Such a frustrating disappointment

Just perfect...

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"Zombi Holocaust" isn't really a perfect hybrid of zombie and cannibal movies, the zombies mostly seem like an afterthought. When the zombies show up our heroes are already being chased by cannibals, so does it really make that much of a difference anymore? In fact, wouldn't the slow-moving zombies be a breath of fresh air at that point? Hell, they can even get in the way of the cannibals. You haven't made a great zombie movie if the zombies make the situation better for the protagonists.This movie is 99% "Cannibal Holocaust" with just 1% of Lucio Fulci's "Zombi". It tried desperately to cash in on everything that was popular back then. Hell, the American trailer even brings in yet another subgenre: the slasher film. The misleading title "Doctor Butcher M.D." was added, and the trailer focused heavily on hospital scenes from early in the movie featuring a doctor who's not even a villain. It's kind of a cool trailer really, too bad it has nothing to do with the movie."Zombi Holocaust" is a pretty entertaining movie, but it does take a while to get going. The first half hour is devoted to getting to know the characters, but none of these characters leave an impression and are just there to be killed. We know this, so the dialogue scenes just feel like padding. Aside from that, it's certainly worth a look. Just don't think it's a zombie movie, because you'll be sorely disappointed.

Corpses in an NYC hospital are being mutilated, and it's discovered that a member of the staff is responsible. These actions are linked to other crimes, and the perpetrators are found to have originated from an East Indies island. A doctor (Ian McCulloch), his associate (Peter O'Neal), an anthropologist (Alexandra Delli Colli), and a reporter (Sherry Buchanan) travel to this area to figure out the whole story, which doesn't just involve cannibalism, but "zombies" as well, being controlled by a fanatic doctor (Donald O'Brien) determined to perform revolutionary surgery.Comparisons to Lucio Fulcis' "Zombi 2" are apt, what with the basic story being so similar, and this doesn't bring too much to the party other than the canny idea of combining an Italian zombie movie with an Italian cannibal movie. This movie even has *two* of the same actors from "Zombi 2", the always take charge, always kick ass McCulloch, who's as engaging a hero as before, and Dakar, playing a native guide. The location shooting adds the necessary atmosphere, and there is an amusing level of "what the Hell is going on?" mystery to the proceedings, although it shouldn't be too hard for the average viewer to figure that out. The production design is by Walter Patriarca, who also appears on screen as Dr. Drydock; as another connection to "Zombi 2", he was the costume designer on that show. Luscious ladies Delli Colli and Buchanan add all the eye candy we could want, with blonde Delli Colli actually going full frontal as well. Buchanan is especially fun in her performance as the stereotypically pushy reporter. McCulloch, not surprisingly, is a total hoot, especially when he improvises by dispatching a zombie with an outboard motor to the face! O'Brien (who's dubbed by Edward Mannix) is fun, too, having just the right look for our mad doctor / butcher. The zombies are ugly suckers with something of a resemblance to the beings in "Burial Ground" (they also announce their presence with a creepy breathing sound), and the gore is excellent: it's right in your face and stays there.All of these elements add up to okay if not truly remarkable viewing. As has been said, the film does, on the whole, feel rather familiar. But it's still acceptable entertainment for loyal devotees of this kind of thing.Seven out of 10.

If there's anything that Italian horror directors do right, it's making crazy movies! Before Italian horror cinema took off in the mid to late 80s, a "subtle little movie" came along that capitalized on the emerging cannibal and zombie genres. This movie features a lot of the former and a little of the latter. Ian McColluch was even so kind as to return in here, after surviving ZOMBIE! When a string of murders and dismemberments plague New York hospitals, it is discovered that the perps are members of an ancient cannibal tribe. So it's off to a tropical island (that looks remarkably like the same location for ZOMBIE, hm...) where they discover a mad doctor (of course) doing what they do best! Acting is actually pretty good given what later movies would offer. The dialogue is still laughable. My personal favorite is when the good doctor speaks into a recorder, mid-surgery: "Patient's screams forced me to remove the vocal cords." The gore is over-the-top with impalement and disemboweling being the preferred methods. The make-up for the seven or so zombies is pretty unconvincing (just slightly better than BURIAL GROUND.) As with most Euro-trash, this is best watched in the presence of your funniest friends!

The eighties were the golden age of Italian zombie exploitation. This film - directed by genre regular Marino Girolami - is one of the most predictable in the entire sub-genre. The filmmaker's themselves intended the movie as a cash-in - following swiftly on the success of Lucio Fulci's "Zombi 2". Girolami, along with producer Fabrizio De Angelis, decided to combine the basic "Zombi 2" plot with the popular cannibal films of the time and thus "Zombi Holocaust" was born. Right down to the title, a twist on last year's "Cannibal Holocaust", the film was pure exploitation. The film begins grimly in New York (the same setting as "Zombi 2"), where a hospital worker - from the 'Asian Molucca' island - is seen devouring bodies in a morgue. Then an expedition is organized to the island to find out the truth behind the carnage taking place. When the American crew arrive, however, they discover that the island is inhabited by zombies and cannibals. What are the odds? There isn't much to recommend in this gory fright flick aside from the inventively bloody special effects (devised by zombie/cannibal maestro Gianneto Di Rossi), which, although reminiscent of George A. Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead", still retain their shock value. Overall, this film is only worth viewing if you are a die-hard zombie/cannibal fan.