Jun 30 2004
Movie: “Zombie 4 - After Death” (1988)
Zombie 4 - After Death (1988) - Directed by Claudio Fragasso.
Starring Jeff Stryker, Candice Daly, Massimo Vanni, Jim Gaines and Don Wilson.
Zombie Film Rating:
Summary: According to the narration at the beginning of the movie;
“There was once a group of men that believed that they could solve the mystery of mysteries. They were scientists, experts in chemistry, biology and physics. Students of alchemy and of the arcane principles which governed the very equilibrium of our universe.
They then established a small research centre on a remote tropical island, where they proceeded with their humanitarian mission. A task linked with the fundamental principles of our very existence. Their aim was to conquer mankinds first, oldest and greatest enemy.
Death itself…
Of course this sets the stage for a short showdown between the above noted scientists and a witch doctor (he has unleashed a plague of the living dead upon the island in revenge for the death of his daughter…I think), while this confrontation takes place another scientist, with his wife and daughter making an escape from the island, naturally only the daughter survives as black cloaked zombies descend upon the parents.
We now flash forward 15 or 20 years, and the previously noted escapee has joined a group of vacationing mercenaries (I’m not kidding) who happen to be boating in the immediate vicinity of “The Island of the Dead”, naturally (as often happens when meddling with vodoo forces) the boat malfunctions and the entire group is forced to land on the island.
Naturally one of the party sees “something” running around the jungle, and races off in pursuit but getting chewed on, and infected in the process. The rest of the party take him to the old abandoned research center, as they try to figure out what took place on this island.
Introduced around this point is a group of three hikers (how they got to the island, and what they are doing there is never explained) who find a series of caves (which we the audience recognize from the intro as being the “home” to the witch doctor), enter them and find some sort of ancient book, surrounded by candles (must be the long-burning kind), they are then attacked by zombies. One hiker escapes and joins the party at the hospital, just in time to be attacked by Zombies for the second time today.
Naturally the party members are dropping like flies, and worse, are coming back as zombies, but in this film the zombies retain some of their previous knowledge and personality. They also retain their weapons, and are not afraid to use them against other party members.
The movie culminates in the few survivors trying to close “the gates of hell” with a pendant one of them possessed, fighting their way through a gauntlet of the undead, they enter the “witch doctors” caves, and try to puzzle out the manner in which the gates are closed.
Something goes wrong, and both the party members are “Zombified”, we’re left feeling that their mission was somehow unsuccessful. I s’pose zombie island is still there.
Critique: After “The Dead hate the living” this was a welcome respite, harkening back to the blessed 80’s and their zombie movies. Even so this film really brings nothing new to the table.
The plot is (of course) strung together with only the most tenuous logic, and the acting (especially with the dubbing) borders on the rediculous.
That said I enjoyed it, it’s a few hours of mindless zombie entertainment, some shooting and a lot of blood and gore. This film is otherwise unremarkable, but provided me with a few hours of entertainment.
Final Rating: “Finally having a zombie apocalypse, being armed and ready and then having them shoot back…bummer!“