SEXY
NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980)Director: Joe D'Amato
Japanese Import (Region 2)
SEXY
NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980)To know Joe D'Amato is to love him...or despise him. Filmed in 1980 to cash in on the zombie craze, and to cross it with explicit sex, this film--better known as EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD--has been floating around the grey market for a long time in several different versions. French and Italian language prints of varying lengths have been around, but this DVD marks it's first appearance in English. Is it complete? Nope, but given the circumstances, this may be my favorite version so far. This is a charming tale of sex, zombies, and more sex. It's a zombie film that isn't afraid to rub, poke and chomp on the cast!
Opening in a mental hospital, where George Eastman lurks giggling maniacally, we see the Big G (the only man fitting this title which rightfully belongs to Godzilla) getting it on with a nurse and completely out of his mind. Jump back to the beginning of the story. As a corporate architect (played by swordslinger Mark Shannon) finalizes plans to go to Cat Island (which is being sold to him for virtually nothing by the local government--a bad sign!), but first he needs to do some hardcore whoring! And he does, but when his pair run away at the mention of Cat Island he thankfully bumps into another one (the beautiful and scantily clad Dirce Funari--another D'Amato regular).
Meanwhile, to keep the naughtiness flowing, we meet Eastman's character, a salty sailor with loose pants, as he does a passenger's wife. After MUCH of the aforementioned rubbing and poking, the two stories meet up as Eastman is hired to take Shannon and his new escort to the Cursed Cat Island. Oh, did I forget to tell you that Eastman SAW a zombie earlier in the day, but decides to go anyhow? Loose pants...no brain it would seem.
When they finally get to the island they find that it isn't as deserted as they had thought, supposedly everyone was killed on the island...but their burial ground would make a nice heliport! A spooky old man with a lump on his head and his gorgeous Granddaughter (played by the stunning Laura Gemser--Black Emmanuelle herself--and frequent D'Amato collaborator) try to warn them away. Finally some zombies come around leaving the eternal question...who will survive, what will be left of them...and how many times can they get laid immediately after they get attacked by ZOMBIES? It all comes full circle by the film's end showing, and you know how poor Eastman ends up where he is. This was the first time I could actually understand the ending of the film, and it's a better conclusion than I previously thought.
But what about the real reason we show up (well this and the chance to watch Laura Gemser bare all on DVD)? The zombie attacks are quite good actually, and I think the makeup is impressive for a D'Amato pic, or even some of the lower rung zombie flicks from Italy. Joltin' Joe shot this film himself--as he frequently did--and it looks pretty nice once it hits the island as he takes full advantage of the environment. The zombies have an interesting Templaresque look to them that works well, especially since they are most commonly shot in full sunlight.
This version of the film is 100 minutes long (about ten minutes shy of the longest composite I've seen), but plays better. The only missing shot that hurts is the classic "champagne pop!" scene, but other than that, it's just some bumping and grinding. Also keep in mind that this DVD is Japanese, so optical censoring does happen. It's actually nowhere near as intrusive as usual, either the result of relaxing censorship or decent work on the part of the fog tech. Besides the performers (male and female) are "full enough" shall we say, to show right through the blocking.
The quality of the DVD is good and surprisingly so. The night scenes, which have always looked muddy and streaked, are very clear, showing lots of grue in the zombie scenes, previously to washed out to see. The quality of the English dubbing is fine as well, with lots of familiar voices popping through for fans of Italian genre cinema. The Japanese subtitles are on the print and can't be turned off however, but I would think if you are spending the money to get this disc, you are used to them.
Overall, an excellent disc for D'Amato fans worldwide, and a welcome relief from years of bad copies circulating about. Also you can learn tips from Master Mark Shannon. This man's approach to "sexy" is to lap at a woman like a poodle at peanut butter. This probably won't work in real life...but it's really funny to watch! (David Zuzelo)