On a Caribbean island lurks Dr Obrero, one of those b-movie boffins seeking the key to eternal life, and if he accidentally creates a few zombies, well, whos to know? Unfortunately for him, a journalist and a brilliant female doctor (with degrees in medicine, anthropology and gratuitous nudity) investigating the recent zombie outbreak arrive, eager to learn how someone operating out of a hut could hope to traverse a new frontier in science. This causes Obrero to let rip with some delirious mad doctor dialogue, telling our hero: I could easily kill you now - but Im determined to have your brain! Combining elements of Italian cannibal and zombie movies, Zombi Holocaust is really a synthesis of two earlier successes: Joe DAmatos Emmanuelle And The Last Cannibals and Lucio Fulcis Zombie Flesh Eaters. In fact, Fabrizio De Angelis might as well have edited the two together as the film recycles story elements, music cues, footage, cast members and locations from both pictures, for which the economy-loving producer awarded himself story credit.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
