is sometimes fun to watch, but only for the gore, and as an unintentional comedy. I guess that it was mainly the gore that came from Fulci, and the disappointing rest that came from Mattei and Fragasso, the first of which was involved in a bunch of nasty cult-flicks (such as D'Amato's "Porno Holocaust"), and the second of which is responsible for one of the worst movies ever made, the god-awful "Troll 2". Overall, this is definitely watchable for the gore, but, out of all Fulci films I've seen so far, this is definitely the worst, and I've seen the majority of this great filmmaker's repertoire. I am a Fulci fan, and I always will be, but this sure isn't his magic moment. It may be fun for the gore, but I recommend to watch any other Fulci film before this!

I was hoping this was going to be a good movie. "Ooooooh the next instalment." I thought to myself. I plonked the dvd in the player and sat back. The first promising scene with the zombie with a machete really made me sit up. I, like many, am used to zombies shuffling around and moaning a bit. For those few moments i was quite excited. Then nothing entertaining happens for ages as the dull story plods along with little gore to spice it up. Then there is the flying head in a fridge scene, which made me soil myself from laughing so hard. I am glad i have the dvd, just so i can replay that scene again and again. What else can i tell you? The rest of the film is instantly forgettable, horrible dubbing, naff music and so on. If it had more gore then i would be more inclined to recommend it (yes, it is the uncut version i have). I'm sure had Fulci been more involved it would have been better. Oh well. 3 out of 10 for the flying head!!

When a group of men rob a chemical virus from a facility, they are chased and killed. One of them escapes with the container but the glass with the virus breaks and he is infected. The military force finds his body and cremates his corpse unleashing the virus airborne. The locals are infected becoming killer zombies.

"Zombi 3" is a cheesy and trash but also funny zombie movie. The story and the screenplay are lame, the acting is histrionic, but the gross special effect is gruesome, gore and hilarious. The zombies are a complete mess, with some of them moving very slow and others very fast, but I believe that fans like me of the cult Lucio Fulci will find exactly what we expect. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Zumbi 3"

Note: On 30 Aug 2022, I saw this film again.