Richard Raymond Movies

The muddled production history of this sloppy horror film was so convoluted that for years it was assumed that schlockmeister Bruno Mattei (Inferno dei Morti-Viventi) had completed the project after the failing health of principal director Lucio Fulci had forced the cult legend to abandon it. It was subsequently revealed that co-producer Claudio Fragasso, who had directed such abominations as Monster Dog and La Casa 5, was the man responsible for the resultant mess (albeit with Mattei's assistance on location in the Philippines). The story line and approach bear little resemblance to Fulci's much-admired 1979 cult favorite Zombi 2, revolving around scientists at a top-secret research facility working on a biological weapon called Death One, which mutates and kills the living and reanimates the dead. Naturally, there is a leak, and the rest of the film concerns the spreading infection, zombie attacks, and their effect on a trio of vacationing soldiers and a group of stereotypically daft young people in and around a contaminated hotel. Where Fulci's Zombi 2 had taken elements of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead (released in Italy in a re-edited Dario Argento version as Zombi) and introduced more traditional Haitian voodoo mythology to the plot line, this film attempts to play off not only its predecessors, but Day of the Dead, the jokey American remake Return of the Living Dead, and Romero's own 1972 bio-terror film The Crazies as well. Lowlights include a zombie baby ripping from its mother's womb Alien-style to tear off someone's face, a legless zombie attacking her ex-boyfriend in a swimming pool, and -- most groan-inducing of all -- a zombie DJ concluding the entire sorry affair by dedicating a record to "all the undead around the world." American exploitation director Deran Serafian leads a cast including Beatrice Ring, Luciano Pigozzi, and Massimo Vanni, while Franco Di Girolamo handled the gore effects. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This standard, Southern-fried action-thriller stars Michael Sopkiw as an embittered cop just released from prison after serving a lengthy term for killing the man who murdered his wife. Wishing for a peaceful, serene change of pace and a chance to catch up with his daughter, he moves to rural Georgia to live off the land. Alas, this pastoral existence is short-lived, thanks to a sleazy group of poachers who supply an even sleazier scientist with live animals for sadistic biological experiments. This minor effort from Lamberto Bava (son of legendary Italian horror maestro Mario Bava) represents a bit of a tangent from that director's earlier giallo thrillers or gore-drenched horror projects but sticks pretty closely to the basic revenge-driven, blood-and-guts action formula. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese combined the splashy atmosphere of the old studio musical with an unromanticized marriage story in his valentine to Hollywood and the Big Band era. On V-J Day 1945, newly minted civilian saxophonist Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro) meets USO singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) at a dance, but she rebuffs every advance that he makes. A day and a hotel lobby meeting later, Jimmy finally wins Francine over after she uses her pop instincts to save his too-jazzy audition at a nightclub. When she goes on tour with Frankie Harte (Georgie Auld) and his Orchestra, Jimmy tracks her down, taking a job with the orchestra to be with her. Together on stage, they make beautiful music; off stage they marry, but the struggle between two artists begins to take its toll. Unable to understand that Francine's needs and talents are just as important as his, and unwilling to compromise his music for security, Jimmy abandons Francine after their baby is born. Separately, the two succeed even more, as Francine becomes a music and movie star, while Jimmy has a top hit and opens a jazz club. When they are reunited several years later, the pair must decide if their relationship is worth another try. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide