While the original Zombie (AKA Zombi 2) was a genuine thrill, its inevitable sequels can only be described as “lacking.” Camp value is the main thing the third, fourth, and fifth films in the series have to offer, but Zombie 4 comes the closest to matching the original’s quality.
That said, it’s certainly not a good film — the acting is lousy, the writing simplistic, the cast (including gay porn star Jeff Stryker) is just plain ugly, the zombies are covered from head to toe in ninja-like outfits that seem designed to cut the cost of makeup, and it’s directed by the guy who helmed the infamously awful Troll 2 — but at least it’s never dull. The pacing is brisk, and the running time is mercifully short — so much so that it doesn’t just end so much as it just stops.
The story takes place in an unspecified Third World (seemingly Caribbean) island that a voodoo priest (James Sampson) decides to curse when some white missionary-types fail to save his sick daughter’s life. Whatever. Does the reason for the zombies ever really matter? What you want to see is gore, and as cheesy as Zombie 4 is, it delivers plenty of blood and other, um, bodily secretions. It entertains as “good” bad films should, providing cheap thrills alongside unintentional laughs.
Lone black good guy Dan (Jim Gaines) ends up dying, but he gets to valiantly take as many zombies to the grave with him as possible as he utters those famous last words: “Get out of here…and I mean now!”