Zombi 2 (1979)

Director: Lucio Fulci
Starring: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson

Synopsis:
A reporter goes to the Caribbean with a woman whose father went missing under mysterious circumstances and the trail leads them to an island the locals say is cursed.

Impressions:
In the fine Italian tradition of unauthorized sequels, this was marketed as a sequel to Dawn of the Dead (known as Zombi in Italy), but there's no real connection other than this being a zombie film. The story, the characters and the acting (with the exception of a fairly solid performance by Richard Johnson as Dr. Menard) are nothing to write home about, but the makeup for the zombies and the gore effects are rather good. The real standout scene is the zombie vs. shark battle and full props to shark trainer Ramon Bravo for wrestling with a real-life bull shark in full makeup. (Don't let yourself get distracted by the overly literal interpretation of skin diving that precedes it.) I do like the concept of bringing zombies closer to their roots. It's a shame there couldn't be cleverer ways for the characters to meet their ends. Still, this is honestly one of the better zombie films out there. Give it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It