Blu-ray Review: Zombi 3 (1988)

Scientists on an island in the Philippines are trying to resurrect the dead with the help of a chemical agent…a chemical which gets stolen by a thief who soon becomes exposed after dropping the case. Eventually ol’ butter fingers makes his way to a hotel where he infects the entire staff. Thankfully the military steps in and fucks things up six ways to Sunday by cremating the bodies after containing the outbreak. Now zombie birds attack everyone pecking their way to  a major zombie outbreak. In the center of the fray are Kenny (Deran Sarafian) and his gang of soldier friends, who along with a group of comely lasses, attempt to stay alive as they are besieged on all sides by ravenous gut munchers!
To say I “like” Zombi 3 would be an understatement…I fuckin’ love it, and have for years. It’s gloriously gory, stupid, and action packed in equal measure! This is the type of film where a severed human head flies out of  a refrigerator and zooms around biting everyone…if that sentence alone doesn’t make you seek this out you have no business reading this creepy column! It also must be said that along with all the madcap monstrous goings-on, there is some gorgeous cinematography on display courtesy of Riccardo Grassetti (I’d try and give some credit to the Director as well, but those duties were shared by both Lucio Fulci and Bruno Mattei which makes for a truly bizarre end result in terms of tone, and who the hell knows who is responsible for what…but in my opinion this film has always seemed like a Mattei joint…and having Troll 2’s Claudio Fragasso on co-scripting duties adds to the surreal nature of the affair). On a side note, this film also features some screamingly hilarious dubbing including this gem of a line: “Life has become a real ecological pain in the ass!”
While the film is worth owning on it’s own (and has never looked better than in this release from Severin), there are also some great special features (most ported from the DVD release of the film) thrown in including: a hilarious, anecdote packed commentary by Actors Sarafian and Beatrice Ring, interviews with Fragasso and co-writer Rossella Drudi, Actors/Stuntmen Massimo Vanni and Ottaviano Dell’Acqua, Mattei, Actress Marina Loi, FX artist Franco Di Girolamo, and the film’s trailer. In my opinion, the greatest extra included is the film’s soundtrack (contained on a separate disc); it’s an off-the-wall combination of spooky synth and pop music numbers that is every bit as strange as the film itself!
Zombi 3 is pure fright flick gold; it’s packed fat as possible with non-stop zombie action, blood, and ridiculous situations and absolutely shouldn’t be missed by any horror hound that thrives on the more outrageous end of the spectrum of our beloved genre!