City of the Living Dead
1981 ‘Paura nella città dei morti viventi’ Directed by Lucio Fulci
Synopsis
And the dead shall rise and walk the earth!
City of the Living Dead (Italian: Paura nella città dei morti viventi, also known as The Gates of Hell) is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci. It is the first installment of the unofficial Gates of Hell trilogy which also includes The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery. Fulci makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Dr. Joe Thompson in the film.
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This was my introduction to Italian horror films which spiraled out of control into an obsessed frenzy after one watch. I remember renting this (as Gates of Hell) when I was still a teenager. I watched the tape, stopped it after the credits, picked up my jaw, rewound the tape and watched it again. I then walked a couple blocks to my friends house, invited her to my house where we could watch it together. In a single rental day span, I watched this movie three times.
While the notorious regurgitation scene (complete with an appearance by horror director Michele Soavi) in the cemetery BLEW MY MIND, I was hooked at the very beginning. Seeing a priest commit suicide while…
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Nonsensical plot and poorly defined characters only provide a moderate drag on Fulci's surreal onslaught of set-pieces: Bleeding eyeballs, bleeding walls, a power drill through the head, a maggot storm, a very suspenseful premature burial, and even a few actual zombies.
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At moment of writing this is one of my favourite horror films. Fulci's first instalment from his "Gates of hell" trilogy uses a low budget to great effect in this tale of the undead in a small US town.
What I love about this film is that despite the budget constraints the death scenes (pulling brains from inside the skull) and horror aspects (tears of blood) look alarmingly realistic and still send shivers down my spine. The acting largely stands its ground and the characters are likeable.
What makes it though is Fulci's directing, the music and his undoubted ability to get the most from what he has at his disposal.
The main thing I always say when trying to sell this film to others is whats not to love about teleporting zombies!!!!
A classic to any horror fan.
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You had me at 'Priest suicide'.
You had me even more with 'woman spewing up own intestines'.
Occasionally suffers from some pretty clumsy editing, but a fun watch overall. The scene with the drill is excellent.
Also features some of the lamest crowbarring I've ever seen.
Maggots!
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yeah!! mega gore & not a bore!! lots of fun fun fun.
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If you're patient enough to disregard the plot and just let your eyes glaze over between the death scenes, City Of The Living Dead isn't too bad. The premise is okay, revolving around a small group of people who try to stop hell from coming to Earth after a priest hangs himself in a cemetery built atop the site of the Salem witch trials, but numerous scenes seem to happen for no reason and simply waste the viewer's time. For example, what was up with the "Bob" character? He's some young vagrant who nobody trusts, he gets scared by visions of the dead priest a few times, and then he gets a power drill jammed through his skull by an…
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Classic Fulci! The pacing is a bit weird but there are some genuinely creepy (as well as funny) moments that make it a fun experience. I love the weird ghost-zombies and their crazy magic tricks!
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Nonsensical plot and poorly defined characters only provide a moderate drag on Fulci's surreal onslaught of set-pieces: Bleeding eyeballs, bleeding walls, a power drill through the head, a maggot storm, a very suspenseful premature burial, and even a few actual zombies.
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At moment of writing this is one of my favourite horror films. Fulci's first instalment from his "Gates of hell" trilogy uses a low budget to great effect in this tale of the undead in a small US town.
What I love about this film is that despite the budget constraints the death scenes (pulling brains from inside the skull) and horror aspects (tears of blood) look alarmingly realistic and still send shivers down my spine. The acting largely stands its ground and the characters are likeable.
What makes it though is Fulci's directing, the music and his undoubted ability to get the most from what he has at his disposal.
The main thing I always say when trying to sell this film to others is whats not to love about teleporting zombies!!!!
A classic to any horror fan.
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overlong, muddled and sometimes overly silly... but still probably the best of the trilogy because of the premature burial scenes which are like something from a lost giallo movie
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Another Fulci film with a great atmosphere, this one had some stunning visuals to go with it.
Check out my full review soon at:
horrorqueenreviews.blogspot.co.uk -
Definitely worth a watch! I recommend this movie to any horror fan!
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One of the classics of Italian horror
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All I got out of this movie was it was all Bob's fault. And never stare at an evil dead priest ghost in the eyes.