TV reporter Dean Miller is waiting at an airport when an unmarked plane arrives. It turns out the plane has been exposed to radioactivity, transforming everyone on board into bloodthirsty zombies ready to take over the world. What follows is a fight for life and death for our friend Dean Miller.
Zombies that run, jump, use firearms, and suck blood aren’t something you see too often. Thankfully.
Like many directors in Italy, Umberto Lenzi had to take the jobs he was offered, even if he hated the scripts. That was the case here—Lenzi despised the script but tried to change as much as he could, going against the wishes of the producer. In Italian cinema, the producers hold the purse strings, and in this instance, they wanted a standard rip-off of Romero’s famous zombie films. However, Lenzi’s attempts to rework the already poor script only made things worse, especially by turning the zombies into a vampiric version of Rambo. To make matters worse, the film ends with one of the most tragically overused endings imaginable, a trope that’s been done thousands of times before. Without giving away too much, I can hardly think of a more frustrating ending than this.
Not everything about the film is a disaster; at times, it’s entertaining, and for those obsessed with gore, it might just satisfy your bloodlust. While the effects are far from good—mostly primitive, low-budget work—they’re undeniably bloody. Lenzi, known for pushing the limits with gore, particularly in Cannibal Ferox, doesn’t hold back here. Still, the film stumbles with bizarre inconsistencies, such as a scene where a head explodes only to appear intact moments later.
Despite the many scenes that fail to deliver, the story remains the film’s weakest point. Lenzi himself has claimed that the film is realistic, but that’s laughable. Logic was clearly left at home; zombies on a plane? I’m not buying it.
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