MovieChat Forums > Zombi 2 (1980) Discussion > Does anyone remember seeing Zombie in th...

Does anyone remember seeing Zombie in the theater or the drive-in?

posted 11 years ago by bigrudedude87
23 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone remember seeing Zombie in the theater or the drive-in
back in 1980 when it was released in America from Jerry Gross?

My dad tells me stories about how he saw this at the drive-in
when it first came out and he took my sister when she was about
4 or 5 I believe and this film still freaks her out.

I love this film and it's one of the few favorite zombie
horror films of mine next to the Romero zombie trilogy.
I wish I was able to experience this back then on the
big screen but glad to own it on dvd and blu ray.
When I first saw this when I was about 10 on vhs back in
the day it scared the *beep* outta me.

Anyway if anyone remembers seeing this in theater
in the same age group as my dad or was a kid at that
time, tell me your experiences.

Thanks

[–] stevenw-1 11 years ago

I got to see this at the theatre in October of 1981 when it was re-released on a triple bill with "Blood Beach" and "The Boogey Man". Fun times. We went to the first matinee on Saturday. I recall ZOMBIE looking very slick and vacation/postcard like which contrasted with the horrible, gruesome effects which were so stunning that some teens bolted from the theater when the cop is killed on the boat. I had never seen effects like that before but I was glued to the screen. I remember the film taking forever to getting to the action but when it was over we wanted to see it again but couldn't since we'd have to sit through two other movies all over again just to get back to Zombie. "Blood Beach" was a disappointment and that was the film we wanted to see the most. "The Boogey Man" was so offbeat and freaky that it was really memorable. "Zombie" was the kicker, though - a true gem. However, we rented the Wizard video tape a few years later and were so let down by the horrible quality of the tape. We did get to see "ZOMBIE" one more time in 1983 as the co-feature to the just-released "Gates of Hell" (now called "City of the Living Dead"). By then the film was scratched, faded and the soundtrack jumped at reel changes. Still a good movie, though but "Gates" also looked great. It looked really glossy and I remember teens leaving the film and hearing someone humming that zombie tune from the soundtrack.
Good times!

[–] bigrudedude87 11 years ago

That is awesome man. Would of been cool to be born around
that time when you had a bunch of good horror flicks
coming out in theaters especially the Italian ones that
were release frequently in America on the big screens
everywhere. It's a shame that the Italian film
industry has suffered bad. You barley get anything
nowadays from over there like Argento's recent stuff
and some real bad zombie flicks like Eaters.
Either they get release to theaters but only
in the bigger cities and other States and not
your local movie theater or they just go direct
to dvd. It's a shame.

[–] monty-britton 11 years ago

I was fortunate enough to see the X-rated versions of Zombie and Gates of Hell (City of the Living Dead) at the drive in back in 1980 in a little town south of Dallas. Thankfully it was a single screen, because it would have freaked out the other patrons from other screens watching these great gore filled classics.
It was nice to see these on a big screen on a summer night in Texas.

[–] filmfan2 10 years ago

Didn't actually see the movie,but i did see the trailer at the Skyway drive-in in Las Vegas,Nevada. I was 9. BTW,it was not released with an X rating. It went out unrated with a warning about the violence. When it opened,it was paired with a Chinese horror flick called "Black Magic" that was also unrated.

Betty-"Oh,Ralph?"
Ralph-"Yes?"
Betty-"SHOVE IT!"
Ralph-"Oh,you shove it too,Betty!"

[–] mattmc687 8 years ago

Thank you filmfan2! I saw both these movies when I was 9 at the drive-in as well, but here in Michigan. I was at a horse riding "ranch" and the owners' kids took us to see the same double feature. While I have met others that have seen Zombie, this is the first time that somebody knew what the other movie was.

[–] GroovyDoom 10 years ago

My parents took me to see "Silent Scream" at the drive-in, and on the way in we got an 8 1/2 x 11 flyer for next week's presentation, which was "Zombie". I wasn't able to convince them to take me to see that, sadly. I still have the flyer, though, after all these years!

groovydoom.blogspot.com

[–] vanity6fan 10 years ago

I had the fine pleasure of seeing Zombie ata local drive-in that is long gone. It was a triple feature Zombie, The Boogeyman, and Blood Beach. I think the men at the drive-in started to whoop it up and yell when they showed the nude woman in the shower. Hilarious memories. I'm glad I have an original Zombie movie poster. I wish I could relivesome of my drive-in memories of my youth.

[–] chas77 10 years ago

I saw the trailer for this when I was 13 -- I was seeing an R-rated movie with my dad at a (now defunct, 2nd run) theater in Culver City and the trailer was for "restricted audiences only" -- a total first for me. It SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME. I remember being totally freaked out. My dad said, "guess what movie we are NOT going to see..."

Years later I saw it playing with a couple other horror films. I now own the US and UK blu rays. It is hard for me to fathom why this was that scary a film back then...

[–] brn_hackett 9 years ago

I saw this in 1980 on 42 nd street in New York believe it or not.
The theatre smelled of cat piss and had torn up seats. It was awesome.
That was the glorious time. It's too bad they turned that area in New York into
disneyland. These italian grindhouse classics were meant to be seen that way!

Too bad now most theatres are stadium seating *beep* catering to low class rude *beep* who can't go 2 hrs without looking at their *beep* cellphones.
Ill take a cat piss smelling theatre over AMC anyday!

VIVA FULCI!

[–] LobotomyKid 7 years ago

That's the spirit!

VIVA FULCI!

[–] brn_hackett 9 years ago