Zombie: The Composer Cut(2023)(Review)

Hello everyone, I’m here tonight with a bit of an unorthodox review, but I just got back from an event that I’m too excited to discuss. I was just given the pleasure of seeing Lucio Fulci’s “Zombie” on an IMAX screen while legendary Italian composer Fabio Frizzi and his band performed his updated score live while the film played. It was a sight to behold.

I’ve covered Fulci’s ‘Zombie’ before in a review, so you can find that by searching our page or on our website, but this was my first time seeing it on the big screen – let alone on a fucking IMAX screen. The film looked beautiful as it played one of the updated high-resolution scans, and Fabio’s updated score complimented the film even better. For the proper context: there is no existing version of this film without the sound already inheritably attached. So what the composer did in this case was write a new score that plays over the old score – creating a simultaneous stereo experience.

This was only the 2nd night of his current US tour, which is why I needed to discuss this now instead of monday – if he’s coming near your city, you really should go see this show. His band was tight, the new score added some elevated emotions to classic scenes like the fan-favorite eye-gouging scene, or the zombie-shark fight, and even the beloved theme song. The fresh coat of paint on this movie helped elevate what is already a timeless film.
The added smashes of the drums, the crunchy tone of the bass, the duo synthesizer magic, and the dueling electric guitars all played beautifully and sounded magical together. I had to buy a copy on vinyl just to preserve the experience.

Oh, and the theater had a special drink called the ‘Dizzy Frizzi’ which was vodka, strawberry lemonade, and gingerale – topped off with a fucking gummy shark. That was a fucking awesome touch. 👌