‘When the dead first walked, they had no time for appetizers.’
Zombies: The Beginning is a 2007 sci-fi horror film about an army unit sent to investigate reports of the living dead on an island.
The movie was directed by Bruno Mattei (Island of the Living Dead; The Tomb; Land of Death; Mondo Cannibal; Snuff Trap; Cruel Jaws; Madness; Dangerous Attraction; Night Killer; Shocking Dark; Robowar; Rats: Night of Terror; The Other Hell; Hell of the Living Dead; Women’s Camp 119) [as Vincent Dawn].
The screenplay was written by producer Giovanni Paolucci [as Gianni Paolucci] and Antonio Tentori (Nightmare Concert (A Cat in the Brain); Dario Argento’s Dracula; Virus: Extreme Contamination) based on Paolucci’s storyline. As many critics have pointed out, Paolucci’s plotline and dialogue shamelessly rips-off James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).
The Diamonds International Film stars Yvette Yzon (Island of the Living Dead), Alvin Anson, Paul Holmes, James Gregory Paolleli, B.B. Johnson, Dyane Craystan, Gerard Acao, Mike Vergel, Miguel Faustmann, Gene Zwahir, Ronny Boos, Sereno Cunial, Sven Stefaniksen, Tony Wells and Bon Vibar.
Our review:
Bruno Mattei’s partner piece to his Island of the Living Dead is another no-budget, no-talent production shot in the Philippines for pocket change. Mattei made crappy zombie films
even in the heyday of the Italian horror boom of the early ’80s, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that his later efforts, when Italian genre cinema has gone down the toilet, are irredeemably horrible.
The story follows directly from Island of the Living Dead: sole survivor Doctor Sharon Dimao (Yvette Yzon) is packed off back to the zombie island with a team of half-witted soldiers and a dubious scientist. When there, she discovers that aside from zombies, there are also weird mutant zombie children with ping pong eyeballs who could or could not be part of the next master race, as well as a disembodied brain (!) connected to lots of air conditioning pipes which seems to be in control of everything.
This looks unremittingly ugly, features uniformly terrible performances and is undeniably dumb. But in its attempts to be a two-bit zombie version of Aliens, it’s rather fun, in a so-bad-its-good kind of way. Just don’t take that as a recommendation!
Matt Blake, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
” …it really isn’t all that bad. It’s dumb, and it’s derivative; but by comparison even to Island of the Living Dead, there are very few moments where you find yourself howling at the television in outrage. In fact, once you get past the fact that the whole thing’s an obvious plagiarism, you can even begin to enjoy the places where the movie decides to stray from its sources.” Braineater.com
” …a bit slower in starting and tougher to get comfortable with than its predecessor but once the action gets going its even more over the top and bizarre and just plain off the f*cking wall than Island is. The medical experiments, the insane ripped-off plot devices (and scenes, and stolen footage) just add to the sheer gold-plated ridiculousness of the entire package.” Celluloid Terror
“Zombies: The Beginning is a perfect final Bruno Mattei movie. Not only does it ooze of the atmosphere, attitude and style of the movies that once brought him to my (and fellow Matteiists) attention, but it also stands as an example of how dedicated Mattei was to his art. Because never mind how cheap his sets, locations, effects where they work. In his universe they work, they add to the movie and they elevate it.” Cinezilla
“Pretty much Aliens with zombies in place of monsters yet has so many off-the-wall moments it’s hard to condemn as just a casual rip-off. Gore is plentiful, zombies are everywhere, and the outcome is admiringly disgusting.” Splatter Critic
” …whether due to its higher body count, more free-flowing bloodshed, or more bald-faced thievery (actually, it’s probably down to a combination of all three), I had more fun watching this than I did Island of the Living Dead. It almost feels like Bruno was determined to go out with as much bang as his limited bucks would allow, and you have to respect him for that.” Trash Film Guru
“Mattei’s last movie is a grand finale of insane, rip-off exploitation movie making […] The gore is relatively low for a zombie movie except for a couple of splatter scenes involving zombie-alien births, and the ending involving incubation machines, zombie hybrids, bug-eyed alien-zombie children, fetus vacuum cleaners and a big brain, must be seen to be believed.” The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre
“There are none of the supernatural trappings of the first movie (grimoires, ghosts, curses); instead, here there’s a disembodied brain-sucking fetuses out of women through tubes. It’s a tediously one-dimensional movie, but fans of Mattei will undoubtedly have a soft spot for these last two zombie offerings.” Peter Dendle, The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia Volume 2
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Trailer:
Free to watch on YouTube but missing the zombie nudity [uncut on Tubi and Vudu]:
Buy the Intervision DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Choice dialogue:
Doctor Sharon Dimao: “You can’t kill what’s already dead.”
Notes:
Mattei used some submarine shots from Crimson Tide (1995) without permission. Viggo Mortensen and Danny Nucci can be seen in these shots.
Cast and characters:
Yvette Yzon … Doctor Sharon Dimao, Alvin Anson … Mark Taylor, Paul Holmes … Paul Barker, James Gregory Paolleli … Captain Jurgens, B.B. Johnson … Sgt. Zamora, Dyane Craystan … Patricia Kramer, Gerard Acao … Thompson, Mike Vergel … Ludmann, Miguel Faustmann … Morris, Gene Zwahir … Young, Ronny Boos … Berger, Sereno Cunial … Carter, Sven Stefaniksen … Fox, Tony Wells … Connor, Bon Vibar … Powell.
Country of origin:
Italy
Filming locations:
Philippines
Technical specs:
1 hour 35 minutes
Dolby
