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FLESHEATER Starring Bill Hinzman, John Mowod, Leslie Ann Wick and Vince Survinski
The legacy of George A. Romero is a very rich one. Creating cult classics like Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, Romero had inspired directors all over the world to make movies. Among those followers were people close to the original production of Night of the Living Dead, including Bill Hinzman. Hinzman was a fellow Pittsburgh resident who worked on the crew and acted as a zombie in Romero's production. He was best known for portraying the "cemetery zombie," the first zombie that appears in Night of the Living Dead. 20 years later, Hinzman directed his own zombie film, reprising his role as the lead zombie in the film Flesheater, released on DVD by Media Blasters.
A group of friends go out into the woods to drink beer, fool around and party. A plaid-clad local farmer who lives nearby uncovers the grave of an occultist, inadvertently reviving the corpse (Hinzman) as a result of a black magic curse. The corpse kills the farmer, and then one of the partiers. Each of the corpses killed by the zombie rise from the dead, hungry for human flesh. The zombies then crash a Halloween party, killing the guests and creating more zombies. Before the film's final reel, the zombies invade a local suburb.....
Flesheater was released to video in a time of great turbulence in the video industry under the title Revenge of the Living Zombies. Censorship was becoming a concern amongst fans as several titles such as Dario Argento's Opera, Phenomena and many other horror films were being cut to receive R-ratings. Flesheater made it to video without such cuts, as the Magnum Video label, which released horror classics like Peter Jackson's Bad Taste, The Hills Have Eyes and a re-release of Lucio Fulci's Zombie, had their own video rating system.
Hinzman's film had been criticized by reviewers and fans alike as a color reproduction of Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The storyline, characters and even the ending are very similar. However, it must be noted that the level of gore contained in the film is far higher than that of Night of the Living Dead, making it a fan favorite amongst gore film enthusiasts. Fortunately for the fans, Media Blasters has released this film uncut, although the packaging boasts an R-rating.
Flesheater is presented 1.85:1 in anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is great considering that this film was shot on a small budget. The colors are bright and the image is very clear. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is clear and audible. The resources used by Media Blasters were maximized for excellent sound quality.
Extras on this release include the original trailer, a photo gallery set to the soundtrack of the film and a local Pittsburgh pizzeria commercial featuring Director Hinzman as a zombie. The most notable extra feature is Back Into The Woods, a retrospective featurette. Hinzman and various crew members discuss the making of the film along with explanations of the special makeup effects. Hinzman also defends his position on making a film in which many people find to be too similar to Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The featurette contains a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot for the cover art for Flesheater. Another rare and unusual film released by Media Blasters can be added to the growing list of genre releases that had been unavailable for several years. As time goes on and more rare classics are released, the modern movie collector can only wonder what eagerly-awaited cult classic will be released next..... |
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