I EAT YOUR SKIN (1964)
(a.k.a. ZOMBIES/VOODOO BLOOD BATH)
Article #946 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-17-2003
Posting Date: 3-15-2004
Directed by Del Tenney
Featuring William Joyce, Heather Hewitt, Betty Hyatt Linton

A writer, his boss, and his boss’s wife land on a Caribbean island to get a story, and encounter a scientist and zombies.

When producer Jerry Gross decided he needed a companion movie for his gory thriller I DRINK YOUR BLOOD (it sounds like it should be about vampires, and it’s actually about rabid hippies), he dredged up this Del (HORROR OF PARTY BEACH) Tenney movie and slapped its new title on it (it sounds like it should be about cannibals, and it’s about crusty zombies). This title is more exploitable, but inaccurate; no flesh-eating goes on in this movie. It’s a tad livelier than it might have been, thanks to an energetic soundtrack, but it doesn’t really cover up the fact that the dialogue is awful, the plot is hackneyed, and the acting is at a fairly low level. Those looking for some of the gore of HORROR OF PARTY BEACH will be disappointed; except for an unexpected decapitation, it’s a pretty bloodless affair.

It’s a strange movie in some ways; it seems to be somewhat influenced by the James Bond movies, as the hero surrounds himself with beautiful women and recites passages from his books (they’re supposed to be adventure stories, but the adventures never seem to leave the bedroom). In fact, the opening leads you to believe this is a comedy, but the comedy element vanishes once they reach the island.

Incidentally, the writer’s boss’s wife is played by Betty Hyatt Linton. It’s her only screen role, and once she opens her mouth, you can hear why; she has one of those voices that is guaranteed to cause migraines.