ZOMBI 2

Aka: Zombie, Zombie Flesh Eaters
Director: Lucio Fulci
1979

One of the most infamous Italian zombie-fests to hit the silver blood soaked screen, Zombi 2 was originally born as a pseudo sequel to Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Stealing the name Zombie (Dawn's European title), Lucio Fulci's answer was Zombi 2 (It retained the title Zombie in the US, confusing - eh?). While the film is light on just about everything that made Dawn so great (character development, social commentary, clever writing) Zombi 2 would soon become a legend in its own right. Even after all of these years, the film still stands as a gritty, no holds barred entertaining 42nd street style gore-fest, with nary a slow or dull moment to hold it back. This is the kind of cinema that your mom warned you about, and any 'normal' critic would sincerely discount this film on pure content (or lack there of) alone. But we're in the world of a horror fan's wet dream right now, and Zombi 2 (or Zombie, whatever the hell you want to call it) does indeed belong in the collection of just about every undead horror nut roaming gods green earth today.
Who couldn't fall in love with a film that features a scene of a young lady scuba diving topless, subsequently being attacked by a zombie underwater? But wait, there's more - follow that with the same zombie in a full on wrestling match with a shark, and you've got some true cinematic genius. In addition to this magical underwater ballet, we're treated to more undead types roaming the island with oatmeal covering their faces, and more flesh tearing than you could shake a dismembered arm at. Of course, who could forget the granddaddy of them all, the young woman who gets a wood splinter shoved in her eye, one of the most memorable gore effects from a horror film...ever.