City of the Living Dead
is the First Installment of the Gothic Zombie Trilogy.
City of the Living Dead does
not have much story consistency, but Fulci certainly earns the title
"Godfather of Gore".
Written by The Zombie Master Lee
Roberts May 13, 2007
Release: 1980
(U.S. 1983) Written & Directed by: Lucio Fulci
Starring:
Fabrizio Jovine as Father William Thomas Christopher George as Peter Bell Catriona MacColl as Mary Woodhouse Carlo De Mejo as Gerry
“Violence is
Italian art” -Lucio Fulci.
This short quote by Italian director Lucio Fulci should give you some
indication of what to expect when you put one of his films in the DVD
player. After his success with Zombi
2, Fulci
decided to play with the zombie genre again. What followed was the
beginning of what became known as the “gothic zombie
trilogy”.
The City of the Living Dead, part one of the
trilogy, begins by introducing us to two of the main characters. Father
Thomas (Fabrizio Jovine) is a priest who, for some unknown reason,
hangs himself in a graveyard. Mary Woodhouse (Catriona MacColl) is a
psychic who, during a séance, witnesses the suicide of the
priest. She also sees something else that causes her to go into a coma
so deeply that she is presumed dead and buried alive. Peter Bell
(Christopher George) is walking through the graveyard where Mary has
been freshly buried and hears her cries when she awakens in a coffin.
After the rescue of Mary, we soon discover what is going on.
Father
Thomas killed himself in a town called Dunwich. Dunwich was
built on the old town of Salem. Lucky for Dunwich, the graveyard in
which Father Thomas killed himself was also the “Gateway to
Hell” that the witches used back in the day. The bad news is
that if the gateway is not closed by All Hallows Eve, it will remain
open. Having only a couple of days to accomplish this feat, Peter, Mary
and a local psychiatrist name Gerry (Carlo De Mejo) have to find Father
Thomas’s grave site while being chased by zombies that
literally appear out of nowhere.
City
of the Living Dead is a great movie unless you
are looking for plot consistency or smooth editing. Lucio Fulci began
experimenting with “atmosphere” while filming City
of the Living Dead and you can tell it. By the time the movie
is over, you would probably scream if you saw another
“close-up on eyes” shot.
With
that being said, Fulci is not best known for plot, choosing great
actors, or caring what the viewer thinks anyway. Lucio Fulci is best
known for gore and some of his best work is found in City of
the Living Dead. All you have to see is the drill press going
through the gentleman’s head or the female vomiting her own
intestines to understand why Fulci is called the “Godfather
of Gore”.
I
absolutely adore Fulci’s directing style. His films (at
least his horror films) tend to be put together as a series of visions
or dreams rather than a strict storyline. To understand and appreciate
the greatness that was Lucio Fulci, one has only to watch the follow up
films in the “gothic zombie trilogy”; The
Beyond and
House
by the Cemetery. Fulci
was a master of his craft and there has been a hole left over the past
decade since his death that will never be filled. Luckily, his work has
been preserved for all “zombie apprentices” to
study and learn from and City of the Living Dead is
a great place to start. Questions
or comments about City of the Living Dead?
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