Zombie Flesh Eaters

Part of Dundead Film Festival 2025 - see the full programme and book a Festival Pass. 

Please note: this screening is captioned.

Where filmmakers like Mario Bava and Dario Argento had at least one eye on the pretence of artistry, director Lucio Fulci’s best films aim straight for the jugular, his gory, trashy, and breathtakingly violent films earning him the nickname ‘The Godfather of Gore’.

Zombi 2, as it was titled in Italy, was originally envisioned as an unofficial sequel to Dawn of the Dead but shares zero connective tissue with Romero’s film. Retitled as Zombie Flesh Eaters for the UK, it found itself on the video nasty list, effectively banned due to its extreme violence. Fulci’s film simultaneously gestures to the voodoo origins of the zombie figure and to the modern interpretation, as our group of characters find themselves drawn to the Caribbean island of Matul, where they are soon set upon by murderous zombies. 

Fulci’s propensity for splatter is a perfect match for a zombie film, and Zombi Flesh Eaters gives us some of the most disgusting and rotten-looking hordes of the undead in cinema history. The film also boasts an iconic, synth-led score by Fabio Frizzi, which brings some of that undeniable Italian sense of style to proceedings. Perhaps the film’s most enduring contribution to cinema history, however, is a jaw-dropping underwater sequence where a zombie battles a live tiger shark. The shark was tranquilised to achieve the final sequence, which is regrettable, but it is a fascinating piece of filmmaking history. There is a bizarre, gonzo poetry to the scene, and it really has to be seen to be believed.