INFLUX MOVIE REVIEWS

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Zombi 4 Oughta make any Undead Fan a Little Curious
MOVIE: After Death: Zombi 4

DIRECTOR: Clyde Anderson

CAST: Candice Daly, Don Wilson, Nick Nicholson

THE QUICK HIT:

There are so many zombie flicks out there that it can be hard at times to keep ‘em all straight. I’d never heard of After Death, or director “Clyde Anderson,” but with the subtitle of Zombi 4, and of course a plotline containing loads of voodoo, zombies, and flesh-eating, it sounded like Fragasso was attempting to follow in the footsteps of Fulci’s classic Zombi 2. And that’s gotta make any zombie movie fan more than a little curious. GRADE: B-

THE BIG PICTURE:

This one begins with an underground ritual, as in a subterranean candle-lit grotto a black priest of voodoo invokes forces that cause the earth to swallow up the sacrificial offering of his wife. At that moment an armed group of whites storms the temple bent on putting a halt to the priest’s black magic rituals, which they believe responsible for the ‘mysterious disease’ that’s causing ghoulish behavior amongst the natives.
Elsewhere in the jungle a husband and wife are rushing their young daughter through the jungle to safety. They hope – they’re being pursued by muddy-faced beings in raggedy black cloaks, one of whom makes their intentions clear by ripping the throat out of the father. At this the mother gives her daughter a protective tribal amulet and sends her running away through the jungle. Moments later, the ghouls descend upon the mother.

Years later the girl, Jenny (Candice Daly), now an attractive blonde resembling a young Linda Hamilton, is in the company of a group of mercenaries speedboating toward an island vacation. Boat trouble forces them to land upon a different, more foreboding island, and while hiking through the foliage Tommy (Don Wilson) spies a mysterious figure dressed in tattered clothing. He gives chase through the mist-shrouded rain forest and, upon beating the living crap out of the stranger, is surprised to find the half-rotten face of a ghoul. Which promptly rises up and takes a bite out of his neck. When the rest of the group catches up to him Tommy is in bad shape and the mysterious figure is nowhere to be seen.

On the very same island another group of explorers, Valerie, David, and Chuck, have been searching for a particular site. Coming across the overgrown remains of the grotto they light torches and proceed inside toward the heart of the temple and another “Circle of Satan.” They also find “The Book of the Dead,” and in an attempt to discover what some obscure diary recorded as happening on that spot all those years ago, against Valerie’s better instincts the book is opened and Chuck begins reading. And here open the gates of hell, as a throng of rotting shrouded zombies appear and attack.

None too original, no, but fairly entertaining nonetheless; a jungle (The Philippines in this case) full of cannibalistic zombies and humans with automatic weapons is always good fare. True, the native zombies’ garments often resemble hooded pajama suits and running shoes, making them look a little too much like basketball-playing ninjas to be truly frightening, but they do have their moments. As do the resurrected members of the mercenary team – zombies with machine guns! The gore factor isn’t too high, and as always the explanation as to why zombies exist in the first place is a little convoluted, but the latter is par for the course and the former, well let’s just say it’s no Zombi 2.

The appropriate soundtrack by Al Festa, sprightly but atmospheric Italian keyboard music that at times switches over to a techno tribal style, contrasts with a truly bad 80’s European metal song that flares up every now and again, but I guess it all goes toward contributing to that foreign film experience. As do the Dutch subtitles, which can’t of course be turned off on a dupe but don’t distract too badly from the film’s action. In fact they can actually be humorous at some points: “Klootzak!” say the subtitles as a woman screams “Bastard!” at a zombie before cracking its skull with a tree branch.

TECHNICAL MUMBO JUMBO:

The quality, print-wise, is every bit as good as you might expect from a copy you received from a friend. And probably better than that of the archaic cult horror VHS tape you might find in the back of the rental shop. But as always, for those perfectionists who want the most pristine print available Video Search of Miami’s sister company Oasis Video Miami offers factory-sealed DVD pre-records at www.oasisvideomiami.com.

Review by Tom Crites

INFLUX MOVIE REVIEWS www.influxmagazine.com
	*Zombi 4 Oughta make any Undead Fan a Little Curious* MOVIE: *After Death: Zombi 4*
	DIRECTOR: Clyde Anderson
	CAST: Candice Daly, Don Wilson, Nick Nicholson
THE QUICK HIT:
There are so many zombie flicks out there that it can be hard at times to keep ‘em all straight. I’d never heard of After Death, or director “Clyde Anderson,” but with the subtitle of Zombi 4, and of course a plotline containing loads of voodoo, zombies, and flesh-eating, it sounded like Fragasso was attempting to follow in the footsteps of Fulci’s classic Zombi 2. And that’s gotta make any zombie movie fan more than a little curious. GRADE: B-
THE BIG PICTURE:
This one begins with an underground ritual, as in a subterranean candle-lit grotto a black priest of voodoo invokes forces that cause the earth to swallow up the sacrificial offering of his wife. At that moment an armed group of whites storms the temple bent on putting a halt to the priest’s black magic rituals, which they believe responsible for the ‘mysterious disease’ that’s causing ghoulish behavior amongst the natives. Elsewhere in the jungle a husband and wife are rushing their young daughter through the jungle to safety. They hope – they’re being pursued by muddy-faced beings in raggedy black cloaks, one of whom makes their intentions clear by ripping the throat out of the father. At this the mother gives her daughter a protective tribal amulet and sends her running away through the jungle. Moments later, the ghouls descend upon the mother. Years later the girl, Jenny (Candice Daly), now an attractive blonde resembling a young Linda Hamilton, is in the company of a group of mercenaries speedboating toward an island vacation. Boat trouble forces them to land upon a different, more foreboding island, and while hiking through the foliage Tommy (Don Wilson) spies a mysterious figure dressed in tattered clothing. He gives chase through the mist-shrouded rain forest and, upon beating the living crap out of the stranger, is surprised to find the half-rotten face of a ghoul. Which promptly rises up and takes a bite out of his neck. When the rest of the group catches up to him Tommy is in bad shape and the mysterious figure is nowhere to be seen. On the very same island another group of explorers, Valerie, David, and Chuck, have been searching for a particular site. Coming across the overgrown remains of the grotto they light torches and proceed inside toward the heart of the temple and another “Circle of Satan.” They also find “The Book of the Dead,” and in an attempt to discover what some obscure diary recorded as happening on that spot all those years ago, against Valerie’s better instincts the book is opened and Chuck begins reading. And here open the gates of hell, as a throng of rotting shrouded zombies appear and attack. None too original, no, but fairly entertaining nonetheless; a jungle (The Philippines in this case) full of cannibalistic zombies and humans with automatic weapons is always good fare. True, the native zombies’ garments often resemble hooded pajama suits and running shoes, making them look a little too much like basketball-playing ninjas to be truly frightening, but they do have their moments. As do the resurrected members of the mercenary team – zombies with machine guns! The gore factor isn’t too high, and as always the explanation as to why zombies exist in the first place is a little convoluted, but the latter is par for the course and the former, well let’s just say it’s no Zombi 2. The appropriate soundtrack by Al Festa, sprightly but atmospheric Italian keyboard music that at times switches over to a techno tribal style, contrasts with a truly bad 80’s European metal song that flares up every now and again, but I guess it all goes toward contributing to that foreign film experience. As do the Dutch subtitles, which can’t of course be turned off on a dupe but don’t distract too badly from the film’s action. In fact they can actually be humorous at some points: “Klootzak!” say the subtitles as a woman screams “Bastard!” at a zombie before cracking its skull with a tree branch.
TECHNICAL MUMBO JUMBO:
The quality, print-wise, is every bit as good as you might expect from a copy you received from a friend. And probably better than that of the archaic cult horror VHS tape you might find in the back of the rental shop. But as always, for those perfectionists who want the most pristine print available Video Search of Miami’s sister company Oasis Video Miami offers factory-sealed DVD pre-records at www.oasisvideomiami.com.
Review by Tom Crites