I remember seeing a trailer for a zombie movie when I was very young, so that puts the time frame somewhere between the late 70s and the early 80s (1982 max, I’d say).
What I saw was a couple goofing around on what looked like an otherwise deserted beach. Except not. Cut to one particularly decayed zombie shambling towards the couple. Back to the couple, still unaware of what’s approaching. Cut back to the zombie. That’s all I remember.
From what I can now guess I’d say it was an Italian movie. Think of Fulci or someone like that.
The… let’s say… esthetics fit my memories perfectly and the fact that it takes place on an island makes it likely to have a scene on a beach at some point. Still, I haven’t found the exact scene I was remembering. I guess I’ll have to watch the whole thing to make sure…
The other two movies look a bit too dark - the scene I’m thinking of was taking place during the day, and there was only one zombie.
I could be wrong … but there was a time when Zombie 2 was like my favorite movie, and I don’t recall a “carefree couple on the beach” scene.
Your description reminds me more of Burial Ground aka Nights of Terror from 1981. Does the second half of this trailer ring a bell? It doesn’t have the scene you’re describing but it might be elsewhere in the movie.
That’s not it but I see that the zombies in the trailer have the cruddy look that I’m looking for, which suggest that it may indeed well have been a European movie. American zombies had a more “polished” look, so to speak.
Oh, that scene was a bit too short to be certain but it’s a very likely candidate ! The movie looks terrible, though. I’m afraid to watch it, but for the wrong reasons.
ISTR a scene like that in Joe D’ Amato’s Le Notti erotiche dei morti viventi aka Erotic Nights of the Living Dead aka Nite of the Zombies. It’s not shown in this edited trailer, but you might remember the couple on the beach. Or at least George Eastman’s facial hair.
