REVENGE OF THE DEAD (1983)
aka Zeder
Article 3804 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-3-2012
Posting Date: 1-13-2012
Directed by Pupi Avati
Featuring Gabriele Lavia, Anne Canovas, Paola Tanziani
Country: Italy
What it is: Zombie mystery

A writer recreates a couple of letters from the ribbon on a typewriter he has recently acquired, and he discovers a secret about a mysterious K-Zone, an area of land from which dead bodies can be reanimated. But there’s a cover-up underway, and those who try to help him end up dead. Can he uncover the secret before he, too, must die?

Some of the comments I read about this from my sources indicate it’s dull and uninteresting, and I can see how some might feel that way, especially since much of the promotional material surrounding it seems to imply that we’re dealing with an Italian zombie flick here. Yes, it is Italian, and yes, there are zombies, but we’re dealing with a much different type of zombie than the flesh-eating variety that became the norm for that type of monster, and those expecting the usual zombie antics will be very unhappy with this one. I myself was rather taken with the mystery/conspiracy approach here, even if the mystery and conspiracy are hardly surprises; after all, the movie pretty much lets you know what’s going on behind the scenes. My enjoyment stems more from watching the main character piece the puzzle together and follow the trail. Granted, there are some real flaws here; some of the pieces of the puzzle just fall into his lap, and I’ve never quite figured out why it is in movies like this why the conspirators spend more time killing off the side characters rather than the hero himself, but I suppose they wouldn’t have much of a movie if they did that. At any rate, I rather liked this one, even if I emerge from it not quite satisfied.