Anyone who has seen Lucio Fulci's Zombie (aka Zombi 2), knows that it is a classic and one of the greatest Zombie films ever made. If you don't agree with me then you suck. I had heard many things about the sequels, mostly negative so I was unsure if I wanted to check them out. The more reviews I read though, I started seeing conflicting opinions on Zombi 3. Zombi 4 and 5 are pretty much universally loathed, while Zombi 3 has been called "so bad it's good" and has gained somewhat of a cult following. So I decided to take a chance on it.
Zombi 3 begins with a group of scientists testing out a chemical ominously called 'Death One'. It is supposed to bring the dead back to life and soon we see that it does work but it turns the dead into rotten, blood-thirsty zombies. When a terrorist tries to steal the potion, he is exposed to it and becomes a zombie. The army burns his body to avoid any traces of Death One but by doing so, the air becomes polluted with that which raises the dead. A group of army soldiers and another group of vacationers are the only hope for survival.
Zombi 3 is not a good movie. In fact its a very bad movie. That's not to say it's a complete waste. There are some really great, nasty makeup FX and some really gross looking zombies. Another thing about the zombies is that they're not your average slow moving zombies. There is one scene in particular where young vacationer Patricia (Beatrice Ring) is being chased and attacked by a flesh eater and I'll be dipped in shit if this wasn't one of the fastest moving and threatening zombie ever filmed. You actually feel for the actress who looks like one stumble and she may get really injured by the zombie. As far as the bad goes - the dialogue takes the cake. Horrible dubbing is present and sometimes you'd prefer hearing the actors speak in a foreign language then the trite English dialogue being dubbed. The acting too is pretty awful (it's sad when the zombies - mostly played by stunt men or extras - show more emotion and acting skill then the real actors - if you can call them that). Lastly is the story. Some scenes are laugh out loud stupid and others are just ridiculous - flying zombie head anyone? Actually, that scene was awesome. Apparently director Lucio Fulci quit the film due to illness and was replaced by Bruno Mattei, infamous director of a lot of bad movies. Since the film was unfinished, they had to find ways to link the existing footage. Needless to say, the story is a mess and very chaotic. Despite all of these factors, the film is still watchable and entertaining...for all the wrong reasons.
RATING: 5/10
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