Hell of the Living Dead, Traipsing Nude Through the Apocalypse

After "Dawn of the Dead" and "Zombie" hit the screen, zombie apocalypse gore wasn't done. Today, the uber preachy and stiff "The Walking Dead" has killed the subgenre, but in 1980, it was just beginning. Margie Newton will have one of the most alluring zombie movie scenes ever, rivalling the zombie versus shark scene in the Lucio Fulci film. In the midst of a zombie infestation, the sultry actress will strip, apply some body paint that highlights her naughty part, and traipse through the jungle. Why not?! Today we look at 1980's "Hell of the Living Dead" (aka "Virus"), an Italy/Spain production directed by Bruno Mattei.

A disaster at a chemical plant in Papua New Guinea releases a chemical cloud. First, the employees are overcome and turn into flesh eating zombies...then all of New Guinea. In Spain, a military SWAT team puts down a hostage situation at the American Consulate. This team is sent to New Guinea to...well, I guess see what happened at the plant. Arriving in the jungle they meet up with reporterette Lia (Newton) and her irrelevant cameraman. The soldiers grunt a lot and Lia acts standoffish and prissy. They all encounter zombies immediately and when they first meet, it is at an overrun mission in which a horrifying scene takes place. Now they all head deep into the jungle where a tribe will be wiped out by the flesh eaters but not before Lia's nude frolicking.

Lia's nude frolicking does give the tribesmen reason to die with smiles on. From there, they continue, this time on the run from native zombie hordes. Vincent (Selan Karay) and Mike (Jose Gras) are two hunk soldiers who might have a chance at pre-marital sex with the grouchy Lia. Remarkably, the soldiers all stay alive through most of the film despite doing really stupid things. They love taunting zombies. As Lia yells at them and as Mike and Vincent grunt some more, the zombie hordes get bigger and hungrier. Yes, they'll reach the chemical plant for some unbelievably bloody gore.

Just what do the soldiers intend to do when they reach the overrun chemical plant? Will the frolicking Lia ever lighten up and have pre-marital sex with Vincent or Mike? The characters and themes of this film are rip-offs of Romero's, but if you're smart you will ignore tiresome messages this film puts forth. The gore will be extreme and quite elongated in its presentation, and you might find yourself cheering for the undead flesh eaters. For some extreme gore, playful nude traipsing, and grouch or stupid characters, enjoy "Hell of the Living Dead" and cheer for the end of mankind.