(1979) 3 Jason Buchanan The Italian film industry has a long history of making cheap, somewhat rushed knockoffs and sequels to popular import hits (see Alien Contamination and Troll 2), and though this stylish and gore-drenched effort from legendary Italian director Lucio Fulci is indeed intended as something of an unofficial sequel to American director George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (released overseas as Zombi), Fulci's film has gone on to become something of a classic in its own right. Though Zombi 2 bears little resemblance to Romero's satirical horror classic in terms of tone or pacing, the one element that the two films do have in common is a tremendous amount of unflinchingly graphic violence. Lensed by longtime Fulci collaborator Sergio Salvati (who had previously performed DP duties on both The Psychic and Four of the Apocalypse and went on to photograph The Gates of Hell and The Beyond, among many others), the film certainly benefits from the talented cinematographer's masterful use of the widescreen landscape; however, the main attraction here is without question the at-times unbelievable zombie mayhem -- which Fulci gleefully delivers in spades. In addition to the oft-discussed splinter-through-the-eye scene that will have sensitive viewers squirming as they rush to cover their own optic orbs, an underwater battle between a zombie and a shark (using a real shark and a stuntman in zombie makeup!) simply has to be seen to be believed. Frequent musical collaborator Fabio Frizzi's droning, dread-inducing score offers the ideal compliment to the slow-burning horror unfolding onscreen, offering the pitch-perfect punctuation without being overly intrusive and providing an appropriately desperate tone for the final showdown. Without question a must-see for horror fans in general and zombie lovers in particular, Zombi 2 remains a key entry into the genre. It also marked the beginning of a notable period in director Fulci's career that included such stylish splatter classics as The Gates of Hell and The Beyond.

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Zombie (1979)

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Not For Children
Gore

genres

Horror

category

Feature

directed by

Lucio Fulci

countries

Italy

release date

August 25, 1979 (Italy)

run time

128 min.

produced by

Jerry Gross Organization, Variety

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	Title/Studio	Release Date
	Zombie Blue Underground More	October 24, 2011

	Zombie [Blu-ray] Blue Underground More	October 24, 2011

	Zombie Flesh Eaters Black Horse More	September 27, 2004

	Zombi 2 [25th Anniversary Special Edition] [2 Discs] Shriek Show More	July 27, 2004

	Zombie [WS] Blue Underground More	July 27, 2004

	Zombie Anchor Bay More	February 19, 2002

	Zombie Flesh Eaters TBC More	October 1, 1999

	Zombie Anchor Bay More	August 25, 1998

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