There is no mistaking that Lucio Fulci is the master of the Italian horror/exploitation genre. With such films as Don’t Torture a Duckling, The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery to his name, Fulci had made a lasting impression on horror fans around the world. In 1979, Fulci made his greatest and perhaps his most well-known and commercially successful film to date, Zombie Flesh Eaters or as it’s more commonly known, Zombi 2…

Zombi 2 follows Peter West (Ian McCulloch), a journalist and Ann (Tisa Farrow), the daughter of a scientist whose boat had just been found in New York with a zombie on board. As they head to the Island of Matul, they meet Brian and Susan who decide to give them a ride of their boat. When they eventually arrive on the island, they meet with a Dr. Menard and find out that a disease is spreading across the island, killing the islanders and bringing them back from the dead as mindless zombies with a craving for human flesh…

The first thing that stands out to me about this film is the fantastic make-up effects. Gianetto de Rossi did a fantastic job in making these zombies look decayed, rotted and generally unpleasant to look at. And then there’s this bastard, who’s my favourite zombie of all time…

With this being a Lucio Fulci movie, gore is obviously going to play a pretty big part and in my opinion, this is one of his goriest. The film contains some scenes that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Two of which (the eyeball scene and the one where Susan gets her throat ripped out) are in my top 10 moments in movie history. And then there’s the legendary underwater zombie vs shark scene that has to be seen to be believed. This isn’t just any old Italian goreflick, this is the mother of all goreflicks.

Another thing I loved about this movie was the soundtrack. Oh shit, that soundtrack. Some of the music when played behind some of the scarier/gorier parts of the film make you want to shit your pants. I mean, Fulci really knows how to set an atmosphere. It’s creepy as hell.

I first saw this movie about 4 years ago now and I’ve got to say, it’s easily in my top three zombie movies ever. It’s a film that has stuck with me for years now and one that I just have to watch two or three times a year. I highly recommend that any fan of the genre sees this Euro-Horror masterpiece. If my review has done nothing to make you want to watch Zombie Flesh Easters, maybe this will…

Rating: 8.5/10