Zombi series

The "Zombi" series is a series of Italian zombie horror movies. It has a confusing history of release, with entries of the series varying by different regions in the world. The British releases of the same movies are known as the "Zombie Flesh Eaters" series and the American releases, while not having a consistent name, could be known as simply the "Zombie" series.

The "Zombi" series started with George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead". The European release of that movie was re-edited and re-scored by Italian Dario Argento, and it was renamed to "Zombi". Because of its success, a zombie film by Lucio Fulci that was already in production was renamed to "Zombi 2" to appear as if it were a sequel. Since then, there has been more, albeit confusing, entries in the "Zombi" series.

eries by region

Official (Italian) Series

The Italian series starts with "Dawn of the Dead" and is followed by "Zombi II" and its officially released sequel
*"Zombi" (American Title: "Dawn of the Dead" (1978))
*"Zombi 2" (1979)
*"Zombi 3" (1988)

British Series

The British series is renamed from "Zombi" to "Zombie Flesh Eaters". While it follows the Italian series in proper order, it ignores "Dawn of the Dead" as the first entry, and instead starts with "Zombi 2," adding the unrelated film Oltre la Morte as a third installment
*"Zombie Flesh Eaters" (1979) (Italian Title: "Zombi 2")
*"Zombie Flesh Eaters 2" (1988) (Italian Title: "Zombi 3")
*"Zombie Flesh Eaters 3" (1988) (Italian Title: "Oltre la Morte")

German Series

The German series, like the Italian series, starts off with "Dawn of the Dead", but completely ignores Fulci's "Zombi 2" (which was released separately as "Woodoo"), and instead properly follows up with "Day of the Dead", but then follows after that with the Italian "Zombi 3".
*"Zombie" (1979) (American Title: "Dawn of the Dead")
*"Zombie 2: Das Letzte Kapitel" (1985) (American Title: "Day of the Dead")
*"Zombie III" (1988) (Italian Title: "Zombi 3")

American Series

The American series is the most confusing. Although it includes the original Italian series starting with "Zombi 2" in order, the titles did not directly follow each other. "Zombi II" was renamed "Zombie", but "Zombi 3" kept its appropriate title. Then, "Zombi 4" was released with the American title "Zombie 4: After Death". To further confusion, two films were release on home video with titles that would imply they were sequels, but they had nothing to do with the Italian series.
*"Zombie" aka "Night of the Zombies" (1979) (Italian Title: "Zombi 2")
*"Zombie 3" (1988)
*"" (1988) (Italian Title: "Oltre la Morte")
*"" (1987) (Italian Title: "Uccelli Assassini")

Even further confusion exists in the American series as in the late 1990s several unrelated titles were added to the series by T-Z Video (aka Edde Entertainment)TZ titles were as follows:

*"Zombie" (1979)
*"Zombie 2" (the same film as "Zombie")
*"" (original Spanish title: "La Orgía de los muertos") (starring Paul Naschy, directed by J.C. Merino)
*"" (original Spanish title "Christina, princesse de l'érotisme", directed by Jess Franco)
*"" (directed by Jess Franco)
*"" (which is itself a sequel to Joe D'Amato's "Athropophagus")

"Zombie Holocaust", also known as "Doctor Butcher, M.D." has also been released as "Zombie 3", and it stars Ian McCulloch, who appeared in "Zombi 2". Another film to bear the name "Zombie 3" is Andrea Bianchi's "Le Notti del terrore".