Novel Review: EATEN ALIVE! ITALIAN CANNIBAL AND ZOMBIE MOVIES by Jay Slater

I love zombie films and it seems so does Jay Slater whose book Eaten Alive! Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies is for lovers of Italian cannibal and zombie films. Slater has put together one of the most comprehensive collection of articles on cannibal & zombie films that I’ve ever seen. Good, bad, horrible – it doesn’t matter Slater covers them all. The Italian film industry is a mixed bag because the industry always seemed to just latch on to whatever genre or fad was popular at any given time which is why the Italian cannibal and zombie genres came and went so fast.

Slater’s book touches on all the watermark films such as the Lucio Fulci zombie trilogy and “Cannibal Holocaust” and includes many co-productions such as George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” up to “Flesh for Frankenstein.” Slater organizes the book by year starting off with “War of the Zombies” (1964) and concluding with Michele Soavi’s “Dellamorte Dellamore” (1994). Although all the required viewing films are on hand it are the lesser known films that are truly worth taking a look at. Although I am very familiar with Italian zombie films many of the Italian cannibal films I’ve never seen (and thankfully for Slater’s review I won’t have to). Slater is very well versed in the genre giving each and every film not only a brief overview but adequate outlook on how they fit into the history of the genre. The Italian cannibal film was big during the ‘70s and ‘80s (which is apparent by all the entries in the genre) while their zombie films have time and time again popped up very varying degrees of popularity.

Also of interest to readers will be the interviews that Slater puts into the book of not only actors but crew members as well who recount both in loving detail (and sometimes disgust) at the filming of some of these films. Slater also brings in several guest writers to give their outlook on particular films such as Beatrice Ring, Donato Totaro, Benjamin Halligan, Kim Newman, Ramsey Campbell, to name a few. Slater has put together a very talented team that craft an otherwise unmatchable tome on the Italian film industry, at least in regards to cannibal and zombie films.

Be forewarned that this book is for die-hard fans of the genre (even though the occasional and curious fan are also welcomed) since it plays up to some of the genre’s most celebrated titles such as “The Beyond,” “Demons,” The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Zombie,” “City of the Living Dead,” Eaten Alive!” and “Voices from Beyond,” to name a few.