Paura nella città dei morti viventi (1980)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Lucio Fulci (screenplay)
Lucio Fulci (story)

Release Date:

May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

And the dead shall rise and walk the earth!

Plot:

A reporter and a psychic race to close the Gates of Hell after the suicide of a clergyman caused them to open, allowing the dead to rise from the grave.

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Suicide | Reporter | Psychic | Death

Cast

Christopher George	...	Peter Bell
Catriona MacColl	...	Mary Woodhouse (as Katherine MacColl)
Carlo De Mejo	...	Gerry
Antonella Interlenghi	...	Emily Robbins
Giovanni Lombardo Radice	...	Bob
Daniela Doria	...	Rosie Kelvin
Fabrizio Jovine	...	Father William Thomas
Luca Venantini	...	John-John Robbins (as Luca Paisner)
Michele Soavi	...	Tommy Fisher
Venantino Venantini	...	Mr. Ross
Enzo D'Ausilio	...	Sheriff Russell's deputy
Adelaide Aste	...	Theresa
Luciano Rossi	...	Policeman in apartment
Janet Agren	...	Sandra

Also Known As:

City of the Living Dead (International: English title)
Fear in the City of the Living Dead (Italy) (literal English title)
Pater Thomas (Europe) (bootleg title)
The Gates of Hell (USA)

Runtime:

93 min | Australia:90 min (cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Denmark:16 | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (uncut version) | UK:18 (re-rating: 1986) (cut) (re-rating: 2001) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating: 1981) (cut) | Finland:(Banned) (1985) | Finland:K-18 (2001) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Norway:18 (re-rating) (uncut) (2007) | West Germany:18 (heavily cut) | Italy:VM14 (DVD rating) | Sweden:18 (video rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | France:-16 (cut) | Italy:VM18 | USA:Unrated | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Dania Film

Trivia:

Future director Michele Soavi was originally up for the role of "Bob". However, Fulci changed his mind and decided to cast Giovanni Lombardo Radice instead, and Soavi was given a smaller role.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Mary could not have been buried alive as she would not have survived the embalming.

Quotes:

[reading a porno magazine]
Blonde gravedigger: Will you check her out?
Gravedigger: You'll end up a dirty old man reading that stuff. A pervert. A peeping tom. I saw a porno flick once. This fellow in the audience got so carried away, he humped himself to death.
Blonde gravedigger: Yeah, but what a way to go.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hide and Creep (2004)

Another fine fright flick from gore expert Lucio Fulci.

The suicide of a priest named Father Thomas (Fabrizio Jovine) is enough to cause the gates to Hell to open in this effective Fulci shocker. Peter Bell (Christopher George), a newspaper reporter, and Mary Woodhouse (Katriona MacColl), a psychic whom Bell saves from a horrible fate, hook up to try to save the world, which they need to do by All Saints Day.

Right along the lines of "The Beyond", generally regarded to be his masterpiece, Fulcis' "City of the Living Dead" delivers some very impressive set pieces of nasty splatter. Intestines being regurgitated, a head being punctured by a drill, and brains being scooped out rate as definite highlights. The zombies, too, are downright horrifying and repellent and are among the spookiest that I've seen on film. (The title is a little bit of a misnomer, since there aren't very many zombies in the film, but a little does go a long way here.)

Fulci is also very adept at creating atmosphere in his films. The good and gruesome highlights are delivered at select spots, serving as the punctuation on extended scenes where the director crafts some great, sinister, oppressive tension. "City of the Living Dead" has a marvelously downbeat tone that holds up to an intriguingly bizarre ending. It's potent, unnerving, and very enjoyable. One of my favorite scenes takes place in a coffin underground. It's very well done.

The always amiable and solid George and the gorgeous MacColl are ably supported by Carlo De Mejo as another major character (Gerry) with whom they'll cross paths, as well as Antonella Interlenghi, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Venantino Venantini, and future director Michele Soavi. Robert Sampson, who was Dean Halsey in "Re-Animator" a few years later, turns up as the Sheriff here.

"City of the Living Dead" is an effective horror flick worth catching for fans of horror in general and the director in particular.

8/10