Zombie Holocaust

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. Found the film very shocking then due to the gore but aft revisiting it, found it to be boring cos almost for 34 mins nothing happens. We have lots of nudity by Alexandra Delli Colli, who in her short career is noted for the kinky female from New York Ripper. In this movie, there is nothing new except for the gore. Even the plot is stale - A team of scientists travel to a remote island aft witnessing cannibalism in various city hospitals by immigrants from a particular island. On the island, the team is shocked to come across cannibals n zombies. The make up effects of the zombies is lol. Jus plain human in torn, raggy clothes. Till now, i haven't been able to fathom how can u pierce someone's belly by a bamboo. In this movie, a female falls into a trapping pit laden with pointed sticks but survives.

My review was written in May 1982 after a screening on Manhattan's 42nd St.:

"Dr. Butcher M. D." is the U. S. release (with some post-production alterations) of a 1980 Italian film originally titled "Queen of the Cannibals" and geared towards the explicit gore market. Canny marketing by Terry Levene (the M. D. of the title is spelled out as "Medical Deviate" on posters and ads) should attract fans who like their horror of the butcher-shop variety.

Filmmaker Frank Martin (an Italo Western vet who uses an Anglicized nom de film) pilots an absurd plot as an excuse to pour on the gore. Pic opens with some Manhattan-locationed scenes of Asiatics robbing hearts from corpses in local morgues. A doctor-anthropologist Lori Ridgway (Alexandra Cole) has her ceremonial knife stolen from her collection, and matching its inscription with the tattoos and the corpse-robbers, she deduces that native rites involving human sacrifices and cannibalism are in effect. She and a scientist (Ian McCulloch) mount an expedition to the Pacific island of Kito to investigate the local sect.

On the island their party encounters Dr. Abrera (aka Dr. Butcher, played by Donald O'Brian), a mad scientist in the Dr. Moreau tradition, whose work in human transplants has created many disfigured zombie-like people. Heroes also have to contend with numerous natives who are cannibals and very aggressive. They kidnap Lori, apply body paint and prepare her for sacrifice to their gods. She's saved when the cannibals hail her as a magical being, while McCulloch escapes from the operating table to wipe out (with the cannibals' aid) Dr. Butcher and his henchmen.

Gore makeup is not very realistic, but the plentiful dismemberments, scalpings and acts of cannibalism on camera will be appreciated by steady fans of this sort of thing, e.g., patrons of the 1980 Jerry Gross release "Zombie", which also starred Ian McCulloch. Acting is wooden, with McCulloch and Alexandra Cole almost comically blase as they stroll along ignoring island terrors. Biggest crowd-pleaser occurs when McCulloch jabs an aggressor in the face with a handy outboard motor. Blonde Cole displays a magnificent undraped (and painted) body for the camera in the tradition of Ursula Andress ("Slave of the Cannibal God") and Bo Derek ("Tarzan, the Ape Man").

"Zombi Holocaust," directed by Marino Girolami in 1973, is a curious artifact of the Italian horror cinema, a film that blends the then-popular zombie genre with a dash of cannibal exploitation. The result is a movie that is as bewildering as it is entertaining, a gory spectacle that is sure to please fans of B-movie horror, but may leave others feeling a bit queasy.

The film's narrative is a convoluted affair, involving a series of grisly murders in New York City that lead a team of scientists to a remote island in the Caribbean. Here, they discover a tribe of cannibals and a horde of zombies, all under the control of a mad doctor conducting gruesome experiments. The plot is thin and often nonsensical, serving mainly as a vehicle for the film's numerous scenes of violence and gore.

Speaking of which, "Zombi Holocaust" does not skimp on the red stuff. The film's special effects, while dated by today's standards, are still impressively gruesome. Zombies are dismembered and decapitated with gleeful abandon, and the cannibal scenes are equally graphic. This is not a film for the squeamish, and its explicit content earns it a well-deserved place in the annals of exploitation cinema.

Yet for all its gore, "Zombi Holocaust" also possesses a certain charm. The film's low budget is evident in every frame, from the cheap sets to the amateurish acting. But there's a certain earnestness to the proceedings that makes the film oddly endearing. It's clear that Girolami and his team were trying to make the best movie they could with the resources they had, and there's something admirable about that.

The film's tropical setting also adds a unique flavor to the proceedings. The lush jungles and sun-drenched beaches provide a stark contrast to the film's grim subject matter, creating a strange and unsettling atmosphere. The island itself becomes a character in the film, a place of both beauty and horror.

In terms of performance, the cast does the best with what they're given. Ian McCulloch, as the lead scientist, is stoic and determined, while Alexandra Delli Colli, as his love interest, brings a touch of class to the proceedings. The real standout, however, is Donald O'Brien as the mad doctor. His over-the-top performance is a delight, and he chews the scenery with gusto.

In conclusion, "Zombi Holocaust" is a film that is hard to recommend to a general audience. Its graphic content and low-budget aesthetics will likely turn off many viewers. But for fans of exploitation cinema, it's a fascinating artifact, a film that embodies the spirit of its genre. It's not a good film by any traditional measure, but it's a film that's hard to forget.

One thing I always point out about these Cannibal flicks is that, besides the disturbing subject matter and ferocious gore, these films are also usually have really interesting, dare I say fascinating stories. That's right. Quality B-movies do exist, after all. However, Zombi Holocaust is not one of them. It looks like your stuck with just the gore. I think it'll be fine. I mean, just because this one doesn't hold up against the almighty Cannibal Ferox and Cannibal Holocaust, doesn't necessarily mean it's not worth your time. And really. Who wouldn't want a film called Zombi Holocaust in their Horror collection? Not I.

Besides what I've already told you, the one thing you might want to consider, going in to this film, is that it's a Zombie movie. I suppose you already had that figured out. But still, Zombi Holocaust does include cannibals, as well as a jungle. Best of both worlds? More like a touch of both worlds. Nothing groundbreaking from either side of the fence. And on top of all that, Zombi Holocaust is also a mad scientist flick. We start out at a hospital, where corpses are being mutilated. Eventually, a cannibal is caught in the act. I guess it was shame that drove the poor guy to unconvincingly jumping out the window. Obviously, tomfoolery like this is not something you'd want going on at your local hospital. Curiosity gets the best of Ian McCullough and some hot chick. For some reason, this hospital mystery lies somewhere in the Carribbean. A mad doctor is slowly turning a tribe of cannibals into zombies. Zombies who don't really do much of anything, as the cannibals are the only ones willing to start trouble. Whatever. It's a movie. So, this guy must be stopped, right? And in case you're wondering, all that doesn't turn out nearly as entertaining as it sounds. Ultimately, if you're a fan of such classics as Burial Ground and Jungle Holocaust, I see no reason why you shouldn't get a kick out of Zombi Holocaust, at least out of sheer principle. Well, unless you're not too big on stupid movies with ridiculous dialogue, and awful acting. In that case, you may want to stay clear of this one. 7/10

Put them together and you get a completely mindless movie! Yes, the title of this film is completely misleading (the Zombie Holocaust one) as when I hear it, I imagine hordes of zombies rampaging the countryside. Instead, what we mainly get is a cannibal horror film fused together with a mad doctor film with a dash of zombies in it for taste. It shares a lot of similarities to Lucio Fulci's Zombie movie too as it features Ian McCulloch and another actor from that film and it appears to be on the exact same island! When they first drive to the one doctor's house they go down a street and it looks exactly like a scene out of Zombie, heck the donkey may have even been in Zombie. They depart in terms of plot; however, as this one does not focus on the zombie aspect. Well, it does not really focus on anything, as nothing anyone in this film does makes much sense. I think they just tried to fuse to many sub genres together without a complete script or something.

The story of this one is the weakest element of the film, because at times it almost seems like there is none. There are mutilations in a hospital in New York and it is soon learned that it is the work of a cannibal. Other cannibals turn up here and there because somehow they can just get jobs at hospitals. A group of four people travel to an island for reasons that are really no one's business, because them going makes absolutely no sense. They meet a doctor who provides them with some yummy looking lemonade and then they are off to another island where the cannibals live. The group which now includes three very expendable helpers and another dude soon find themselves under assail from the cannibals who get scared by zombies going "Ah" and nearly everyone is killed, but the two survivors decide to try and figure out the mystery even though it literally accomplishes nothing.

The film moves at a rather fast pace and it features some good Italian splatter and some good nudity too. That makes the film at least watchable, but the plot is so horrendously bad that I just cannot score it any higher. Some of the effects are rather horrible too, as at one point one of the cannibals is caught in New York and he proceeds to jump out a window. It is obviously a mannequin and when it impacts the ground, its arm pops off! I realize they may not want to redo the scene, but they could have at least jump cut and edited that part out! The mad doctor is the only person who seems to know what he is doing, but making a race of ineffective zombies seems kind of a waste of time. Just too much bad in this one to overcome even with the nice gore and very hot blond.

So this film is a combination film, but I think they just tried to do too much. At times it is a cannibal film, at other a mad doctor and then a bit of zombies in there for effect. Heck, the scenes where the blond undress could be considered soft core porn because the music is right out of one! They just tried to do much, and as I have said, I just do not think they had fully completed script to go along with it all. Though another interesting aspect of the film is its similarities to Zombie; however, that one is the superior film as it makes a bit more sense why things are happening and why they go to the island. Here, it just makes no sense at all.