Post by slayrrr666 on Feb 2, 2006 13:55:05 GMT -5
“Burial Ground” is the greatest Italian zombie movie other than Fulci’s works.
**SPOILERS**
In a remote mountain chain, Prof. Ayres (Renato Barbieri) discovers a tomb with the living dead inside. Nearby, Janet (Karin Well) and her friends Mark, (Gianluigi Chirizzi) James, (Sin my opinionne Mattioli) Leslie, (Antonella Antinori) George, (Roberto Caporali) Evelyn, (Maria Angela Giordano) and her son Michael (Peter Bark) head to the Proffesor’s weekend house for some fun. Out in a courtyard, Janet and Mark are attacked by strange walking corpses, who then return back to the house to find it under attack from the same types of walking corpses. As everyone there stumbles into the zombies crawling around the house and it’s surrounding areas, they realize they are trapped in the house for the night. As zombies invade the house, the ever-dwindling party tries to find ways to escape.
The Good News: First off, this has to be said: these are the best-looking zombies I’ve ever seen. Fulci’s zombies look good, but these really take the cake. Going beyond looking rotten, there are several that have their faces reduced to near skeletons with small amounts of flesh on the skull. Some have barely any skin on there, and with their grotesque faces, they strike quite an imaginative and scary look upon first viewing. Even the few zombies who don’t have a rotten appearance, they do look every creepy, with their tattered clothes, shuffling walk, and the very creative make-up used on their faces to create a nearly perfect zombie. There is also several great scenes in here that really stick out. The resurrection of one zombie underneath a patch of grass is really spine-tingling, as it’s a slow, drawn-out sequence that really delivers some terrifying moments. Once inside the house, we are treated to some more brutal highlights. The assault to break into the house, the first attacks on the people inside, and the attack in the bedroom are all great, tense scenes that drive up the scare factor of the film. The scenes in the courtyard are just as brutal and scary, with special note to one scene where two zombies threaten a pair of party-goers, and the way it resolves itself is gory, thrilling fun. That brings u the question of the gore, which this film has an abundance of. There is the usual bodies being torn open and pieces of flesh being eaten, there is a larger amount of violence against the zombies. They get several heads bashed open in excruciating detail, shot repeatedly, stabbed with all manner of instruments and much more. There is just as much against the zombies and the humans. Also, the film has a really relentless pace, as the dead is awoken about five minutes in and they never stop from then. A really fast pace to this also means that you are rarely bored with this film, as something is always happening.
The Bad News: Okay, yes, Michael is played by an older man than what his character is, and it’s quite famous for that. This is one of the movie’s claims to fame about having a clearly adult-aged character playing a young child. Also, this movie destroys some zombie laws in a couple areas. By having them grab utensils such as pitch-forks and saws and actually using them in certain scenes is something that may upset true zombie fans. Also, there is a scene where zombies use a log as a battering ram, which is pretty off character for them. This is the main complaints about this movie. Also, there is a couple scenes that are clearly homages to other movies of the time, and they are spotted pretty easily, but they don’t distract too much.
The Final Verdict: This is one of the better Italian zombie films out there, and is essential viewing for all into the genre. It’s cheesiness may have some detractors, and it does have some of the weirdest scenes in the genre, but it is thoroughly entertaining and full of surprises,
Rated UR/NC-17: Extreme Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, incestuous scenes and several brief sex scenes