After a spate of cannibaliAfter a spate of cannibalism incidents in New York, where an ancient symbol is left at the scenes of mutation a team of doctors disembark to remote island to investigate the source of the rituals origin.
With some effective gore from Claudio Battistelli and Roberto Pace - disembowelment, impalement, slit throats, eye gouging and machetes through the head to name a few Zombie Holocaust has its fair share of blood. That said, the little zombie make-up that is on display is poor, the action is sporadic with the adjoining scenes slow and tedious with a tension-less pace. Luckily Ian McCulloch is there to inject some life delivering some awfully great lines including: "This wouldn't have happened if everyone had obeyed orders and stayed in camp." "It was really bad back there." And "Something is wrong".
The sets from 1979's Zombie Flesh Eaters (Zombi 2) and some footage are reused. Along with McCulloch actor Dakar (Molotto) also appears from Zombi 2 -only this time he has some more dialogue. Synonymous with these Italian films at the height of their popularity the lead actress, in this case the lovely Alexandra Delli Colli (Lori) takes off her clothes at every opportunity, and Sherry Buchanan as Susan is also pleasant on the eye - has a pivotal shocking scene. But still, it's typical Italian schlock, bad dubbing, editing and script etc; as it moves from one scene to the next as the expedition's party are picked off one by one by the local cannibals. A handful of zombies show up midway through heavy breathing and do little else.
There's some good lighting, nice scenery and even a Scooby-Doo-like twist, to quote McCulloch's Peter, "worse than those cannibals." Even with the stunt dummy's arm falling off after the porter jumps from a window to director Marino Girolami's credit it's one of the technically better made of its kind; but ultimately it's a forgettable and slow affair.
Exactly as the title suggests its a cash-in on both Fulci's great Zombie Flesh Eaters and Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust (1980). Worth watching for McCulloch and Colli alone.
