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Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Zombie > Monster > Italy > Island Of The Living Dead + Zombies: The Beginning (both 2007/Intervision DVDs)

Island Of The Living Dead + Zombies: The Beginning (both 2007/Intervision DVDs)


Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C- Films: Island: C+/Zombies: B-



Bruno Mattei (aka Vincent Dawn) directs these two schlock fest Zombie films that are not as good but not unlike some of his previous efforts including Hell of the Living Dead and Rats: Night of Terror (reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) but are both still worth checking out for hardcore zombie fans. Mattei's last two films, Island of the Living Dead and it's immediate sequel, Zombies: The Beginning) issued on home video in 2007) feature some great zombie make-ups and gore that are not be missed, creepy atmospheres, voodoo people that aren't too friends, and plenty of humans for the undead to feast upon!


Unfortunately, what these films lack are completely original screenplays with many scenes and plot elements highly familiar to bigger budget fair. For instance, Zombies: The Beginning ends up completely ripping off the plot structure and scenes from James Cameron's Aliens (only here done with Zombies) and in Island of the Living Dead, they read an ancient text that awakes speaking demons (The Evil Dead) and encounter medieval zombies that come from the fog (Carpenter's original The Fog). The lack of originality in story isn't why we love these movies though, we love them because they are so bad, they are good!


The acting is awful (and badly dubbed English from the Italian tracks), the music is so/so, but the charm behind the lens is what makes these films so much fun for Zombie lovers to watch. In times such as these where shows like The Walking Dead are full of lots of drama, these films cut right to the chase with creepy visuals and Zombies that grow back limbs and don't stop until every last living human is lunch meat!


Sound and Picture on the discs are in standard definition with widescreen aspect ratios of 1.78 X 1 and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono tracks. Nothing to write home about but these aren't the types of productions that necessarily could be restored in high definition. The grimer the better!


Extras are slim but include:


Zombies Genysis (on Zombies)

Bungle in the Jungle: Featurette with producer Giovanni Paolucci and the Screenwriter, International Sales Promo, and Original Trailer (for Island)


I have seen a lot of Zombie movies but these are definitely some of the most outrageous and original titles I have seen! I would recommend them if you are a fan of the undead!



- James Harland Lockhart V

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