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City of the Living Dead
About the same time that Andrea Bianchi was crafting The Nights of Terror, his masterpiece of unrelenting gloom, another Italian director of zombie films was hard at work on his own contribution to the genre. But where Bianchi contented himself with stripping the zombie film of all but the barest semblance of character development or story arc, Lucio Fulci, one of the originators of apocalyptic zombie horror, changed tact entirely. Part supernatural mystery, part psychological thriller, part grisly zombie horror, Fulci’s City of the Living Dead is a multifaceted, character-driven tale of terror that manages the impressive feat of creating an appreciable atmosphere of fear while holding its death-defying denizens in check for the bulk of the picture.
The story begins in a small town in the northeastern United States, with a pale-faced priest, Father Thomas, hanging himself. At the same moment, in New York City, we witness a séance in progress, and a young woman named Mary tormented by a vision of the dead man. To maker matters worse, she’s convinced that the priest’s death was no cry for help, but a deliberate sacrifice intended to open a portal to hell and unleash an army of the dead unto the earth. And it just so happens that it’s only a matter of days until the portal is unsealed, and the dead given license to roam free. Assisted by an inquisitive reporter named Peter, Mary sets herself the task of tracking down the mortal remains of the priest, and seeing what she can do about avoiding the impending zombie doom.
Fulci’s inspired decision to center his tale around a specific and terrible event that is fast approaching affords him the freedom to devote a significant portion of his narrative to subplots – a woman struggling to free herself of psychological demons, a boy dealing with the death of his sister, a pair of bar flies contemplating the strange goings on in their home town – for we know that a gruesome day of reckoning is coming, even if scene after scene passes without any direct reference to zombies. In addition, the slow horror build up allows time for Mary and Peter to develop into fully-fledged characters that we fear for. A zombie film that makes you eager to know who will die next is entertaining. One that makes you apprehensive as to who will die next is enthralling.
But even with such balanced narrative touches and nuanced storytelling, this is still a Lucio Fulci film, and Fulci means gore. Even before the zombies take center stage, the deceased priest treats us to several blood-soaked hauntings. Inexplicably blessed with both the power to teleport, and to kill just by looking at his victims, Father Thomas bides his time until the release of the zombies by removing brains from the back of skulls and inducing intestines to erupt from their owner’s mouth. And when the zombie hordes, in all their burnt flesh glory, are finally released, the wait is well worth it.
Mike meets a zombie
Thomas Scalzo / © 2007 NotComing.com
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Review by
Thomas Scalzo
Posted on
19 October 2007
Source
Blue Underground DVD
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Lucio Fulci’s Gates of Hell
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Steve O’Rourke on 2 November 2007 at 8:04 PM
I actually saw this gem, by myself, on Christmas Eve/Christmas, 1980 (thanks, HBO). When it came to the scene where the teenaged girl was puking up her guts and audibly choking on them, and I could literally only watch the scene, OR listen to it, but not both! Even at 25, and having been a lifelong horror fan, I guess Sr. Fulci still had something to teach me.
But still, what the hell did the ending mean???
Thomas on 3 November 2007 at 11:20 AM Website
According to Jamie Russell’s Book of the Dead, which includes a quote from Fulci, the ending was not intended to be confusing, or pessimistic. But owing to an “aberration on the film,” the final shots took on a decidedly menacing tone that the editor liked, and that’s what they went with. As with much of Fulci, I think the visual interest of the scene was more important than any logical conclusion.
Alex on 9 April 2008 at 11:21 AM
First Fulci film i was ever uh exposed to(in the childrens’ floor of thmy local hospital no less) and I have to admit I only picked him up in the first place because of the high esteem so many extreme horror sites held him in. Regurgitated entrails? Raining maggots? DRILL THROUGH THE HEAD!?…..drools Now he’s one of my favourite directors, hack or not. There is a real tawdry ugliness to his best films(and Lucio made some real unwatchable garbage there near the end) a seething kind of hatred just boiling beneath the surface that elevates his pulp material into something else, something uncomfortable & really disturbing. There like gore films through a bargain basement art school lens. I’d take him over the distancing, insanely over the top theatrics of Argento anyday, at least this is something I can really feel. Also couldn’t care less about wether he plays by the standard narrative ‘rules’ or not. Fulci had no yen for womenkind either.
Michael on 8 March 2012 at 6:12 AM
There is even an undercurrent of humour and sadness in the film. The zombies seem to not care about who they kill but it is unclear why, maybe they were just being zombies. The guts vomit of that girl and the murder of the boyfriend is horrific and even after 30 years it is difficult to watch. But the maggots were worse. The only thing is how Fulci mashes horror, sadness and absurdity in the end sequence. It's far more effective than The Beyond. When Christoper George has his skull crushed by the former friend now a zombie, McCall and the actor are very sad; it is brutal, sad, shocking and leaves one numb.That is why this film is much better. The bar flys too meeting their end seem ingnorant, and the sudden disappearance of the townsfolk and law make the film scary. But then there is the outrage at the father's anger and the drilling scene where no matter how much of a pervert he was, you feel sorry for his drilling death, then the characters disappear. Overall, it evokes horror on many levels, though one flaw is the preist is disposed of very easily and you wonder well why the hell didn't anyone do it earlier.