- Zombie Holocaust
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Zombie Holocaust
Zombie Holocaust DVD coverDirected by Marino Girolami Written by Fabrizio De Angelis
Romano ScandariatoStarring Ian McCulloch
Alexandra Delli Colli
Sherry Buchanan
Peter O'Neal
Donald O'Brien
Dakar
Walter PatriarcaMusic by Nico Fidenco Cinematography Fausto Zuccoli Editing by Alberto Moriani Release date(s) 1979 Running time 84 minutes Country Italy Language English Zombie Holocaust, (Original title: Zombi Holocaust) also known as Zombie 3 and Doctor Butcher, M.D.,[1] is a 1979 Italian zombie movie, directed by Marino Girolami.
Contents
Plot
In New York City a hospital worker is found to have been devouring bodies in the morgue. Morgue assistant and anthropology expert Lori (Alexandra Delli Colli) discovers he was from the Asian Molucca islands where she grew up. Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch) investigates, and he and Lori discover that similar corpse mutilations have occurred in other city hospitals, where immigrants from this region are working.
Peter leads an expedition to the islands to investigate, where he liaises with Doctor Obrero. Included are his assistant George, George's eager journalist girlfriend Susan, Lori, local boatsman Molotto assigned by Obrero, and three guides. The crew are hunted by cannibals and zombies, the latter created by the sinister Doctor Obrero who is experimenting with corpses.
Lori is accepted as queen of the cannibals, and sends them off against the mad scientist and his zombie army.
Cast
- Ian McCulloch as Dr. Peter Chandler
- Alexandra Delli Colli as Lori Ridgeway
- Sherry Buchanan as Susan Kelly
- Peter O'Neal as George Harper
- Donald O'Brien as Dr. Obrero/Dr. Butcher (US version)
- Dakar as Molotto
- Walter Patriarca as Dr. Dreylock
Production
Following the success of Zombi II (1979) and Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977), producer Fabrizio De Angelis came up with the idea of cashing in on both films' subjects at the same time. He reused the basic story of Zombi II and added elements of cannibal films to come up with Zombie Holocaust. The film depicted zombies and cannibals clashing on a south-east Asian island. The zombies of this film physically resemble those of Zombi II but they do not consume flesh. In this film it is the island native people that hunt, kill, and consume humans.
Similarities to Zombi II
- Ian McCulloch and Dakar appear in nearly identical roles
- In both films the action begin with evidence of cannibalism in a New York mortuary, which the character played by McCulloch begins to investigate, leading to his journey to a tropical island where most of the story takes place.
- The climax in both movies features the zombies perishing in a hospital/church fire.
- Some shooting locations are the same (including the church building).
- Zombie Holocaust reuses footage from Zombi II, including burning church and the camera panning across the lake with the landrover driving along the side of it.
- In some markets, Zombie Holocaust was released as Zombie 3.
Release
The film was slightly re-edited and released theatrically in the United States as Dr. Butcher, M.D. by Aquarius Releasing in 1982.[2]
The DVD was released on May 21, 2002 by Shriek Show. It can be purchased separately or in a triple feature package. The Zombie Pack, Vol. 2 contains Zombie Holocaust, Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror, and Flesheater.[3] It was released on Blu-ray for the first time by Shriek Show on 28 June 2011 in USA.[4]
The film was released uncut on UK DVD & VHS on January 29, 2001 by Stonevision. It was reissued on the Dead of Night label in 2004 and again in 2010 by Beyond Terror.
Alternate Versions
Zombi Holocaust was re-edited for U.S. release as Doctor Butcher, M.D. This version contained a 2½ minute sequence from an unfinished American film, and a different music score. Certain scenes were edited for pacing reasons also in the Dr. Butcher Version. This version also contains a 5 minute sequence presented on Shriek Show's DVD as a deleted scene. The deleted scene also appears in certain foreign prints, one of which runs 86 minutes.
See also
- List of zombie movies
References
External links
Categories:- 1980 films
- Italian horror films
- Zombie films
- 1980s horror films
- Italian films
- Films set in New York City
- English-language films
- Italian-language films
- Cannibal films
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