Whether the film is called Zombie, Zombi, Zombi 2 or Zombie Flesh Eaters, this movie, which I’ll be referring to as ‘Zombie’ is one of the most beloved walking dead films by legions of horror fans. Directed by Lucio Fulci, known by horror cinephiles for his utterly brutal and nauseatingly gross horror flicks. Arguably, Zombie is considered to be one of his best efforts, perhaps the best. This gore-fest has a reputation for not just being a blood bath; the film has a couple of infamous scenes. There is the scene of a piece of splintered wood through an eyeball and also a Jaws inspired zombie vs. shark sequence(which Fulci did not approve of according to historians) taking place underwater. Then of course, there is the infamous zombie with the worms that come of its eye socket that appears late in the film which has become synonymous, basically the face of this movie. Most collectors already know that this zombie face appears on every VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and now UHD sleeves, slip-covers, along with posters, bumper stickers and shirts with the tag-line “we are going to eat you”. This zombie face is the equivalent of the zombie head used in George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead which has also appeared on shirts, posters, and home video releases with the tag-line ” when there’s no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the Earth”.
Zombie is the all too familiar plot of a group of persons going to a remote island where a mad scientist is creating some horrific walking dead creatures. The plot is similar to those in I Walked with a Zombie, and White Zombie, but not nearly as revolting. New York newspaper reporter Peter West (Ian McCulloch, Dr. Butcher MD), Anne Bowles (Tisa Farrow Anthropophagus), the daughter of Dr. David Menard (Richard Johnson, Isle of the Fishmen/Screamers), along with reluctant guides, Brian Hull (Al Cliver, Death Hunt) and his wife Susan Barrett (Auretta Gay, known for swimming topless in this movie) go to the island of Matul. According to Anne, her father is conducting experiments on Matul. She was questioned by the police about a mysterious murder which happened to be on her father’s boat. West accompanies her for the story, and along with Brian and Susan, they off to Matul where the zombies wait for them to arrive just in time to be their dinner!
I just love this film, everything from the genuine creepiness of the film to the zombie make-up and the often-realistic looking gore effects. It starts off slow but when the zombie attacks start happening, the chilling scenes are as effective it gets. The beautiful cinematography is courtesy of Sergio Salvati, who has collaborated with Lucio Fulci in other pictures including The Beyond. Fabio Frizzi composed the soundtrack to Zombie and adds more eeriness to the film. Of course, there is that pleasant track on the Caribbean that took away from the horror element for a short time, but that was by designed to relax you before the gut munching, neck biting, eye gouging horrors start to occur. It was a well-done, well-executed idea. Frizzi, just like Salvati would work with Director Fulci on other film projects.
Zombie has been released on home video nearly as often as commercial mainstream films such as The Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter. The film was released on laserdisc VHS, including big box and a clam-shell case releases and a few DVD and Blu-ray releases as well, with each release being an upgrade from the previous one as new technology was being introduced. Now being presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Blue Underground, this Zombie package has been given the most royal treatment ever. The picture quality for Zombie, given a 2160p transfer with an HEVC/H.265 encode, can be described in one word: spectacular! The colors, which were rich and vivid on the previous Blu-ray release, now look even richer, even stronger and bolder. With Dolby Vision (and HDR-10), the color palette is extremely dynamic, boasting even more vividness to the colors, whether it is the green trees on the island, the blue skies and oceans, or the redness during those wonderful gory moments. Daylight scenes have never looked clearer or more robust; indoor and outdoor shots have never looked any finer with deep textures and ultra-fine details. Black levels are deep without a hint of crush. Evening scenes show an improvement with shadow definition, as you can see a lot more details in the dark, to both the characters, and background as well. Flesh tones look fine. Even with all the enhancements in 4K, Zombie still maintains an organic, film-like appearance.
There are various audio options for Zombie. English Dolby Atmos/True HD 7.1, English DTS-HD master audio 5.1 and 1.0, along with Italian 7.1 and 1.0 DTS-HD, and French 1.0 Dolby Digital are what’s offered. After watching the film in English and comparing the three options, I can say that the English 7.1 Dolby Atmos track is the winner, with amazingly clear sharpness and clarity to all the sounds and dialog throughout the film. The creepy musical scores by Fabio Frizzi, have been given new life. This is not to say the 5.1 and 1.0 audio tracks aren’t any good, rather, they are also loud and clear, only that 7.1 has more density, more richness to the audio. The 1.0 lossless track is nothing to sneeze at to be honest is also quite rich and clear. Thankfully, there are three options and you can pick the one you prefer the most. None of the tracks had any audio issues. There are scores of subtitles for this release. English subtitles are available for the Italian audio. English SDH, French, Portuguese, Thai, Finnish, German, Russian, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish subtitles round up the rest.
For those wondering, yes, the Zombie UHD release is Region Free! The package does include a Blu-ray disc as well.
The extras for Zombie have all been ported over from the previous Blu-rays from 2018 and 2011. If you are considering the upgrade, you will not need to worry about losing any of the vintage supplemental materials. Extras on the UHD disc include the 1-minute introduction to Zombie by director Guillermo del Toro, promotional TV spots, radio spots and both the international and domestic trailers which have been remastered. Also, on the UHD disc are the two commentary tracks. The newest track is with Troy Howarth who does his usual superb job giving a vast amount of insight to the making of Zombie. The other commentary is the vintage track which features star Ian McCulloch and Diabolik Magazine editor Jason J. Slater.
Other vintage features that are on the Blu-ray disc to keep you busy for a few hours, if you haven’t seen them yet, include Zombie Wasteland, Flesh Eaters on Film, Deadtime Stories, World of the Dead, Zombi Italiano, Notes on a Headstone, All in the Family, and Zombie Lover. All of these features in a nutshell are essential viewings and offer a lot of information about Zombie and are very much worth your time.
The bad news is there are a couple of items which are absent for this release. First the CD soundtrack disc with music by Fabio Frizzi and Giorgio Tucci which is on the limited-edition Blu-ray release from 2018 is not part of this package. Also omitted from the previous release is a two-sided paper insert advertising comic book versions of both Zombie and Maniac and the 24-page insert booklet with the essay “We Are Going to Eat You! Zombies Vs. The Critics” by Stephen Thrower. Depending on how you feel about the left out items, you might want to hold on to your 3 disc Blu-ray, while still enjoying the great audio, video and bonus content on the UHD.
Many fans had said “not another Zombie upgrade!” when the UHD of Zombie was first announced. Yes, Zombie has another release, but this time the film is presented on the latest format, UHD. Fans who want to see and hear Zombie with the best audio and video quality available should pick this up and the inclusion of the Blu-ray disc with the past supplements do sweeten the pot. This is beyond the shadow of a doubt the definitive release for Zombie. This is more than a worthy upgrade and is highly recommended. Kudos to Bill Lustig’s Blue Underground label who has proven small labels can give fan superior UHD releases.
Director- Lucio Fulci
Cast- Ian McCoullach, Tisa Farrow
Country of Origin- Italy
Distributor – Blue Underground
Number of Discs – 2 (one UHD and one Blu-ray)
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date- 5/30/20