I consider "Zombie", "The Beyond" and "City of the living Dead" (aka "Gates of Hell" aka "Twilight of the Dead") Fucli's masterpieces; and although "The House By The Cemetery" is more thematically similar to the last two, it is weak in comparison.
"Gates" is simply a great gorefest with atmosphere to burn. The Fabio Frizzi score is catchy, as always, and frilled with dread and a certain awe. The film, which is set in the town of Dunwich, has a strong Lovecraftian flavour, and is beautifully shot and lit by Sergio Salvati.
A scene in which a young woman vomits up her own intestines is pure Fulci, as is the scene where Bob (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) has his head drilled until his brains spew out. The violence is ultra-graphic and entirely convincing in its fantasy context. The director's fetish for rotting flesh, creepy crawlies and open wounds rancid with disease is gloriously showcased in this fine poem to death, decay and the restless dead.
There are not too many amateurish dialog exchanges, either (a fault with many Fulci films), and the plot is so simple it never becomes convoluted.
Fulci had a single-minded attitude towards on-screen mayhem that lifted his films into the realm of high crimson art. This is a great starting point for the Fulci-curious and a must-have for the serious fan of explicit, atmospheric horror.
"Gates" is simply a great gorefest with atmosphere to burn. The Fabio Frizzi score is catchy, as always, and frilled with dread and a certain awe. The film, which is set in the town of Dunwich, has a strong Lovecraftian flavour, and is beautifully shot and lit by Sergio Salvati.
A scene in which a young woman vomits up her own intestines is pure Fulci, as is the scene where Bob (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) has his head drilled until his brains spew out. The violence is ultra-graphic and entirely convincing in its fantasy context. The director's fetish for rotting flesh, creepy crawlies and open wounds rancid with disease is gloriously showcased in this fine poem to death, decay and the restless dead.
There are not too many amateurish dialog exchanges, either (a fault with many Fulci films), and the plot is so simple it never becomes convoluted.
Fulci had a single-minded attitude towards on-screen mayhem that lifted his films into the realm of high crimson art. This is a great starting point for the Fulci-curious and a must-have for the serious fan of explicit, atmospheric horror.