The master of Italian gore, Lucio Fulci has entertained millions of horror fans worldwide. From his early works in westerns and comedies to his masterpieces of the horror genre, Lucio was loved by his fans but hated by his critics.
I first discovered Fulci as a junior in highschool. I stumbled across the film Zombie in a video rental store. As soon as I saw the box, I knew what film it was. I remember being 8 years old and seeing the T.V. spot for the film. The visual of a body wrapped in a white sheet, rising off a table scared the beejezuz out of me! I took the video home and instantly fell in love with the film. I had already seen Romero's Dawn Of The Dead and Night Of The Living Dead but Fulci's walking dead seemed more realistic. The film was gritty, grainy and unbelievably gory. Where Romero's gore was somewhat stylish, Fulci's was ahocking and stomach turning. In the scene where a woman has her eye skewered on a large wooden splinter, I waited for the camera to cut at the very moment the splinter hit the eye, but no! Fulci's shot stays with every agonizing second until the splinter snaps off in her eye.
Fulci entered the horror genre in 1969 with the film Beatrice Cenci, a tale about witchcraft that would later influence his film The Beyond. He followed with Lizard In A Woman's Skin,Don't Torture the Duckling, and The Psychic. Here his style for splatter came into being. But it wasn't until 1979 did Fulci really make his mark.
After the release of Dawn Of The Dead, A small Italian film company decided to cash in on the success. Dawn Of The Dead was released in Europe under the title Zombie, a decision made by the films producer Dario Argento. A script was written and a director was needed. Lucio was not the first choice, but once the original director backed out, a financially troubled Lucio Fulci stepped up to the plate and made a film that knocked audiences out of the ballpark. The film was a major success and supposedly made more money than Dawn Of The Dead. Fulci was now on the map.
Along with Gates Of Hell, Fulci also released The Black Cat and The Beyond. The Black Cat was a somewhat forgettable film. The storyline was incomprehensable and very light on the gore score. However The Beyond proved that Fulci was able to make a very enjoyable film. Again the gates of hell have been open. And the house that resides above them is a centerpiece for the macabre. Fulci admits himself that "this film is without plot, without logic, only a sequence of pictures". But what an impressive sequence of pictures it is! Full of popping and impaled eyes, exploding heads, killer dog, flesh eating tarantulas and more! A true classic in the splatter genre and one of Fulci's best.
1982 brought about three more outings from Fulci. House By The Cemetary, The New York Ripper and Manhatten Baby. House By The Cemetary was a muddled zombie/haunted house type flick that another muddled storyline but plenty of the ole guts-n-grue. Manhatten Baby was a boring potboiler about a young girl who becomes possessed by an evil egyptian spirit and begins murdering people. A so-so film from Fulci. But The New York Ripper was anything but tame. This is perhaps Fulci's sickest work. A psychopath is loose in New York and likes to take out his perversions on young women. Fulci creates a wonderful mix of violence, sex & sadism. The killer dispatches his victims in many ways. A razor blade slice that goes through the eye(again, no cutaways), the victims eye even rolls up while it's being sliced. A very unsettling detail that makes the scene more realistic. Another woman is gutted from vagina to sterum via a broken glass bottle. Plenty of stabs and razorblade slices that delivered with such realism. The ending is also a classic, but I won't euin it for anyone who's never seen the film, you'll be very surprised at the outcome!
Thus began the downfall of Fulci's films. Just about everything else he released was very incomprehensable and somtimes inane. Especially Zombie 3 and Murder Rock. With the exception of The Wax Mask, started by Fulci but finished by Dario Argento, that was his swansong. Although I suggest seeing all his films, many were better than others. Lucio Fulci will, however, live on in infamy. One of the great splatter film directors to grace the silver screen. He will live on in the minds and videos of his fans. For more info on picking up his films, check out your video retailer. Most of his major films have been released in UNCUT, widescreen formats on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD. Also check out my links section for independent dealers who have UNCUT prints of his lesser known films.
In 1980, Fulci released Gates Of Hell, a rollercoaster ride of zombies, maggot storms, and entrail regurgitation. This is my favorite Fulci film. The story involves the suicide of a priest in Dunwich, Massachusettes. This action opens the gates of hell and the flesh hungry dead are released upon us. Much gorier than his previous outing Zombie, this classic splatter film includes such highlights as a maggot storm, heads ripped open, bleeding eyes, a girl who regurgitates her entire intestinal track and a man who gets his head skewered ear-to-ear via a power drill. A more suspensefull scene involves a woman who had been partly buried alive. The main character (Christopher George) hears her cries and starts to hit the coffin with a pick axe in an attempt to open it. With each hit, you see the pick axe come dagerously close to splitting the girl's head open. A wonderful film that must be viewed in a widescreen format to really enjoy!
Ragazzi Del Juke-Box(1959)
I Ladri(1959)
Uraltori alla Sbara(1960)
I Due della Legione Straniera(1962)
Colpo Gobb all'Italiana(1962)
Uno Strano Tipo(1963)
Le Massaggiatrici(1963)
Gli Imbroglioni(1963)
I Maniaci(1966)
I Due Evasi di Sing Sing(1966)
Come Inguaiammo l'Esercito(1966)
002 Operazione Luna(1966)
I Due Paura(1967)
Come Svaligiammo la Banca d'Italia(1967)
Tempi di Massacro aka The Brute And The Beast(1967)
Il Lungo, il Corto, il Gatto(1967)
Come Rubammo la Bomba Atomica(1967)
Operazione San Pietro aka Operation St. Peter(1968)
Una Sulla'Altra aka Perversion Story(1969)
Beatrice Cenci(1969)
A Lizard In A Woman's Skin(1971)
White Fang(1972)
Don't Torture A Duckling(1972)
The Return Of White Fang(1974)
Four Of The Apacolypse(1975)
Dracula In The Provences(1975)
La Pretora(1976)
The Psychic(1977)
Sella d'Argento(1978)
Zombie aka Zombie 2(1979)
Contraband(1980)
Gates Of Hell aka City Of The Living Dead(1980)
The Black Cat(1980)
The Beyond(1980)
House By The Cemetary(1982)
New York Ripper(1982)
Manhatten Baby(1982)
I Guerrieri dell Anno 2072(1983)
Murderrock(1984)
Conquest(1984)
Dangerous Obsession(1986)
Aenigma(1987)
Zombie 3(1988-dropped out of the film halfway through)
The Touch Of Death(1988)
The Ghosts Of Sodom(1988)
Demonia(1988)
Sweet House Of Horrors(1989)
House Of Clocks(1989)
Nightmare Concert aka A Cat In The Brain(1990)
Door To Silence(1991)
The Wax Mask(1996)