directed by: Lucio Fulci
starring: Ian McCulloch, Tisa Farrow, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver and Auretta Gay
run time: 91 minutes
available at: Amazon.com

the plot: A seemingly abandoned boat drifts into New York harbor. When a patrolman goes on board to investigate, an angry zombie leaps out of the cabin and attacks him. Soon, journalist Peter West (McCulloch) is on the case, and it's not long before he's on his way to the remote island of Matul with Anne (Farrow), whose scientist father disappeared after leaving the island. Along the way, Anne and Peter meet up with Brian (Cliver) and Susan (Gay), a couple vacationing near Matul. The foursome ventures to the island and meets Dr. Menard (Johnson), who is searching for a zombie cure. The zombie problem is growing worse, though, and soon the tiny island is overrun by flesh-eating, maggot-infested zombies. The survivors find themselves holed up inside Dr. Menard's clinic, but soon discover that bullets and Molotov cocktails are no match for the unstoppable zombie hordes.

why it's good: Hesitant to check out Zombie? Not sure you want to waste your time with what appears to be a cheap Dawn of the Dead knock-off? Three words, my friends: zombie versus shark. Of course, the movie has other selling points: with a delightfully lurid tagline ("We are going to eat you!"), copious amounts of gore, and plenty of gratuitous nudity, Zombie is the grain alcohol of undead cinema. It's a pure distillation of all the tropes of the genre with none of social commentary or strong performances that you'll find in George Romero's Dead trilogy or 28 Days Later. Zombie is still fun to watch, though, mostly for its outlandish gore (brace yourself for the pierced eyeball scene) and intense atmosphere. Despite the film's slow start, once the zombies start attacking, they don't stop, and barely a moment goes by without some blood spraying across the screen like an errant geyser. And don't forget - a zombie fights a shark! Brilliant!

why you should own it: Fans are in luck - Media Blasters released a 25th anniversary edition of Zombie under the film's original title, Zombi 2 (the film was marketed in Italy as a sequel to Dawn of the Dead, which was called Zombi in Italy). The two-disc set features a fully remastered, uncut version of the film, commentary from Ian McCulloch and a documentary.