Back in April of 2025, I was treated to Italian horror composer Fabio Frizzi appearing at Kings in Raleigh to do a live performance of the score for Lucio Fulci’s Zombie. They projected the Composer’s Cut on a screen behind Frizzi and his band. I really came to appreciate the film’s music listening to it live instead of coming from the speaker. If he ever tours again, I fully recommend heading down to take the gory fun. While I have always enjoyed Zombie since seeing it on a fuzzy VHS tape in the mid-90s when it was still called Zombie 2. Where was first Zombie? Turns out that’s the title that was given George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead in Italy. The good news is that Zombie is not a cheap remake of Dawn of the Dead. Lucio Fulci provides us with an all-new tale of corpses rising from the grave.
A sailboat arrives in Manhattan without anyone at the wheel. When the Harbor Patrol cops approach, they don’t see a living soul on board. However they go below deck and make the nasty mistake of finding a dead soul that’s still moving and wants to bite their necks. The second cop puts enough bullets into the zombie to knock it into the Hudson River. Anne Bowles (Antropophagus‘s Tisa Farrow) is brought to the boat since her dad owns it. All she knows is the old guy was doing research on Matool, a Caribbean island. She knows nothing. New York City newspaper reporter Peter West (Zombie Holocaust‘s Ian McCulloch) joins her on a trip to the island to find out what happened to her dad. In order to get to the island, they hire a boat run by Brian Hull (2020 Texas Gladiators‘ Al Clive) and his gal, Susan Barrett (Auretta Gay). During the journey, Susan goes topless SCUBA diving where she encounters an underwater zombie. Things are looking quite ominous for the arrival at the island where Dr. David Menard (The Great Alligator River‘s Richard Johnson) and his wife (Murder Rock‘s Olga Karlatos) are researching how the natives are making a comeback from the graveyard.
Zombie was Lucio Fuchi’s first horror and he created a nightmare. The scene where the zombie pulls a character’s head forward so a piece of wood pops out their eyeball is stomach churning. The zombies here are a bit more gruesome than George Romero’s style in Dawn of the Dead. His ghouls are decaying with worms feeding on their flesh as they rise up from their graves. He even creates an ominous ending involving New York City. This is a tropical nightmare. Zombie remains an essential undead masterpiece
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer is from a 4K restoration. Things look extremely gross with the zombies in the hot tropical heat. The Audio is English 7.1 DTS-HD MA & 1.0 DTS-HD MA mono, Italian 7.1 DTS-HD MA & 1.0 DTS-HD mono. There’s also a French mono dub. You’ll hear the undead coming to kill the living. The movie is subtitled in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and more.
Guillermo del Toro Intro (0:24) is high praise from the director of Pan’s Labyrinth.
Audio Commentaries include one with Troy Howarth, author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films and a second with star Ian McCulloch and Diabolik Magazine’s Jason J. Slater. Plenty of tales on how they made the dead rise up, walk and attack.
When The Earth Spits Out the Dead (33:05) is an interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci. Covers who Fulci was directing comedies, Giallo, comedies and Spaghetti Westerns before turning to horror with Zombie. The producers came to Fulci after two other directors turned it down. He gets into what Fulci brought to the screen so that he wasn’t just ripping off George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. He talks about the zombie versus a live shark scene.
Trailers includes the International (3:43) and US. (1:30) versions. The US starts off with the words “We Are Going To Eat You!” It’s a bit more artsy. They do tie it in with Dawn of the Dead. The distributor is honest that while no one under 17 is allowed in the theater, this is purely from violence and not sexy time.
Two TV Spots (1:04) has the words and less gory footage.
Radio Spots (2:05) has four commercials that would scare you while driving around town.
Poster & Still Gallery (9:51) shows off all the posters with various names for the release including Zombi 2, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Island of the Zombies, Woodoo. There’s also lobby cars, behind the scnees, press photos, press kit and home video packaging.
Zombie Wasteland (22:19) talks with stars Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Ottaviano Dell’Acqua (who was also a stuntman. This was done at the Cinematic Wasteland show in 2010. One points out that they’re a bit more friendly with each other doing conventions then when they shot the film. Fulci gets praised for making the film feel real. There’s footage of the packed Q&A after the screening. One actors said Fulci looked like Benny Hill to him.
Flesh Eaters On Film (9:38) co-producer Fabrizio De Angelis has him admit that he’s scared when watching horror movies. Yet he still makes them. He brought Fulci on the project since it was going to be shot around the globe. He had fun working with Fulci. They had hired a great special effects makeup crew.
Dead Time Stories (14:30) meets up with co-writers Elisa Briganti and (uncredited) Dardano Sacchetti. They talk about what brought them into the production. Dardano wanted a horror film with adventure roots. He worked on the project before Fulci was hired. Elisa wanted to being a real harshness to the story.
World Of The Dead (16:29) introduces us to cinematographer Sergio Salvati and production & costume designer Walter Patriarca. Sergio was brought into the early meetings between producer and director. They wanted to do this film right. He gets into the joy of making a film where everything in the view finder is on the screen and not doctored up by CGI. Walter viewed Lucio as an intelligent man.
Zombi Italiano (16:34) gets a layer of conversation from Special Make-Up Effects Artists Gianetto De Rossi & Maurizio Trani along with Special Effects Artist Gino De Rossi. They bring up how the film was supposed to be a sequel to Dawn of the Dead, but they had less money. How did they create a unique look for their undead zombies? There is also talk about the underwater zombie.
Notes On A Headstone (7:25) gives Fabio Frizzi a chance to describe creating the score. This was also his first horror movie. He wanted to create suspense with his notes. He gets into the opening and how they held back on music when the boat is found in New York City.
All In the Family (6:08) meets up with Lucio’s daughter Antonelle Fulci. He was really into jazz which is why he enjoyed shooting near New Orleans.
Zombie Lover (9:36) has Oscar winner Guillermo Del Toro call it one of his favorite movies. He first saw it in a huge theater that seated nearly 5,000 people. His mind exploded after watching it. He thought he dreamed it. He breaks down how the movie and explains how the opening really pays off in the film scene.
Blue Underground presents Zombie (2-Disc Special Edition). Directed by Lucio Fulci. Screenplay by Elisa Briganti. Starring Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver, Auretta Gay, Stefania D’Amario & Olga Karlatos. Running Time: 92 minutes, Rating: Not Rated. Release Date: May 26, 2026.
Here are a few shots from Fabio Frizzi’s concert at Kings in Raleigh.
