City of the Living Dead (1983)

Absolutely Fantastic

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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 did not like it at first. I felt it was too slow and its shock tactics too old fashioned and predictable, but I could not deny its Goth and I find it hard to resist. This is a really pessimistic movie with little to no sense of humor so overall it is not really an entertaining movie. But when it comes to horror, Goth, gore and violence it really is an undeniable gem. Albeit for the ones who are familiar with the Italian horror movies.I am restraining myself a little by giving it a 9/10 rating, because although it is fantastic as a horror/Goth Fantasy for me some of the acting and incoherent pace still makes me think this is not a masterpiece.

I had wanted to see this movie for years, ever since I was about ten years old. I had heard that it was one of the best hlzombie movies, had seen it on numerous "best of" lists, and had heard that it was chock full of gore. Being a gorehound,I, of course, was intrigued. I searched all over for this movie over the years, but was never able to find it. Until I came across it a few months ago on Amazon. I ordered it and eagerly awaited it. Boy, was I disappointed. This movie can be summed up in one word. Boring. The first part of the movie seemed to just drag on, with the characters doing A LOT of talking, and long shots of things that didn't have anything to do with what was going on. And i don't know if its just my copy of the blu ray or what, but the dubbing is terrible And when the zombies finally come? Its a let down. The make up for them is terrible. And the gore scenes? Their just eh. The best one by far in the entire movie is when a dead priest makes a woman's eyes bleed and then proceeds, in an extended scene, to make her puke out all her insides. All in all, I waited by years to see this movie, just to be let down.

The scene early on in this film where the zombie rises from a pile of leaves amuses me to no end. Most people- before being turned undead by whatever unseen forces- are usually buried in A COFFIN a few feet down- not literally right at the surface. Of course with all the goofs and lapses in plot and continuity, this is just one example, but I thought I'd point it out since viewers have mentioned most of the others.The infamous gore scenes are too fake-looking to be truly stomach- churning. If Tom Savini had done the FX on Fulci's movies..oh man think of how that would have been. Christopher George is always a pleasure and adds some respectability to the otherwise poor acting. The worms and maggots on some of the zombies were better actors!

This is the first film of Fulci's 'Gates of Hell' trilogy, all three starring the stunning Catriona MacColl. Anybody who knows Fulci knows he doesn't like to let trivial things like plot structure get in his way. It's all about atmosphere, mood, maggots and gore. Oh yes how can I forget the red stuff? Fulci has two nasty set-pieces as his main course in addition to the tasty tidbits he adds around them. The thing I liked most about this movie was that there was a genuine effort to generate suspense. The use of fog and Fabio Frizzi's amazing score create a truly unnerving atmosphere without ever needing cheesy jump scares. I would have given the movie an 8 if it hadn't been for a truly unnecessary tacked-on ending which is an example of lazy writing.The acting is par for the course with Christopher George adding a level of class to the proceedings. MacColl is okay enough though some ghastly writing lets her down. I must mention Daniela Doria who is part of one of the two nasty set-pieces and easily the most horrifying. Poor girl's career is littered with scenes in which Fulci has her do terrible things, none as ghastly as this one. Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron got an Oscar for making themselves "ugly". What about this scene then?Overall, the film is a bit slow and meanders along but the gore and suspense make up for it. The disastrous ending doesn't kill the movie but does take away much of the bite. But this is still a very good horror film by Fulci though it was the beginning of his "Bizarro" phase.Do enter these Gates of Hell!