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[tab title="Movie Review"]
Because there is life after death … if you are a zombie!
Director Claudio Fragasso (Troll 2) returns the zombie lore back to basics with a tale of voodoo (Who do? You do!) and a curse that has widespread repercussions in this Italian trashterpiece of island schlock rock. With this hot and humid tale of the undead, Fragasso quickly gives audiences what they paid to see in that zombies, at the flick of a wrist, do their thing and lay waste to the “innocent” on this island of the living dead.
Welcome to the instant insanity that is Zombie 4: After Death! There are things on this island that no man should every have to face and they've been alone for so long. The last thing these “crazy guys dressed in black” want to do is shake your hand in greeting when strangers stumble upon their island. Undead lunacy looks like this.
Severin Films, releasing this undead cult classic alongside Zombie 3 this month, provides the same quality in the new 2K scan and delivers the goods on what remains a glorified shitty flick that is barely held together from one attack to another. Fragasso, as a director, certainly has his specialty when it comes to undercooked B-grade flicks and keeping things ridiculous and cinematically awful is one of them. Who needs a laugh track when things are this uncomfortably bad?!
Zombie 4: After Death is a largely unintentionally hysterical (and gory) romp through the jungle as a pissed off voodoo priest (James Sampson) believes the scientists on the island are robbing Hell of its residents in their search for the cure to cancer. He curses them with a psychotic zombie and an army of flesh eaters hunts them down. Some of these scenes, especially the ones of the zombie chick opening her mouth so wide it reveals her molars, are quite disturbing. Others, when the blood is gone and all she can do is spit water, will leave you in stitches. Thing is, they kill him and no one (but a child) survives.
Such is the territory of this wickedly twisted entry in the Italian Zombie series. It might be the worst entry in the series, but it certainly is not the last. More undead birds are to follow after this one tries to make the scientists look like victims. What we have with this B-movie, though, is an onslaught of some bizarre-looking zombies. They wear hoods and cloaks for God’s sake. They look like beggars straight out of a New Testament inspired made for television movie. Anyway, these leper-turned-undead-creeps stick around long after the ONE survivor, a little girl, grows up and decides to return to the island. A girl needs her parents it turns out.
Sucks for her because the undead shit hasn’t changed much. Jenny (Candice Daly) and her small band of mercenaries, returning to search for survivors, are obviously in over their heads. They aren’t the only trespassers on this cursed land, though. Hitchhiking through the jungles and caves is Chuck (Jeff Stryker) and his geeky group of do-gooders. They are quickly dealt with by the pissed off zombies and, soon enough, it is just Chuck to stumble upon Jenny and what's left of her comrades after an evening zombie attack. It takes two to make a thing go right, remember?
With a constant screaming in the darkening thick of the jungle, Zombie 4 does have somewhat of a nice atmosphere to much of its madness. The repetitive electronic score and head banging song used throughout the movie, welcoming the door to Hell to remain open, both do what they need to do in order to set the helpless tone of this adventure.
But it is the discovery of yet ANOTHER crate of weapons that really saves the day. Two M-16s and a whole lot of undead creeps. What more could you want in Italian horror flicks?
Blood and voodoo magic reign supreme in Zombie 4. It is now available on blu-ray (for the first time) to raise some Unholy Hell in your own living room.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: Not rated.
Runtime: 84 mins
Director: Claudio Fragasso
Writer: Rossella Drudi
Cast: Jeff Stryker, Candice Daly, Massimo Vanni
Genre: Horror
Tagline: A filmm by Claudio Fragasso.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Touchin' our bane will feel our rain on the gain."
Theatrical Distributor:
Official Site:
Release Date:
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 29, 2018
Synopsis: When a white scientist’s cure for cancer enrages an island voodoo priest, it will unleash the ultimate plague of ninja zombies, exploding heads, appalling performances, eye-gouging, face-ripping, power ballads and big bloody mouthfuls of flesh-chomping havoc…and that’s just the first 20 minutes.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Severin Films
Available on Blu-ray - May 29, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
The new 2K scan of the original camera element is a sight to behold. Uncut and extra gooey, Zombie 4’s handling doesn’t disappoint. Some shots, due to the era of the day, are fuzzier than others but the image is reasonably well defined with crisp contrasts and solid textures. The blood, thanks to tasty scenes of flesh-eating carnage, is bold and bright. Colors are solid, with blues being a standout. Blacks are, too. Surprisingly, there's enough fine detail on display to make this seem revelatory with its closed-in location. The era-ready color palette looks terrific, too. The disc comes with a new DTS-HD English Mono Audio soundtrack.
Supplements:
Commentary:
-
None
Special Features:
This limited edition release contains the original soundtrack as a bonus CD. Fans get an interview with Director Claudio Fragasso and Screenwriter Rossella Drudi, an interview with actor Chuck Peyton, an interview with actress Candice Daly, behind the scenes look at the films, and a trailer.
- Run Zombie Run!
- Jeff Stryker in Manila
- Blonde vs Zombies
- Behind-The-Scenes Footage
- Trailer
- Zombie 4: After Dark Soundtrack
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[tab title="Trailer"]
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[tab title="Art"]
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