Plot: What’s it about?
After being stranded on a strange island, three men try to figure out where they are, but little do they know the evil that lurks on the same island. Even if they expected some kind of hostile inhabitants however, nothing could prepare them for what awaits, as the island is home to the vicious Karl the Butcher (Andreas Schnaas). The infamous and sadistic Karl is not alone however, as his father Karl Sr. (Marc Trinkhaus), the nefarious Dr. Senius, and a private militia of insane followers also call the island home. Karl wishes to have Dr. Senius create an army of the living dead, which will aid Karl in his quest for world domination. When the three stranded men run into Karl’s men, they try to resist and fight them off for a while, but soon end up prisoners in Karl’s world of pain & destruction. A chance to survive comes when they’re allowed to run, so the surviving men and a former follower of Karl’s take off. They soon discover that more than Karl’s soldiers are after them however, as zombies begin to crawl from beneath the soil. Can even weapons, cunning, and martial arts madness prove to be enough to let someone survive?
The third and final film in Andreas Schnaas’ gore soaked trilogy, Zombie Doom (a.k.a. Violent Shit III- Infantry of Doom) has been released by Shock-O-Rama, which should please splatter fans to no end. As with the other two installments in the Violent Shit series, this one contains little in terms of classical acting or traditional production values, but it does have tons of blood & guts, so all is forgiven once the end credits have passed. As with most splatter movies, we’re given samples of the red stuff throughout, but the gore is slathered on toward the close, with a buffet of blood dripping in every scene. And while the movie might not have much of a budget, it looks like all of the funds toward the carnage, as the gore is well crafted and effective. I mean, heads split in half, organs are torn out, a ninja is halfed, and ample other impressive and memorable scenes of bloodshed can be seen in Zombie Doom. Of course, Zombie Doom won’t win over anyone outside of gorehounds, but if you’re into splatter cinema, don’t miss out. I recommend Zombie Doom without hesitation and of course, hope to see the other Violent Shit movies on DVD soon.
Video: How does it look?
Zombie Doom is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. You can tell this film was made on a low budget with less than top of the line equipment, but given the conditions involved, I think fans will be pleased with the overall presentation found here. I’ve compared this with a VHS edition and an import DVD, with this new version topping the others in all respects. The print has minimal nicks and such, but does show some grain and softness, though that’s due to the production limitations. The colors, flesh tones, and contrast remain stable and well balanced, giving us a solid visual effort hampered only by inherent flaws of the source material.
Audio: How does it sound?
An English dub is present here and while it is passable on technical merits, the voice acting is downright awful. Then again, I’d be hard pressed to rattle off a good dub track, so I suppose we’ve come to expect the worst. The synch is hardly ever accurate, while the choice of voice talent is atrocious at times, to the point of disaster in some cases. But aside from the bad voice actors, the track is solid and sounds good, though not too remarkable. I do wish Shock-O-Rama could have included the original German track however, as the dub option is so cheese laden, it is a shame its our only choice on this disc.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There’s only one supplement found here, but it is a cool one, as Schnaas’ second feature film, Zombie ’90: Extreme Pestilence is included. While it is no classic, Zombie ’90 is a hilarious, lower than low budget splatter movie with Schnaas’ usual focus on buckets of gore. It makes an excellent supplement in this case, since fans of Zombie Doom should find Zombie ’90 worth a look, if just for the scenes of total carnage.
