Toxic Zombies (1981) - Charles McCrann

A bunch of EVIL marijuana growers gets sprayed with a secret government pesticide - the result is Toxic Zombies! Raving hippie zombies continue to wreak havoc in a mostly empty forest. This thing feels a lot like Don't Go in the Woods, but with zombies instead of a nutty hobo. It is equally bad, but where the other flick at least was pretty entertaining, this thing is just dull. The director actually tried to put in some political commentary in this, but it's as badly pulled off as the rest of the film and falls flat on its face. Has a few laughable moments, but isn't really worth a look. That cover is awesome though...

Don't Go Near the Park (1981) - Lawrence D. Foldes

I read somewhere that this flick was "mindblowingly bad", that is simply not true. This is as good as it gets when it comes to cannibal vampire-cavemen flicks! Seriously, it's really not that bad. You got to be some sort of weirdo if you don't enjoy a flick that has youngsters getting eaten, cavemen, zombies, magical amulets and dirty rape-hippies. Radical.

Dead and Buried (1981) - Gary Sherman

Townsfolk have become mad photographers, murdering people entering their town while taking snapshots of them. "Dead and Buried" is an odd little film, with great special effects. One of the weirder films on the DPP list, but also one of the best. A classic!

The Evil Dead (1981) - Sam Raimi

Probably a cliche, but this film was a major turning point when it came to shaping my taste in films. After stumbling upon this I started tracking down more flicks off the beaten path. While "The Evil Dead" has become easily available everywhere lately and Sam Raimi makes big blockbusters these days, this was an eyeopener for me at the time. Hail to the king, baby!

The House by the Cemetery (1981) - Lucio Fulci

Another Fulci classic on the DPP list. Seen this too many times already, so I haven't really seen it again for the Video Nasty theme. Mainly posting this for the awesome Japanese cover.

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974) - Jorge Grau

A pretty decent zombie flick featuring Ray Lovelock. Parts of the film was shot in England, parts in Italy, but was produced by Spaniards if I remember correctly. The plot is revolving around pesticides gone bad and the living dead, somewhat in the same vein as "The Grapes of Death" by Rollin. I thoroughly enjoy this film.

Hell of the Living Dead (1980) - Bruno Mattei

An utterly shitty entry into the video nasty list and the zombie genre by the master Bruno Mattei. Pretty uneventful all in all, but has a zombie kid, spliced in mondo/cannibal footage, inserted jungle footage clearly shot on different stock etc. I spent ages trying to track down the soundtrack from the opening scene in this to no avail. It mostly borrows Goblin's soundtrack for "Dawn of the Dead", but the opening track is something else. I heard rumours that it was originally from the Fernando Di Leo poliziotteschi "Blood and Diamonds" from 1977, but I haven't gotten around to seeing that yet... "Hell of the Living Dead" is enjoyable, but atrocious.

Zombi 2 (1979) - Lucio Fulci

If someone had just seen "Dawn of the Dead" and wanted me to recommend them another zombie film I'd always say "Zombi 2". It's not as chaotic/unpolished/feverish as "The Beyond", and cuts straight to the chase. Zombies and violence that's why you're here right? The shark scene still blows me away after having seen this film more times that what probably is healthy. There's supposedly a bluray out of this, which I definitely need to check out.

The Beyond (1981) - Lucio Fulci

This one doesn't need much of an introduction I reckon. Perhaps my favorite Fulci flick and also one of my favorite zombie flicks in general. Great atmosphere, great soundtrack, great ending. It lacks the straight-forward narrative of "Zombi 2" and is instead more convoluted than a giallo. If you haven't seen this, you need to get your priorities straight.