Zombie Isle

Director - Robert Elkins (Flesh of the Living)
Starring - Kyle Billeter (Nightmare at Bunnyman Bridge), Dewey Collins (Urban Legends to Die For), and Apryl Crowell (Dracula's War)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Welcome to the jungle"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Its easy for a horror fan to go out to their local Wal-Mart and grab a zombie movie but that wasn't always the case.  Before the zombie craze brought on by the popular television show The Walking Dead, true zombie fans only had the classic zombie flicks from the late 70s. 80s. and early 90s with the occasional new release popping up here and there.  However, with the rise of TWD almost every zombie film tries to mimic what makes the show so enjoyable only to fail miserably.  However, not all new zombie films try to copy TWD.  The new film Zombie Isle took an approach to make a film reminiscent of the classic zombie films that horror fans know and love.  The film was an attempt to make a grindhouse style zombie film which is something I am very fond of.  I was sent the film to review and I was very happy when it showed up!

     The film follows a professor and a group of his students as they venture to an uninhabited island to run some experiments and conduct some research.  Before they go they are warned by the local sheriff but they do not heed his warning and head off anyway.  However, once they are there they encounter people with decaying skin and a insatiable appetite for human flesh.  They attack the group killing several members until only a few remain when they meet a scientist that lives on the island.  He is running experiments on humans which has turned them into the undead.  This scientist was once a member of the Nazi party and has been doing this for years.  Now, they have to try to work together to survive the horrors of Zombie Isle. 

     I have seen several grindhouse inspired horror films over the years but most fail to actually capture the true grindhouse experience.  The films may have had horrible film quality resulting in grainy images and poor audio but what made them so popular was the cheap acting, the violent acts that no studio would back, and bad story telling.  These films were always vulgar and cheap.  Zombie Isle was able to capture everything that made grindehouse and exploitation films so much fun.  The film was able to capture all those elements and give us a great throwback to the zombie films of the past.  The acting for this one is not the best I have seen but that only added to that grindhouse look and feel.  Some of the characters are over the top while others were just there to be sexy with no attempt at all at any serious acting.  The story for this one is fun when done as a throwback flick but it is one we have seen several times before.  The story reminded me of a Dir Wit attempt at making their own version of Hell of the Living Dead.  Though it is not the most original story ever told on film it is the most unique when done this way.  Finally, the film has tons of one screen kills and great special effects.  The kills are stock zombie kills and bites but they follow it up with some great gore and amazing special effects.  Overall, Zombie Isle is a zombie film for the true zombie fan.  It's a sexy throwback to an era when zombie films weren't for the weak.  Check it out immediately!