Horror Movie Review: Zombie Island Massacre (1984)

Zombie Island Massacre is a special kind of bad, in that you can see the good in it, but it’s so poorly put together that it’s impossible to focus on them. Directed by John N. Carter, his sole directing job, Zombie Island Massacre has a name that screams ‘over the top’ trash, but fails to live up to that promise.

Sure, it takes place on an island and if we’re talking body count, then there is technically a massacre, but do you know what the film lacks? Zombies, of course! In fact, there is one (traditional voodoo style) and it is in the film for a few minutes. So, what is Zombie Island Massacre if not a zombie film? It’s a slasher. A 1980’s slasher that uses voodoo elements. How inspiring.

The film stars David Broadnax, Rita Jenrette, Tom Cantrell, Diane Clayre Holub, and Ian McMillian as a group of tourists on holiday in the Caribbean. They are taken on an excursion to the nearby island of St Marie where they get to witness a voodoo ritual first hand. The bus journey to and from the dock is where we really get to know the characters (forgettable) and see the calibre of acting (average). It should also be where we begin to feel the tension rise as things go wrong, except things are so drawn out that the only thing anyone will feel is boredom.

Someone, or something, is picking off the tourists and if they have any hope of surviving the massacre, they will have to work together. Except nobody can be trusted…

I’ve tried to make it sound a little bit interesting, but the truth of the matter is that Zombie Island Massacre isn’t interesting in the slightest. Sure, there’s a bit of a mystery around the killer and why they are picking off these poor, innocent tourists, but it’s not told in a compelling way. Likewise, the locations are nice to look at and there’s a real Caribbean feel to things, but it’s not enough to keep you watching.

For me, it is a failure of a film because it is so dull, but as I wrote at the start of the review, the good is there. The film looks nice and is well lit, considering a lot of it takes place at night. The slasher side of things is solid and there is some good visual effects as far as blood goes. Yet none of this matters in the end as a total lack of charm hurts it more than anything else.

I, like many, will have gone into this hoping for a low-budget gorefest in the style of a Fulci, but that is not what we get. Some may find it a little bit endearing, some may find it more compelling, some may enjoy the tropes, but it did very little for me in the end.