City of the Living Dead (1980)

For the record, my favorite horror movie ever is MANIAC, as I've always had a soft spot for all slasher films. But when talking about a "straight" horror film (or about as straight as a Lucio Fulci film is going to get), this is probably the greatest example.

First of all, don't go into this looking for a detailed story. A priest hangs himself, zombies rise, and all sorts of bad things happen. That's about the extent of it.

Also, don't go in just looking for tons of blood and gore -- there are some memorable gore scenes here, but there's not as much as some people on here have suggested. This isn't Dead Alive or anything. I wouldn't say there's a "lot" of gore, but what is here is pretty shocking in the context of the plot...

Anyway, if you do decide to see this movie, just know that you're going to enter a world with the greatest atmosphere I've ever seen in a horror film. The scenery, the look of the film, the music, the sudden jarring transitions between scenes, the extreme close-ups, the death scenes, the completely downbeat tone to the whole thing -- it's just so horrifying that it's ridiculous. I find Fulci pretty hit or miss (usually miss, though New York Ripper and the Beyond are amazing), but this to me stands way above anything he ever did. I think a lot of people expect some kind of American-ized action-packed zombie movie where watching this film and don't understand all the elements at work here.

And this film has probably the greatest and most terrifying ending scene I've ever witnessed. Highly recommended.

Fmovies: In New York, the medium Mary Woodhouse (Katriona MacColl) sees Father William Thomas (Fabrizio Jovine) committing suicide by hanging himself in a cemetery in Dunwich. His death opens the gates of Hell permitting the rise of the dead. Mary is so frightened with what she sees that she dies in a séance.

The snoopy reporter Peter Bell (Christopher George) covers the death of Mary and goes to the cemetery. Out of the blue, Mary awakes locked in the coffin and Peter hears her screams and saves her. She tells what happened and Peter invites her to go to Dunwich with him. Meanwhile in Dunwich there are weird deaths and Peter and Mary meet the psychiatrist Gerry (Carlo De Mejo) and his friend Sandra (Janet Agren) to find out the grave of Father Thomas to close the gates of Hell before All Saints Day; otherwise the dead will raise and destroy the living. Will they succeed in their intent?

"Paura nella città dei morti viventi" is one of the best horror movies by Lucio Fulci. The story is simple and does not have explanations why the death of the priest will open the gates of Hell, but the special effects are gore and gruesome. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Pavor na Cidade dos Zumbis" ("Horror in the Zombie City")

Note: On 14 May 2013, I saw this movie again on Blu-Ray. The quality is excellent, but unfortunately the original audio in Italian is not available.

On 26 January 2017, I saw this movie again on a Brazilian DVD (Versátil), but unfortunately the original audio in Italian is not available.

A priest commits suicide in order to open a gateway to hell. This leads to a series of grim events, including several supernatural zombies.

City of the Living Dead is the second of Italian director Lucio Fulci's four celebrated zombie films from 1979-81. Each and every one of them was primarily famed for its graphic violence. In the case of City of the Living Dead it is most probably two gruesome set-pieces in particular that have established its infamous reputation - a nasty scene where a man is killed by a power drill through his head and a sequence where a woman vomits up all of her innards. Both are memorably grotesque. Add to this a maggot storm and several moments where zombies pull the brains out of their victim's craniums. Like other Fulci pictures of this period, this is an inventively grotesque film. But also like those other movies there is also a sustained creepy atmosphere. The fog encased town of Dunwich is quite an effective setting, while the Goblin inspired score from Fabio Frizzi adds a gloomy ambiance of dread to proceedings. There is also a notable macabre scene that doesn't involve any blood and guts, where a woman who has been buried alive is freed by a man hacking her coffin open with a pick axe, which just misses her head several times.

Lead actor Christopher George will be familiar to a few fans of early 80's splatter flicks from his lead role in the bonkers Spanish slasher Pieces. He's pretty decent here again. But, ultimately City of the Living Dead is a film most notable for its no-holds-barred gory violence and horror atmosphere. Although it is not among Fulci's best films, it's certainly a key entry in the Italian zombie film cycle of that time.

City of the Living Dead fmovies. It has got to be one of the most disgusting movies ever made with its often macabre and tasteless violence. But that is what violence really is, right? It has one of the most awe inspiring special effects ever put on film (the drilling head scene comes to mind) and make up effects. The make up was so effective I could almost taste the flesh of the living dead and it added to its dreadful atmosphere of heresy and sin. The premise is almost the same as 'Zombi 2', but in a more metaphysical and heretical way. But first: year of release: 1980, genre: horror/fantasy, director: Lucio Fulci, writers: Lucio Fulci and Dardano Sacchetti, themes: sin, heresy, death, afterlife and doom, plot: close the Gates of Hell before it is too late, summary: a priest commits a sin by hanging himself on a cemetery and consequently opens the Gates of Hell; a medium and a reporter sets out to close the Gates of Hell again before All Saints Day. We are thrown into a much more otherworldly heresy and sin compared to 'Zombi 2'. 'City of the Living Dead' is much more metaphysical and supernatural in its depiction. It is also more obvious with its main themes compared to what Fulci wanted to communicate to his audience in 'Zombi 2'.

Here I feel he is more original than when he made 'Zombi 2', which was basically made to cash in on 'Zombi's' (Dawn of the Dead) success. (Although 'Zombi 2' is more than just a cheap cash in). I feel Lucio is a little more personal with his movie here, Fulci having grown up as a strict Catholic tries to communicate his passion to the audience. Fulci suffered a lot because of his religion, because of its strict rules and doctrines and he even once proclaimed that our Christian God is a God of Passion (Passion etymologically means suffering), which he shows in his movie here by having a priest break a taboo by committing suicide. A broken taboo which opens the Gates of Hell and the dead return from Hell to haunt the living. A vision of Doom and Apocalypse that some circles in Christianity long for so the sinners can be judged and burn in Hell. Because, honestly, in the views of Christianity there is nothing more despicable than mankind. Man who has to spend his life to repent his sins and pray and beg for Absolution so that he may come home to Eden, which he was thrown out of because of his foolish wife tempted him to take a bite of the Forbidden Fruit. Petty and small man is according to the Holy Book, which many people take seriously. That is the essence of this movie and what Lucio Fulci wanted to communicate to the audience.

Besides its strong themes the movie has its atmosphere, I did not get drawn in by the story or plot but by the atmosphere of the movie. That feeling of heresy and angst of doing something wrong. Breaking a taboo which has strong consequences and fills one with regret and fear of what is to come. After those years ago that is what I remember most about this movie. What I also remember is the gloriously disgusting make up effects and the tasteless violence with its Goth and Metaphysical atmosphere which I find hard to match in other movies besides Mario Bava's movies. Mario Bava's 'Black Sunday' and 'Black Sabbath' come to mind and this movie plays out like a Black Sabbath heavy metal song. Slow, heavy and dreadful, full of lyrics of Doom and Death. Although some of the acting in the movie can be quite weak and the movie's pace is quite inconsistent it is a movie I became quite fond of over the years. I really

Lucio Fulci is a horror icon. He may not be as well known to many film goers in North America as his iconic status was cemented some twenty years ago, but if you like films by Wes Craven and M. Night Shyamalan and even David Fincher, then you can look at Fulci and say that his work has inspired some of theirs. This is the firs film that I saw of Fulci's and it was when I was a teenager and didn't appreciate a film like this. All I saw in it was a blood and gore soaked film with some really violent deaths. How can one forget the drill to the head? To this day, I still think that actor was actually killed on the set? They really did put the drill bit through his brain and captured it on film for artistic integrity.

I am obviously kidding of course, but is the effect the film will have on you. Films like this are brutal and disgusting and if you like horror films that are high on gore, then Fulci and his counterpart, Argento, are the best in the business. I have always found Italian splatter films to be awe inspiring. They are so much more creative than your typical American horror films. That has changed into the new millennium, but there is still nothing like this on the market. Fulci's films, like Craven's 70's films, would be edited and chopped to bits before anything like this would ever be released. And that is a travesty as the vision and the creativity involved in making a film like this not only takes gusto, it takes talent. Fulci is about as good as they come for this genre.

This is what I wrote in my original review of the film. This is when I was in my mid 20's. I have seen the film recently and obviously my appreciation of the film has increased.

"Gates To Hell ( English translation ) is very amateurishly made. It is lacking in the acting and the directing is choppy. But what this film is and what it does is it epitomizes horror and terror. There are really disgusting scenes of brains being eaten, guts being puked up, a drill to the head ( one of favourites ) and lots of blood, guts and tissue. This film uses the fear of religious unknowns and uses that fear brilliantly. It shows us and truly makes us feel what it must be like to feel pain. Real pain. Not the comic violence that you get from Jason and Freddy. But real disgusting terror as you watch people die in heinous ways."

Times change and now I love the film even more. Fulci is a visionary genius and his Gates to Hell is one of the most innovative horror films to come out of any country. This is a must see for every horror fan.

I am just learning about Italian horror. But if this is what the horror genre is all about, then I want to see more of it. Fulci is one of a kind and I don't think there will be another like him. This is his best work. Check it out.

9/10

This film is probably an accidental masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless. Fulci is one of my idols, but I don't think he was a really good filmaker. It was his lack of coherency and almost childlike need to gross you out that made his best films so beloved. Gates of hell is the best of the lot. The film is basically one long wierd, surreal treatise one death and the horror of violent death in particular. Listen to the layered, terrifying soundtrack - wind howls, babies scream, stones grind, skulls break... The much talked about gore is not just gore but completely outlandish, brilliantly excecuted (no pun intended) operatic set pieces that come out of nowhwere and are truly, deeply repulsive. The prog rock score is just as yummy. The non linnear plot creates one of the best pieces of horror/surrealism I've ever seen. The ending is blood chilling because it doesn't make sense. See this movie more than once and realize it's so called faults are part of the reason it's so goddamned great!