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Zombie Holocaust
Media Blasters // Unrated // May 21, 2002
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
It's very easy to accuse Italian horror filmmakers of being derivative, as their films are often very similar to popular American films, or other Italian films. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, two trends were sweeping through Italian horror cinema. One was cannibal films, which showed tribal natives committing the ultimate taboo. (This trend was arguably started by Ruggero Deodato's "Jungle Holocaust") Also, the success of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" (known as "Zombi" in Italy) had spawned dozens of imitators. So, it's not surprising that someone decided to merge these genres, and the result was "Zombie Holocaust", which was later released in the U.S. as "Dr. Butcher, MD".
As with several other films in this vein, "Zombie Holocaust" opens in New York City, where a hospital has been experiencing a rash of organ thefts. Hospital officials are shocked to learn that one of their own orderlies is the perpertrator. The only clue to the man's actions come from a strange word that he utters -- "Kito". Anthropologist Lori Ridgway (Alexandra Delli Colli) recognizes the word, and, with fellow expert Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch), soon finds herself on the way to the South Pacific, to the island of Kito. Also along for the trip are Chandler's assistant George (Peter O'Neal) and his girlfriend, reporter Susan (Sherry Buchanan).
Upon their arrival, the group meets Dr. Obrero (Donald O'Brien), a surgeon who dispenses medical care to the locals. He arranges for a guide to take the group to Kito. On the way to the island, the boat overheats, forcing the party to land on another island. Soon, they are attacked by a group of bloodthirsty cannibals. But, to make matters worse, the island is also littered with zombies. Lori and Chandler decide that they must discover where the zombies are coming from, that is, if they survive the onslaught of cannibals.
To get an idea of where "Zombie Holocaust" is coming from, simply go to the 15-minute mark in the film. There, you will see a character jump through a window, and when the man lands on the pavement, his arms flies off -- clearly indicating that yet another mannequin has died a senseless, tragic death. From the sets, to the special effects make-up, to the suicidal mannequins, "Zombie Holocaust" is a cheapie. And while these films were never known for their high-budgets, most were able to disguise this fact. But, "Zombie Holocaust" seems to revel in it. The zombie make-up, which should at least be interesting, is awful (more on that in the Extras section).
Most directors who dabbled in this sub-genre, such as Ruggero Deodato and Umberto Lenzi, visited it on more than one occasion. But, "Zombie Holocaust" director Marino Girolami was apparently never invited back to the jungle, and viewing the film will explain why. "Zombie Holocaust" is terribly paced, and even the action scenes are boring. If nothing else, Italian genre films are usually known for their interesting visual styles, but there is none of that here, as Girolami shoots everything in a flat, lifeless fashion. In short, the movie is just plain boring and the gore is even too lame to save the movie.
Video
"Zombie Holocaust" is presented in an anamporphic widescreen and has been letterboxed at 1.85:1. The image is sharp and looks very good, considering the film's age and obvious budgetary restraints. The picture does look slightly washed-out at times, but for the most part, the colors are good. Grain is at a minimum here, save for some bright, exterior shots. Some shots show a sheer haze, which can be annoying. There are few visible defects from the source prints. Overall, this transfer looks good.
Audio
Despite the fact that the DVD box promises a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track, the audio on the "Zombie Holocaust" DVD certainly sounded like mono to me. In any event, the dialogue is clear and audible, but there is a minor hissing on the track. The sound effects are fine and the music is never overpowering.
Extras
While it can be said of many DVDs that they offer a "mixed bag" of extras, this is undeniably true in the case of "Zombie Holocaust", as there are essentially two sets of special features. We start with the trailer for "Dr. Butcher, M.D." (and in case you didn't know, "M.D." stands for "Medical Deviate"!), which shows all of the good parts of the film. The same is true for the German theatrical trailer, wherein the film is called "Zombies Unter Kannibalen". We next have a 7-minute interview with special effects make-up artist Maurizio Trani. In this emabarrassing interview, Trani admits that the zombie masks, which were made of wax, looked awful. He then states that he's never seen "Zombie Holocaust" and therefore can't really comment on it. This is truly an odd interview! This is followed by a still gallery, which contains tons of promotional art for "Zombie Holocaust" (under its many titles). And finally, we have an 11-minute deleted scene from "Zombie Holocaust", in which Lori falls into a pit and Chandler must fight off two natives.
The extras then shift gears. It seems that when "Zombie Holocaust" was brought to the U.S., to become "Dr. Butcher, M.D.", a new title sequence was created using bits from an unfinished film called "Tales That'll Tear Your Heart Out", which had been overseen by New York filmmaker Roy Frumkes. But, we, the audience, aren't told this at first, so it seems quite odd to suddenly have 8-minutes of footage from "Tales That'll Tear Your Heart Out", with commentary by Frumkes. This is followed by a 15-minute interview with Frumkes, where he tells the whole story. There is also a still gallery which offers pictures from his film. The problem here, besides the lack of a prompt explanation of what's going on, is that we never get to see that new title sequence. I imagine that this is a rights issue, but they could have at least given a detailed description of it!
Despite its laundry-list of problems, "Zombie Holocaust" is a film that Italian film fans have taken to heart, and they should be pleased with the presentation on this DVD. For all others, there isn't much to recommend here, except for the fact that "Zombie Holocaust" would be a perfect target for a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" party. Just go to the scene with that poor mannequin.
It's very easy to accuse Italian horror filmmakers of being derivative, as their films are often very similar to popular American films, or other Italian films. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, two trends were sweeping through Italian horror cinema. One was cannibal films, which showed tribal natives committing the ultimate taboo. (This trend was arguably started by Ruggero Deodato's "Jungle Holocaust") Also, the success of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" (known as "Zombi" in Italy) had spawned dozens of imitators. So, it's not surprising that someone decided to merge these genres, and the result was "Zombie Holocaust", which was later released in the U.S. as "Dr. Butcher, MD".
As with several other films in this vein, "Zombie Holocaust" opens in New York City, where a hospital has been experiencing a rash of organ thefts. Hospital officials are shocked to learn that one of their own orderlies is the perpertrator. The only clue to the man's actions come from a strange word that he utters -- "Kito". Anthropologist Lori Ridgway (Alexandra Delli Colli) recognizes the word, and, with fellow expert Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch), soon finds herself on the way to the South Pacific, to the island of Kito. Also along for the trip are Chandler's assistant George (Peter O'Neal) and his girlfriend, reporter Susan (Sherry Buchanan).
Upon their arrival, the group meets Dr. Obrero (Donald O'Brien), a surgeon who dispenses medical care to the locals. He arranges for a guide to take the group to Kito. On the way to the island, the boat overheats, forcing the party to land on another island. Soon, they are attacked by a group of bloodthirsty cannibals. But, to make matters worse, the island is also littered with zombies. Lori and Chandler decide that they must discover where the zombies are coming from, that is, if they survive the onslaught of cannibals.
To get an idea of where "Zombie Holocaust" is coming from, simply go to the 15-minute mark in the film. There, you will see a character jump through a window, and when the man lands on the pavement, his arms flies off -- clearly indicating that yet another mannequin has died a senseless, tragic death. From the sets, to the special effects make-up, to the suicidal mannequins, "Zombie Holocaust" is a cheapie. And while these films were never known for their high-budgets, most were able to disguise this fact. But, "Zombie Holocaust" seems to revel in it. The zombie make-up, which should at least be interesting, is awful (more on that in the Extras section).
Most directors who dabbled in this sub-genre, such as Ruggero Deodato and Umberto Lenzi, visited it on more than one occasion. But, "Zombie Holocaust" director Marino Girolami was apparently never invited back to the jungle, and viewing the film will explain why. "Zombie Holocaust" is terribly paced, and even the action scenes are boring. If nothing else, Italian genre films are usually known for their interesting visual styles, but there is none of that here, as Girolami shoots everything in a flat, lifeless fashion. In short, the movie is just plain boring and the gore is even too lame to save the movie.
Video
"Zombie Holocaust" is presented in an anamporphic widescreen and has been letterboxed at 1.85:1. The image is sharp and looks very good, considering the film's age and obvious budgetary restraints. The picture does look slightly washed-out at times, but for the most part, the colors are good. Grain is at a minimum here, save for some bright, exterior shots. Some shots show a sheer haze, which can be annoying. There are few visible defects from the source prints. Overall, this transfer looks good.
Audio
Despite the fact that the DVD box promises a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track, the audio on the "Zombie Holocaust" DVD certainly sounded like mono to me. In any event, the dialogue is clear and audible, but there is a minor hissing on the track. The sound effects are fine and the music is never overpowering.
Extras
While it can be said of many DVDs that they offer a "mixed bag" of extras, this is undeniably true in the case of "Zombie Holocaust", as there are essentially two sets of special features. We start with the trailer for "Dr. Butcher, M.D." (and in case you didn't know, "M.D." stands for "Medical Deviate"!), which shows all of the good parts of the film. The same is true for the German theatrical trailer, wherein the film is called "Zombies Unter Kannibalen". We next have a 7-minute interview with special effects make-up artist Maurizio Trani. In this emabarrassing interview, Trani admits that the zombie masks, which were made of wax, looked awful. He then states that he's never seen "Zombie Holocaust" and therefore can't really comment on it. This is truly an odd interview! This is followed by a still gallery, which contains tons of promotional art for "Zombie Holocaust" (under its many titles). And finally, we have an 11-minute deleted scene from "Zombie Holocaust", in which Lori falls into a pit and Chandler must fight off two natives.
The extras then shift gears. It seems that when "Zombie Holocaust" was brought to the U.S., to become "Dr. Butcher, M.D.", a new title sequence was created using bits from an unfinished film called "Tales That'll Tear Your Heart Out", which had been overseen by New York filmmaker Roy Frumkes. But, we, the audience, aren't told this at first, so it seems quite odd to suddenly have 8-minutes of footage from "Tales That'll Tear Your Heart Out", with commentary by Frumkes. This is followed by a 15-minute interview with Frumkes, where he tells the whole story. There is also a still gallery which offers pictures from his film. The problem here, besides the lack of a prompt explanation of what's going on, is that we never get to see that new title sequence. I imagine that this is a rights issue, but they could have at least given a detailed description of it!
Despite its laundry-list of problems, "Zombie Holocaust" is a film that Italian film fans have taken to heart, and they should be pleased with the presentation on this DVD. For all others, there isn't much to recommend here, except for the fact that "Zombie Holocaust" would be a perfect target for a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" party. Just go to the scene with that poor mannequin.
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