Archiving Gore: Who Owns Zombie Flesh Eaters?

Abstract

Released in the UK as Zombie Flesh Eaters, Lucio Fulci’s Italian film Zombi 2 (1979) has continued to interest critics, filmmakers and fans with its rich display of set-pieces and citable spectacles. Aside from the more notorious gory moments, the film is also known for its underwater sequence of a zombie and shark in combat and the iconic grand finale of zombies slowly making their way across the bridge to New York, shuffling to the beat of Fabio Frizzi’s rising and repeating synthesiser score. Zombie Flesh Eaters has endured a long and chequered history, which included joining the UK’s video nasty list in October 1983. Since the film’s inception, a number of ‘cut’ and ‘uncut’ versions have been issued, and recently the uncut version was reproduced on DVD and Blu-ray by Blue Underground in October 2011 (as Zombie) and by Arrow Films in December 2012 (as Zombie Flesh Eaters). The generous ‘extras’ on these fresh releases feature the film’s niche-cult status and the growing fan base at conventions and screenings, fuelled by a self-reflexive nostalgia for the film’s B-movie origins and ‘video nasty’ credentials. Today, the internet also functions as a lens to both capture and reinvigorate the original source; the film as historical artefact resonates from the multiple screens of new technology.