Following the success of Zombie-Flesh Eaters (aka. Zombi II) in 1979 and Joe D'Amatoe's Emmanuelle and the last cannibals in 1977 , producer Fabrizio De Angelis came up with the idea of cashing in on the subjects at the same time. By taking the basic plot of Zombi II and adding elements of cannibal films, Zombie Holocaust - a film about zombies and cannibals clashing on a south-east Asian island - was born.