Zombie, la création

Zombies:The beginning is not a beginning in any way. In fact is a sequel to Island of the Living Dead and also is the last movie from Italian exploitation director Bruno Mattei. Mattei made a lot of movies, more than 100, and he was famous for using footage from other movies, music from other movies and also plots from other movies, he was a professional rip-off director, but he managed to made some really entertaining movies (zombie movies, WIP movies, erotic, gore, action, nun exploitation,etc) . Zombies The beginning is his last movie and, fortunately, it's a good end for Bruno. The movie delivers the goods, is a blood packed action zombie movie, with the usual stock stolen from other movies and the complete lack of originality, but its very good in his own way. Lots of action, lots of zombies, good fx and good costumes, lots of torched babies and atrocities. The movie is shot on digital video and that's the only reason this one is not as good as mattei 80s zombie movies, the film look. But in action, gore and entertainment this one is as good (in terms of entertainment that is what matters after all more than cinematography) as those ones. Bruno is dead. Long Live Bruno.

7/10

Rescued from the Pacific Ocean, Dr. Sharon Dimao tells the story of the zombie infested island she escaped. Persuaded to return to the Island with a commando unit, she uncovers worse horrors than she encountered before, and must fight to survive.

Bruno Mattei's final movie hasn't the b-movie charm of its predecessor. Aside from the flashbacks of Island of the Living Dead (2007) and the same actress playing the same character it has little,if any logical connection. Like Shocking Dark (1989) this is also basically a rehash of Aliens, right down to Antonio Tentori and Giovanni Paolucci's screenplay lifting its lines of dialogue, only the here Xenomorphs are replaced by mutant zombies. We get to witness alien cone-head zombies, fanged and little person zombies. There's exploding heads, gut chomping, dangerous explosions and all the low budget Italian production short comings you'd expect from something made in the 2000s that looks from the 80s. Sub-par acting, sound design, dubbing, editing, lapses in logic, misplaced music, recycled footage-you name it Mattei delivers it.

From the commando unit to the boardroom extras, it really has to be see to be believed unless you're familiar with Mattei's work you know exactly what to expect. Lead Yvette Yzon as Sharon gets to show off her acting chops regurgitating (maybe unknowingly) lines from better films.

Overall, it's wild, it's wacky, it's poorly executed. While not as good Mattei's penultimate DTV Island of the Living Dead, in a weird way this still manages to encompass the staples synonymous with his outlandish work.

They indeed used the script of alien, its like the movie alien 3 but much worse. but for the effort i gave them a 2. so if you expect a good movie full of action packed horror don't watch this one. on the other hand if you like crappy movies this is the one.

things i learned form this movie:

explosives used to blast a door open, the blast impact works both ways.

zombies have teeth which are similar to vampires

an eyeball can be attached on the top of your head where your hair is supposed to be.

motion detectors make a distinctive sound

i really can fall a sleep watching a horror movie

The swan song of exploitation legend Bruno Mattei, Zombies: The Beginning starts with Dr Sharon Dimao being airlifted to safety, the woman claiming to be the only survivor from a salvage ship that ran aground on an island of zombies. After a week in hospital, she goes back to work but loses her job, her employers disbelieving her story about the reanimated dead. The next six months are spent recuperating at a Buddhist temple, but Sharon still suffers from terrible nightmares (well, the same nightmare several times over).

When a man from the Tyler corporation visits Sharon, telling her that he believes her story and that he wants her to act as a consultant on a mission to another island that might be overrun by the living dead, she decides to confront her fears. Accompanied by a platoon of tough, gung-ho marines, she travels to the island where she once again comes face to face with the ravenous zombies (which look a lot more like Lamberto Bava's demons than anything to be found in a George Romero movie).

In short, Zombies: The Beginning is James Cameron's Aliens, but with zombies (that look like demons).

This might be the final effort from a director whose career has spanned four decades, but Mattei proves that he has lost none of his magic: his last film is just as clumsy, cheesy, gory and downright hilarious as anything from his heyday. Sure, it's got a nasty shot-on-video aesthetic that makes it look even cheaper than 'classics' like Rats Night of Terror and Hell of the Living dead, but all of the director's trademarks are there: dreadful dialogue, terrible performances, unconvincing special effects, and lots of unintentional hilarity.

The real fun, however, is in spotting the countless ways that this film apes Aliens. Mattei has zero shame in copying everything he possibly can from Cameron's classic: marines equipped with motion detectors, a tough female soldier, flamethrowers for roasting the enemy, a stomach-burster, a treacherous company man, and an ending that sees Sharon strip to her vest to destroy the zombies' nest, where people are being used for breeding.

In a last-ditch effort to inject just a smidgen of originality, Bruno throws in some cone-headed zombie children with bug eyes, and a disembodied brain in a jar that has been planning to take over the world. Dumb doesn't even begin to describe it.

A tough one to rate: it's embarrassingly bad, and unlikely to appeal to the average Joe, but fans of Mattei's particular brand of trash will have a blast. I'll play it safe and give it a middling 5/10.

I found delight in the connection this movie shares with Island of the Living Dead, a film I had previously enjoyed. However, my sentiments take a turn when considering Zombies: The Beginning. The film unabashedly mimics the 1986 blockbuster Aliens to an alarming degree. Every element, from the narrative and dialogue to the music, sounds, and characters, appears ripped off directly from Aliens, albeit transposed to a remote island and replacing xenomorphs with flesh-eating zombies.

Zombies: The Beginning feels like a meticulous replication of Aliens, practically a frame-to-frame duplication. Some character names even bear a striking resemblance to those found in Aliens. The pervasive imitation left me grappling with conflicting feelings, prompting me to view Zombies: The Beginning more as a parody of Aliens than a sincere attempt at producing something noteworthy.

Notably, the film boasts an abundance of gore and an unusual inclusion of nudity, a less common feature in zombie movies. However, the movie's decision to opt for dubbing raises questions. While the dubbing's accuracy is lacking, my personal tolerance allowed me to overlook this flaw. Yet, for others, the subpar dubbing might prove irksome, accentuating the already prevalent issue of substandard acting throughout the film.

In conclusion, I hesitate to recommend Zombies: The Beginning unless it happens to be available for free, and you find yourself with absolutely nothing better to do or possess a peculiar interest in witnessing the epitome of cinematic mimicry.