Zombie (aka Zombi 2)
Eric S Brown
“The boat can leave now. Tell the crew.” . . . And with those opening words, what is still considered one of the best films ever produced in the zombie genre begins. Directed by Lucio Fulci, and released in 1979, Zombie has earned around five hundred million dollars not counting merchandising. That’s quite an achievement for an ultra gory, over the top, zombie film. Fulci was considered the king of gore and certainly lived up to that reputation. The movie was released as a sequel to Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, and attempted to explain the origin of the zombie virus.
What makes the movie a classic is the level of gore and starkly original, and powerful, zombie scenes. As an example, one of its most famous scenes is a close up of a piece of wood being driven into a woman’s eyeball. Zombie set the bar for the goriness of the genre, but it’s most original and groundbreaking scene is a zombie and shark battling underwater. There had never been anything like that before. And to compliment the visual terror, it also featured a powerful and chilling score. Its theme music is something any horror fan can listen to and enjoy whether they’ve seen the film or not.
All these years later, Zombie has stood the test of time and continues to find new fans. Just recently, Eidon Press released a comic book adaptation of Fulci’s gory masterpiece. The limited edition collectible hardcover of the series sold out almost instantly upon release, and now goes for as high as two hundred dollars a copy! T shirts, posters, and even bumper stickers, are still being produced and selling around the globe.
While Zombie lacks the cerebral punch of Dawn of the Dead, and may not be as well known as Night of the Living Dead, it is truly a classic in its own right. Despite its age, the film is much more powerful and enjoyable than most modern zombie movies.
