Edward Mannix Week: Zombie Holocaust

Welcome back to the week. Yeah last week was crazier than rats trapped in an outhouse after four alarm chili but I am still in the process of a move. This week we focus on Edward Mannix. "Who in the nine hells is that?" you ask. First off, very specific swear there, gentle readers. Secondly, I am not referencing Mike Connors' Mannix. All my fifty plus readers may have just laughed. For you younglings, eh what some Nick at Nite if that is still a thing or Netflix it. I speak of the unsung voice actor of no less than 106 film projects ranging from Umberto Lenzi's cannibal films such as: Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox, Eaten Alive to popular Anime English dubbing for Ninja Scroll, Castle in the Sky, Macross Plus and Artimage III.

I'm pompous, white and well-armed.

Oh FYI, for those of you that think that is the Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive, that came out in 1976. Umberto Lenzi's Eaten Alive came out in 1980 and involves cannibals and animal mutilations on film. Important to know the difference for viewing pleasure. Today's voice over dubbing hails from Italy so next to no censoring and I probably won't find a trailer without some boobage but I am game to check. A mad scientist operating out a small island in the Moluccas or East Indies is doing experimentation on corpses.. Oh no. This is Zombie Holocaust a.k.a. Island of the Last Zombies, Zombie Inferno, Zombie Death Cult, Zombie Cannibal Ferox, Doctor Butcher and Dr. Butcher, M.D.

Danny Devito sheds a few pounds.

Yup, fell for another zombie flick under an alternative title. Oh well. The Zombie Cannibal Ferox title makes no sense as that isn't even directed by exploitation director Umberto Lenzi but on with the review. No huge drama just right into the title cards and some eerie ass synthesizer music courtesy of composer Walter E. Sear (US version of The Beyond, Prime Evil, Blood Sisters and Lurkers) and a pair of feet moving around a morgue as a little late night organ harvesting is underway. Guess daylight corpse violation is still out in this little island.

Dr. Chandler (Ian McCulloch of Zombi 2, Survivors, Contamination, The Ghoul, The Nearly Man, High Road and Diamonds) is not your typical M.D.and if he was, malpractice suits would be in the billions. I'm teasing, he is actually part of an expedition alongside Susan Kelly (Sherry Buchanan of Emauelle and Joanna, Tentacles, The Heroin Busters, Escape from Galaxy 3, Seagull Island, The Secret of Seagull Island andCrawlspace), Lori Ridgeway (Model and Eurohorror scream queen Alexandra Delli Colli of Catherine & Co., Marche pas sur mes lacets, Zombie Holocaust, The New York Ripper, Onl'apple Catastrophe and Fratelli d'Italia) and bunch of othe guys I don't care about. Their quest to find a lost cannibal tribe that worship Kito, the cannibal god. So now we have a hybrid of Ursula Andrews' The Mountain of the Cannibal God and Zombi 2??

Ah, the uncommon bacon wrapped zombie.

Unbeknownst to our plucky explorers they happened upon the same island where on Dr. Obero a.k.a Dr. Butcher (Donald O'Brien of The Train, Grand Prix, Run, Man,Run, 2020 Texas Gladiators, Ghosthouse and The Devil's Daughter) a radical scientist is performing his experiments on the dead. Worry not gentle readers as he has been re-dubbed by the basso tones of the one and only Edward Mannix. So what we really have an exorbitant amount of half naked, mud crusted Filipino young men ripping around getting "finger foods" and zombies shuffling about in the jungle waiting for flesh as well. Some decent gore effects and even the cannibals are wary of zombies roaming about.

Will the expedition make it out? Will they be zombie snacks or cannibal stew?

The film wasn't released uncut until 2000 due to almost following under the UK's Video Nasty Obscene Publications rule. Most of the sets where our opus was filmed was oddly enough the same sets as Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2. A further bit of trivia, Edward Mannix voiced for Fulci's Zombi 2 as well but that time around only titled character "Boat Cop". There is a lot of complaints about the gore and mostly the nudity and I agree. I was not prepared to see that many naked Filipino men! Or and Alexandra Delli Colli gets stripped down, painted in flower child patterns rather than some ceremonial hunter/gatherer paints and was quite perky. SO YES, DON'T let the kids see this particular zombie movie. You stick to your zany I, Zombie viewings!

Mmm, Grog tastes good.