Zombie Flesh Eaters
Short description
A derelict boat drifts into New York harbour, and the harbour patrol officer who boards it is killed by a flesh-eating figure found below deck. The vessel belongs to a scientist who vanished while working on a Caribbean island, and his daughter Anne Bowles sets out to find him. A reporter, Peter West, joins her investigation. Their search takes them to Matul, where Dr. David Menard is struggling to understand a condition that raises the dead and turns them into cannibals.
Lucio Fulci directed the film, the eleventh of the nineteen features listed in his filmography, arriving between The Psychic and City of the Living Dead. Elisa Briganti wrote the screenplay, and Fabrizio De Angelis and Ugo Tucci produced it for Variety Film Production. The cast pairs Tisa Farrow and Ian McCulloch as Anne and Peter, with Richard Johnson as Dr. Menard and Olga Karlatos, Al Cliver and Auretta Gay in supporting roles.
Released in 1979 and running just over ninety minutes, the Italian horror production took around two million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a critics' rating of 5.3 out of 10 from twenty-seven reviews, while on TMDB its audience rating stands at 6.8 out of 10 from 698 votes, a noticeably warmer response from viewers than from reviewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was banned in some countries.
- The opening and closing scenes in New York were added to the script later, when the producers decided to capitalize on the success of George Romero's film.
- The film's makeup and special effects were created by Giannetto De Rossi.
- The film's budget was comprised of funds provided by three independent filmmakers.
- During filming, Fulci didn't hold back with strong language if someone did something he didn't like. And upon completion of filming, he told the crew that they had just made a classic horror film, and also that the film could not be successful if it wasn't shot in an atmosphere of tension.
- The zombie makeup was done hastily in the crew's bus.
- Some extras playing zombies were filmed from behind because they didn't have makeup on.
- Screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti is not credited in the film's credits.
- In some cinemas, vomit bags were placed on the seats before film screenings, similar to those seen on airplanes.
- The film was released in the USA under the title 'Zombie'.
- Initially, the director's chair for the film was offered to Enzo Castellari, but he refused due to the film's genre. Enzo suggested contacting his friend Lucio Fulci, who, before this, had not directed horror films, with the exception of giallo. Fulci needed money and agreed (his wife had left him, taking the director's house and most of his money) for a fee of 6 million lire (Enzo would have accepted 40 million).
- Most of the scenes were filmed in the Dominican Republic, and filming in New York was done without permission. Thus, the police officers seen at the beginning of the film were played by real police officers – they were called by the producers to save on police uniforms.
- Due to a lack of funds for the final scene, where zombies walk across a bridge over the highway, all available members of the film crew were used.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
