FleshEater (1988)

As a straightforward rip-off of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, this isn't bad at all, a fast-paced, poorly-budgeted little number with plenty of outrageously good gore scenes to keep the blood flowing for horror freaks. This is both the brainchild and the ego-trip of Bill Hinzman, the familiar guy who famously played the cemetery ghoul in NIGHT (the "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" one). Hinzman directs, produces, has half his relations in the cast and stars as Flesheater, a guy who climbs outta his tomb and munches his way through an amateurish cast.Sounds boring? It isn't, because there is absolutely no exposition to get in the way; new characters are introduced throughout and die approximately two minutes later. Hinzman packs his film with many inventive gore effects that equal those in larger-scale productions; some 'highlights' include hands popping through chests, pitchfork impalings, head explosions, and all manner of sausagey, gored corpses lying around. Not content with gore alone, there's a prolonged shower scene, and somehow all the girls Hinzman attacks manage to lose their tops at some point.So, exploitation is the name of the game, and that's just about the only thing this film has going for it. Certainly the acting is mainly pathetic from an unknown cast, and Hinzman succeeds in good makeup effects alone for his part. In a nice touch, the guy who shot Ben in the original NIGHT returns for a similar action in the non-surprise ending. Elsewhere we get to see a barn burning down and a 'zombie hunt' totally copied from the original. A simplistic HALLOWEEN-style score works very well in making things tense and eerie, and a gruesome attack on a couple of kids in their home makes for very strong stuff indeed. But for the most part, this is cheesy and laughable, carried out in just the right B-movie style. Very enjoyable viewing indeed for zombie aficionados.

A group of teenagers head to the woods to spend a chilly Halloween night partying and having sex. One fool unearths a grave that somehow triggers the dead in the area to come back to life. This first zombie out of the casket is none other than the original graveyard ghoul from "Night of the Living Dead" played by Bill Hinzman. Hinzman is also the Producer, Director, Co-Writer (along with Bill Randolph) and Editor of this film. He quickly pulls the heart out of the fool who woke him and infects others in gory fashion. The kids eventually catch on as their Halloween Hayride goes south. They scramble from farm to farm with the zombies taking them easily. I want to start by saying how much I love Bill Hinzman and everyone involved with George A. Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead". With that said this movie is really awful. What might have been a fun low budget outing is sunk by lousy production values, non actors butchering poorly written lines, and bad scene after bad scene. Sure it's a kick seeing Hinzman reprise his role as the graveyard zombie and having this set on Halloween was a good idea. But the poor execution makes this seem like a video shot on a weekend with some friends. There is some cheesy gore but no scares or atmosphere to be found. Quite dismal to say the least.

This is an amazing film. The best zombie flick ever without a doubt in my view. Absolutely brilliant special effects which belie the apparently low budget of this film. The effects are really the outstanding aspect of this production. Also the creepy music contributes greatly to the atmosphere, along with slow moving zombies.Very traditional storyline with the usual script vehicles; isolated farmhouse, suspended teen logic, drunken party, nudity. Oh yes and plenty of gore and guts. Plenty of continuity clangers to keep the pernickety among us on our toes. Fun cast which is just right for this type of flick.Has a great 80's feel to it (love the big hair!!!). Cant' stop watching it. HIghly recommended to all hardcore zombie fans. This is a true 'cult' flick if ever I saw one.When is Flesheater 2 due out....?

This film was written, directed, and produced by S. William Hinzman, whose one claim to fame was his memorable role as the cemetery zombie in George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. This film might well have been titled The Further Adventures of George Romero's Cemetery Zombie, because that's essentially what it is -- except that it lacks even a trace of the talent that Romero brought to his masterpiece.Once Hinzman's zombie rises from his grave early in the movie, the film becomes a non-stop killing spree punctuated with numerous scenes of gratuitous nudity. Now I am far from being a prude, and I appreciate gratuitous nudity as much as the next guy. But this film went too far, in my opinion.Admittedly, some of the killings are interestingly executed (so to speak) and the gore effects are pretty good for a film this low budget. The acting is at times painfully amateurish, but according to the documentary that accompanies the Shriek Show DVD, the actors were paid only $25 a day. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for."The first and last part of the film are reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead -- victims trapped in a farmhouse surrounded by zombies; local yokels rounding up the zombies and shooting them. The middle scenes involving a family in their home preparing to go trick-or-treating and a Halloween party with a bunch of costumed drunken "teenagers" are somewhat more interesting and original.This film is the definitely least interesting of the three films on Shriek Show's Zombie Pack 2, the other two being Zombie Holocaust and Burial Ground. It is, however, watchable, and the gore effects should please hard-core zombie fans who know exactly what they're getting when they watch this kind of movie. I found the documentary in the Extras section to be more interesting than the movie itself, as it explains how many of the effects were done and includes numerous humorous anecdotes about the making of the movie.All in all, not a great movie but o.k. as part of a three-disc set.