Zombie

Italian goremeister Lucio Fulci's most famous film—released in 1979 to cash in on the popularity of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead—revolves around a silly story of tropical-island experiments gone wrong, opening with an abandoned boat drifting into a New York harbor with bloodthirsty undead aboard. The vessel belonged to Dr. David Menard (Richard Johnson), whose daughter, Anne (Tisa Farrow, Mia's sister), attempts to find out what happened to her dad, traveling with investigative reporter Peter West (Ian McCulloch) back to where he was last seen—the Caribbean isle of Matool. Here, Menard is busy battling a disease that is turning all of the inhabitants—dead or alive—into flesh-eaters. A pretty sloppy movie with nothing to show beyond pure exploitation, Zombie's fame rests on a few gruesome sequences, including an underwater battle between a zombie and a shark and possibly the most famous eye-gouging scene in horror history (the film was originally rated X during its U.S. release for its sadistic violence and gratuitous nudity). This new Blue Underground edition features audio commentary, cast and crew interviews, and archival promo material. An optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)