MovieChat Forums > Zombie '90: Extreme Pestilence Discussion > Don't be afraid to share your experience

Don't be afraid to share your experience

posted 19 years ago by MarioGirotti
13 replies | jump to latest

Hi,

I'd like to talk with someone about my "experience" (although the word seems too weak to describe it) with "Zombie 90", but I'm not sure where I should start... There are so many things to say about it ; the important thing, though, is simply to talk about it - if only in order to make sure that it was not just a nightmare. Yes, somebody did shoot this thing - and many of us actually watched it, even several times in some cases. I remember that the first time I ever heard about it was in a book which said that it was probably one of the worst movies of all times (I must say, however, that I have watched since then an even worse movie, the ineffable "Mondo cannibale", by Jess Franco) ; this was enough to make me look for one copy of it, and, when I eventually found one (a VHS copy of the american dubbed version, with dutch subtitles, which for some reason was damaged, and so during the first 1h20 of the movie everything that was supposed to be red - the blood, for instance - looked green in fact), I swore that I would never buy a zombie movie again. But I couldn't help watching "Zombie 90" again and again, trying to understand what, if anything, was beyond the surrealistic, improvised dubbing, the unimaginably poor special effects, the infamous lighting or the impossible editing job. Why was it so fascinating, despite its unbelievable mediocrity? I haven't figured it out yet, and I hope that sharing this experience with other people will help me to forget "Zombie 90".

[–] Hirnklops 19 years ago

Well, there's something about this movie. I'm spending a lot of time watching these amateur movies, and I really must say, I like it. You always have to consider when this thing was made: During a time where even a simple camcorder cost a lot of money, and there was no way of editing your movie with a pc. Technical possibilities were way behind what you can do today...

When I heard of the bad dubbing, I got me a copy of the english version, and... Well, now this REALLY sucks. Believe me, the orgininal german dialogue is terrible, but what they made out of it in translation is even worse. Now there's a big "zero"...

I think what makes this film entertaining is the trash factor. Crappy acting, crappy music, crappy effects, but a certain atmosphere und a lot of gore. Trash, baby!

[–] MarioGirotti 19 years ago

Well, you've certainly got a point when you talk about the conditions under which this movie was shot. I thought as well, in the first place, that if "Zombie 90" seemed so repellently ugly and infinitely unconvincing, it was because of its "amateur" quality ; but then I happened to watch some of Andreas Schnaas' more "sophisticated" films, such as "Anthropophagous 2000" or "Nikos the Impaler" (I didn't want to judge him before seeing more of his work), and I began to think that he wasn't actually a very good director, to put it mildly, for even with a much higher budget he had been unable to make an even bearable movie. But this made me understand one of the reasons why "Zombie 90" was so fascinating (and here's where I completely agree with you) : the cheaper a movie looks, the more real it seems. In fact, watching "Zombie 90" was like watching some sort of improbable, depressing documentary - everything was so bad that it couldn't possibly be a fiction work. The total lack of "professional conscience" it displayed as a work of fiction made one think that in fact it was something completely different, something undescribable. See the way, for example, the actors didn't even try to look as if they were actors, you would say their insolence - take the guy in the car who first asks his girlfriend to "let [him] have it", and then leaves the car to "take a dump" in the foggy woods : although I only saw the dubbed version, it was clear that the guy didn't stop for one second to laugh - even HE didn't believe in what he was doing.
As the character says (in the dubbed version) : "there's something about the woods that just makes you... wanna *beep* outside". Well, there's also something about this movie, as you say ; however crappy every single aspect of it may be, there's something about it that just makes you watch it over and over. Like you, I spend a great amount of time watching bad movies, but to this day I have never seen such a fascinating specimen as "Zombie 90". Its absolute badness hinders you from forgetting it. That's about all I can say about it... and I still haven't understood what is this "quelque chose" about "Zombie 90 : Extreme Pestilence"...

[–] alistairdavidson2000 19 years ago

Don't forget though, these camcorder shot gore films are made on a budget of virtually zero. Low budget films like "Evil Dead" and "Night of the Living Dead" look like "Ben Hur" next to these production values.

The actors are crew members / friends of the production, i.e. NOT actors, there's no money for props, costumes, sets, lighting, decent camera equipment & accessories (e.g. Steadicam), proper editing facilities, professional FX people, pretty much anything. This has a knock on effect on the script because they are severely limited in what they can do with their resources and actors
capabilities. The silly dubbing doesn't help any, but I doubt Schnaas intended it that way.

It's patently a lousy film if compared to any professional movie, but so what ?

It's a fun film with a good atmosphere and music, and plenty of gore. Okay a lot of the gore is fairly amateurish, but even the most talented FX professionals need help from the lighting and editing departments to create their illusions. At the end of the day rubber looks rubbery if seen in normal light.

Just imagine for a moment trying to make a similar movie with the limitations Schnaas has. Just putting ANYTHING together is difficult, and while I wouldn't say Schnaas is the worlds greatest talent, you have to admire his tenacity & determination because making these films must be a very frustrating slog.

I've watched it loads of times (along with his other films), and I'm glad they're part of my collection.

[–] earthcaughtfire 18 years ago

I was on a mission to find the most obscure gore-fest/low-budget/cheesy/funny/train wreck of a movie when i stumbled across a review for this film. It had screen caps and it looked as though it was filmed with a camcorder. So i bit the bullet and bought the German Astro release. I sat in total silence and disbelief at what unfolded before my eyes (jaw dropped, eyes bulging). The first time I saw this movie I felt like I was witnessing some rare and awesome event; i think i had the same feeling that Neil Armstrong had when he saw the Earth from the surface of the Moon, it had me completely mesmerized. I still don't know what to make of it. good/bad/genius/garbage...i just don't know. Schnaas has an enthusiasm that shines through every minute of the movie that's for sure. Its like having the time of your life watching a kindergarden production of romeo and juliet when you could be watching a broadway production of The Merchant of Venice.

[–] lingo4 18 years ago

Is this available on DVD yet?

[–] thrashmaniac87 18 years ago

It comes as a bonus on the Zombie Doom DVD.

[–] thrashmaniac87 18 years ago

It's going to be re-released soon along with the Violent *beep* movies and an unedited Zombie Doom.

[–] Ibble 18 years ago

I like to consider myself connaisseur (or is that Conna-Sewer?) of obscure/violent/splatter/gore/trash but I must admit I've never heard of this film until about a year ago when I was kickin' around Rustedrare.com, they have a buy 4 get 1 free deal, and I figured f__k it and bought 10 flicks, some of 'em good (Hardware, Intruder, The Dead Pit), some of 'em bad (Body Count, Salo), and some of 'em ugly (Video Wasteland Compilation, Zombie '90: Extreme Pestilence!), and boy is Zombie '90 ugly. I've had it for a year, unwatched (I tried to watch it with this girl while we were babysitting her brothers, 3 minutes in, "Pu' on sumptin fumny", so I didn't watch it), until this past Wednesday, I watched it by myself, no interuptions, and from the the moment that Doctor opens his mouth, with his Inner-City-Afro-American accent I was in stitches, I laughed at the cheesy effects, the bad dubbing (the other doctors gay voice, and men dubbing the women), and the cheesy dialogue! I was glued to the tube until the dream sequence at the end, when I started to get fidgitty(which was only boring 'cause of the lack of dialogue). I can't wait to watch it again, this is gonna be one of those joints that I show to everyone I know! The Plan 9 of our generation! A Classic!

"WHO'S THE BADDER MOTHERF__KER? TOSHIRO MIFUNE OR LEE MARVIN? THE ANSWER; WAR IS HELL." DKF

[–] ultra_tippergore 18 years ago

i think this movie sucks. Dont get me wrong, i love ultra-gore, but this one is just awful.
Violent *beep* 3 is great. Violent *beep* 2 is good, also Nikos is very enjoyable. But Zombie 90 is a waste of time..

[–] Wicked_Buddah 17 years ago

I laughed just reading this. I'm from Holland, bought the tape, had it ripped to dvd (not to damage the tape) and watched a bit of it on my portable dvdplayer in bed. Everything was green. The skins of the actors, the blood, everything. Although it was funny, I decided to go to sleep and watch the dvd in a different dvdplayer today. Now, before watching it again, I read your post and it basically says I have a bad copy of the movie, where just EVERYTHING IS GREEN. *beep* But funny.

[–] andell-2 16 years ago

i felt robed because this movie really is beyond bizarre in its poorness, so i traded it for another movie.
But now i feel a strange urge to get it again and re-watch it.

geeks with attitude!

[–] okiecrabjp 13 years ago

This is in reply to all these. Wow. This movie... seriously, this English dub is REAL? THIS is the REAL ENGLISH DUB? Oh. My. God.

I LOVED it and I just shared this "experience" with like 8 people we all cackled uproariously. But good GOD!

[–] Bosdog6777 (817) 5 years ago

I was watching some Horror movie on Youtube when i fell asleep and the auto play was on and when i awoke several hours later in the middle of the night this movie was on and in my half awake state it was like pure evil. Really was like i was having a nightmare