New York: inside a Hospital, strange and disturbing phenomena occur. In particular, the corpses, displaced in the mortuary, are attention of a vicious sadist who amputates body parts for unknown purposes. It will be only by chance that one of the nurses (from Kito Island, located in the Moluccas archipelago) is caught feeding on an organ extracted from the body of a corpse... On the cannibal, who immediately throws himself from the skyscraper, is found the symbol of an alleged group of natives, practicing anthropophagy.
Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch), accompanied by Dr. Lori Ridgway (Alexandra Delli Colli) of the same Hospital and a couple of reporters immediately moves toward the Island in search of the alleged tribe of cannibals. Upon reaching their destination they make the acquaintance of Dr. Obrero (Donald O'Brian), who points out to them the possible location of the "savages"...
But the group, as soon as possible, also encounters fierce natives: when a local escort is found horribly mutilated...
But it is not only the cannibals that are a danger to the expedition: soon the presence of (deformed and maimed) beings seemingly devoid of reasoning and particularly aggressive directs them to the vicinity of a shed used, by Dr. Obrero (Butcher in the English-speaking version), as a medical laboratory...
One of the unwilling patients, journalist Susan Kelly (Sherry Buchanan), undergoes surgical attention while...
Zombi Holocaust is the product of a particularly profitable strand that developed following the international success of Zombi (1978 - George A. Romero), and even more so than the one derived from the apocryphal Zombi 2 (1979 - Lucio Fulci), especially since it is the same production (penned by Couyoumdjian and Fabrizio De Angelis, the latter later also directing under the pseudonym Larry Ludman) and boasts (except in direction) the same technical cast (and the same main performer, Ian McCulloch)...
In the eyes of the admirer of Italian horror cinema, many details cannot escape: from the similarity of the locations (the same as in the Fulciano film), to the presence of a DOC cast that contemplates, in addition to the beautiful Alexandra Delli Colli (later -in 1983- prey to the ferocious bloodthirsty killer named "New York Ripper"), Richard O'Brian in the role of the Mad Doctor...
The use of a script that combines the theme of cannibals with that of zombies, via the mad "doctor" experimenter evokes memories of Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977 - Joe D'Amato), The Erotic Nights of the Dead-Aliving (1980 - Joe D'Amato) and Zombie 2 itself.
Add a musical motif (by Nico Fidenco) that underscores the gore (and tense) moments by inserting the same songs from the Emanuelle series of films (in particular the aforementioned Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, moreover scripted by the same author, Romano Scandariato) and it is easy to understand how, the air one breathes in this grim, yet successful splatter film is the one dearest to the Italian genre.
Regardless of these considerations (of a mere statistical nature), it should be noted that the director was much more versed toward ironic themes (his some trashy -Pierino-like- Italian-style sexy comedy): although on this -only- occasion Girolami presents some of the most -unbearable- moments of the entire Italian-derived strand (throat-cutting, limb amputations, eviscerations, flaying and "brains" at sight....).
Zombi Holocaust was, abroad, hailed for this particularly visceral component, remaining in Italy (we are at the usual paradox) unreleased on home video until the late 1990s, when Lamberti Forni put out a version (remastered from the original negative and in the correct film format) about whose integrity some doubts arise...
The skull-cap incision sequence (to which the cynical journalist undergoes, after amputation of her vocal cords) would seem to be accompanied by further breast surgery (sequences that appeared in some scene photos), and the overall length of the film (about 80 minutes versus '85 in the English version) instills doubt about the completeness of the albeit magnificent home video edition...
Peaks of unintentional comedy in the dubbing of the natives, contrasted with boundless savagery and a "delirious" story make it a unique case in the cinematic landscape of the genre...
Kudos to the convincing performance of Donald O'Brian (as the insane but lucid Dr. Obrero), later a regular presence in Joe D'Amato's Italian-branded horror films (and others) and here at his best...
The rating in the review may appear exaggerated and those who frequent this site know that it is not our habit to give oversized ratings so, in order to give correct information, let us specify right away that this is a "partial" judgment derived from the particular attention paid (by the writer) to Italian genre cinema.
To be even clearer: if you enjoyed films such as Zombi 2, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals or The Erotic Nights of the Dead-Living, this Zombi Holocaust represents a successful and effective blend of the ingredients (Sex & Violence) present in the aforementioned films....
Otherwise (i.e., unfamiliarity with Italian horror cinema), it is advisable to consider viewing it after appropriate second thoughts...
Otherwise, an international success, worth what it is (pure, wholesome "genre" entertainment)....
Fun fact: One of the few Italian horror films that figure to have never been included in television programming...
Quote to remember:
"I've severed your vocal cords, so you'll let me work undisturbed," pronounces the insane Dr. Obrero, as he is about to extract the brain (to be implanted in a corpse!) from the victim on duty.
Review by Undying1
