Being the huge fan of European cult cinema that I am there has always been a place in my heart for what I refer to as "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of cult cinema. Hell of the Living Dead falls into the bad category, the so bad it's good category. Everyone involved in this production should be ashamed of themselves, because there is not one original idea in here, not one. I'm getting ahead of myself, so I'll stop here and start from the beginning.

The story is basically a mixture of elements from many other popular cult movies of the time. The dead are coming back to life, most certainly caused by a chemical leak of some sort. A team of soldiers is sent to New Guinea to investigate, and encounter tourists in danger (some are zombies), natives to the island (some are zombies), and a mixture of some other folks, and you guessed it, some happen to be zombies. Hell of the Living Dead is all over the cult cinema spectrum, it doesn't know if it's a zombie movie, a cannibal movie or what. There are instances where a combination of these themes can be successful (Dr. Butcher MD anyone), but in this case, it's just plain silly. I think we all know that silly can be just as fun though.

Hell of the Living Dead borrows heavily from Romero's Dawn of the Dead AKA Zombie. Well, no, not really, I'm wrong it doesn't borrow it blatantly steals. From the identical Goblin score, to the zombie themes, to certain scenes that were stolen frame by frame. Even the swat team on patrol here looks oddly familiar and dialogue and monologues will give you a definite Déjà vu!

When it's all said and done, despite all its faults, Hell of the Living Dead is good fun, and a guilty pleasure of the highest degree. The acting is deplorable, with dubbing that is simply laughable. Wait until you are witness to our hero's wit with such lines as "These Mutha's have more lives than a cat!" when the zombie's just won't die. At one point one of the army guys refers to the zombies as "Those guys with shit all over their faces." Is he referring to their make-up? Yikes! Despite all of this madness, Hell of the living Dead is still good cheeseball fun. There is plenty of the red stuff shed, and this film has its fair share of "gut munching", disemboweling, eye gouging, exploding heads, and many more of your favorites! Isn't that ultimately why we're here anyway?

From start to finish this film is never boring and Anchor Bay has done this film too much justice. Throw away those bootlegs of the only uncut print available, as this is (I shudder to say it) the definitive edition of Hell of the Living Dead. The print used is in incredible shape with only minor print damage here and there, and colors are sharp and vibrant. There is hardly a hint of print damage and film grain is barley noticeable. You will notice grain in the stock footage inserts, and there are plenty of them. Oh yeah, you heard me correct stock footage inserts, enjoy! The mono sound is equally impressive with nice clear music and dialogue and no distortion whatsoever.

Extras include a theatrical trailer that is almost as confusing as the film itself (if that's even possible). A brief sill gallery, a Bruno Mattei Bio, and an 8 minute interview with Bruno called "Hell Rats of the Living Dead". In the brief 8 minute segment, Bruno is not shy about discussing his "influences", his relationships with his actors to this day, and the fact that he just doesn't like his own films very much, interesting.

The bottom line is this film ain't wining any awards. It holds a special place in my heart, as I'm sure it does for many others. Fans of the film rejoice. Fans of so bad it's good cult cinema, invite some friends over and turn down the lights, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.