PDA

View Full Version : Hell of the Living Dead (aka Zombie Creeping Flesh) (Bruno Mattei, 1981)


CJ34
07-05-2008, 04:46 PM
So you don't think that Mattei is a genius, huh? You cannot recognise that he is a master of his craft? Given the appalling script and ultra-low budget - you tell me who else could have pulled this off and made this movie even half as entertaining? No one! Only Mattei was capable of such ingenuity. For that fact alone he is to be applauded and venerated. All hail Mattei! God of the B Movie!

So what's all the fuss about? Zombies, zombies and more zombies - that's what all the fuss is about! Mattei presents us with the undead in spades. He is unsparing in his living dead-ness. And the plot? Well, the plot is paper-thin (who cares?) and tells of a chemical leak in a Third World country and the natives have become the walking dead. A SWAT team is dispatched to solve the problem and along the way pick up a female anthropologist who delights in stripping off at every opportunity - not that we're complaining. They arrive at the source of the leakage and discover the truth; the chemical is designed for population control - to literally let the people consume each other and thus reducing the populace. What an ingenuous twist! We bow to your superior mind, Bruno..

The film is full of classic sequences. We see an empty corridor..the pounding music kicks in...we expect something BIG to happen..2 SWAT members (yes a mere 2 SWAT members) not so much burst through the door as casually stroll in trying to look as if they're bursting in. Bit of an anti-climax really. And when our intrepid travellers happen across a native tribe there is only one way to deal with them - yes, our heroine must strip naked and prance about amongst the stock footage trying to look non-threatening. The film is full of memorable moments like this..

This film has everything you could ask for; appallingly bad dialogue; outrageous gore; gratuitous nudity; tribal rituals; National Geographic stock footage and zombies by the truckload. A classic! Not to be missed!

Once again I urge you to put down that Hollywood Blockbuster and purge yourself of its evil by renting/buying this instead. You may be disappointed, but the effects of a Mattei can take up to a year later to be felt. It's a slow acting delirium - but it will get you in the end.

This is an absolute classic and must be owned by every horror fan on the face of the planet! Is it cinematic trash? Of course it is, but there are not many films that contain this high level of entertainment value. I loved every appalling, trashy second of it. You really should take the opportunity to own this film from the golden age of Italian horror. Fantastic!

What are you waiting for - go and buy it! :D

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

amazon.com: Hell of the Living Dead (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000TZJCNW/mondoerotico) (US Blue Underground DVD)

amazon.com: Hell of the Living Dead + Rats Night of Terror (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AC8L8/mondoerotico) (US Anchor Bay DVD)

amazon.co.uk: Hell of the Living Dead (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000TZJCNW/mondoerotico05) (US Blue Underground DVD)

amazon.co.uk: Zombie Creeping Flesh (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000063BJC/mondoerotico05) (UK VIPCO DVD)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CS2sCh16L._SS500_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000TZJCNW/mondoerotico)

LoungeLizard
07-05-2008, 04:52 PM
An absolutely appalling film. Right up there (or down there) with Dawn Of The Mummy and Nightmare City. I loved every second. http://www.cultmovieforums.com/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

H P Saucecraft
08-05-2008, 02:24 AM
A favourite of mine too. Any chance of a review of Rats - Night Of Terror, CJ?

CJ34
08-05-2008, 02:36 AM
A review of Rats - Night of Terror? Wouldn't that mean watching it again? You're seriously asking me to watch it again?

Okay...maybe I'll do that. ;)

jacksmith1983
08-05-2008, 04:36 PM
I agree, an awful film by any standard with its crap dubbing, pilfered soundtrack and random insertion of stock wildlife footage. However, I for some reason love this film too.

Definitely a guilty pleasure.

Here's a link to a review I wrote of it at The Celluloid Tomb last year.

Zombie Creeping Flesh (http://jacksmoviepage.piczo.com/zombiecreepingflesh?cr=5&linkvar=000044)

Gattaca
08-05-2008, 05:25 PM
[QUOTE=CJ34;229410]

This film has everything you could ask for; appallingly bad dialogue; outrageous gore; gratuitous nudity; tribal rituals; National Geographic stock footage and zombies by the truckload. A classic! Not to be missed!
[End Quote=CJ34;229410]

Ahhhhhhhh so that film used stock footage as well.:D

jacksmith1983
08-05-2008, 05:39 PM
Have you not seen Zombie Creeping Flesh then Gattaca?

Gattaca
08-05-2008, 05:41 PM
Have you not seen Zombie Creeping Flesh then Gattaca?

Yeah Jack but it was a long time ago on some Dutch subtitled pirate piece of rubbish video.:mad: I am sure you know what I mean ?

jacksmith1983
08-05-2008, 05:43 PM
Well I'd revisit it via one of the excellent US DVD releases from Anchor Bay / Blue Underground. Rubbish it may be but it really is terrific fun, Italian zombie pictures don't come much wilder than this.

Gattaca
08-05-2008, 05:46 PM
Well I'd revisit it via one of the excellent US DVD releases from Anchor Bay / Blue Underground. Rubbish it may be but it really is terrific fun, Italian zombie pictures don't come much wilder than this.

Rubbish as in PQ Jack LOL but yeah it was fun from what I saw of it though.:)

jacksmith1983
08-05-2008, 06:19 PM
A review of Rats - Night of Terror? Wouldn't that mean watching it again? You're seriously asking me to watch it again?

Okay...maybe I'll do that. ;)

I must admit that even though it should really be right up my street I found Rats to be a bit of a chore to sit through aswell. It tries to combine the Italian obsession for gory horror with the stylistic trappings of the then popular post-apocalyptic action flick and with someone as inept as Mattei at the helm the whole things just falls flat and lacks the wild charm of Zombie Creeping Flesh.

However, I must admit I loved the ludicrous yet strangely unsettling "shock" ending. It almost made sitting through the film worthwhile.

SimonT
08-05-2008, 08:03 PM
But who can forget the scene where the soldiers are looking round that house and one of them proceeds to don a green tutu and top hat and then, with cane in hand, proceeds to tap dance around the property?
(and why was there a house in the middle of the jungle anyway?)

Or the immortal line, having just barely escaped yet another zombie attack, one of the soldiers asks "whats eating you"? :D

CJ34
10-05-2008, 04:01 PM
However, I must admit I loved the ludicrous yet strangely unsettling "shock" ending. It almost made sitting through the film worthwhile.

Oh yes, that ending is just hilarious. It's a womble, isn't it? :D

Someone Weird
11-05-2008, 01:16 PM
Hell of the Living Dead is a laugh riot. The wildlife/tribal footage is from Guinea Ama, a fairly interesting Mondo movie which itself isn't above pilfering from other movies, as it borrows some music from Umberto Lenzi's Seven Bloodstained Orchids. Rats - Night of Terror was pretty damn terrible though. I couldn't even get into that one on a so bad its good level. It's just quite bad. Nice to see a cameo by Roland Rat though.

http://www.brettish.com/images/roland.jpg

JAMIOUSE
12-05-2008, 07:21 PM
I have to agree Rats is terrible! Just bad from begining to end, I think I even fell asleep watching it. Hell Of The Living Dead is just brilliant, I especially like how the tribal makeup changes from shot to shot. :D

Rich
16-05-2008, 03:58 PM
I have to agree with everyone here,Hell of the Living Dead is an absolute cheese classic.No horror fan's collection is complete without a copy imo.Show it to a non-horror fan though and they'll think you're absolutely barking mad for owning the film. :p

reaper72
16-05-2008, 08:06 PM
Zombie Creeping Flesh-absolute trash....no collection's complete without it..;)

jacksmith1983
16-05-2008, 09:04 PM
I agree no collection of zombie films is complete without this and Andrea Bianchi's equally crazy Burial Ground.

Two films I personally could not live without! :D

LoungeLizard
16-05-2008, 11:05 PM
Dawn Of The Mummy is another invaluable addition. http://www.cultmovieforums.com/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

adamd164
13-06-2008, 11:34 PM
Or the immortal line, having just barely escaped yet another zombie attack, one of the soldiers asks "whats eating you"? :D
Classic!:D

Definitely a guilty pleasure; hilariously awful script and acting from start to finish make it a must-own.

Mark Y
22-06-2008, 08:44 AM
I have to agree with everyone here,Hell of the Living Dead is an absolute cheese classic.No horror fan's collection is complete without a copy imo.Show it to a non-horror fan though and they'll think you're absolutely barking mad for owning the film. :p

:D

I first saw this at the cinema in the early 80s at an all-night show and couldn't believe what I was seeing. And not because of sleep deprivation. Truly appalling and a definite must-have in every trash lovers collection...