Description

The Seven Gates of Hell have been torn open, and in three days the dead shall rise and walk the earth. As a reporter (Christopher George) and a psychic (Catriona MacColl) race to close the portals of the damned, they encounter a seething nightmare of unspeakable evil. The city is alive--with the horrors of the living dead! Directed and co-written by the legendary Lucio Fulci (Zombie, The Beyond, The New York Ripper), "City of the Living Dead" features some of the maestro's most shocking and controversial sequences of all time. This is the definitive version of Fulci's hallucinogenic masterpiece of horror: uncut, uncensored and presented in all its brain-ripping, gut-spewing, head-drilling glory! A.k.a. "The Gates of Hell." ... Read more

Reviews (67)

Classic Fulci...
Yes, this is the Fulci gore classic, now given the long overdue DVD treatment by Anchor Bay. Throw out those ancient dupes and tapes riddled with print damage and artifacting, this DVD is superior! But first, the story (what little there is): The Gates of Hell have been opened by a Dunwich priest who has hanged himself in a cemetary. That's it. What follows is typical Fulci mayhem and gory goodness. Yep, here on the DVD we get to see the ultra savage head drilling, the girl puking her guts up (look fast for future Italian horror director Michele Soavi as her boyfriend) and plenty of scalping and brain ripping, all in their uncut gory glory! As you might have guessed, the plot is secondary to the gore and atmosphere. As a result, many viewers will be turned off by the minimal (and convoluted) plot, and the atrocious dubbing. But for the real Fulci fans who are already primed in his style, they will eat this up. Anchor Bay's DVD treatment truly adds to the enjoyment of the film. It truly is great to see this film (and HEAR it) in digital quality, COMPLETELY UNCUT! Nevertheless, "City of the Living Dead" does have it's share of problems. Obviously the plot is nothing to write home about (like you care anyway) and Fabio Frizzi's score seems tacky (to me anyway). But once again, Gino De Rossi's amazing gore effects and Fulci's keen eye for gory detail (and some stylish direction, to boot) keep things humming. Finally, compared to the other entries in Fulci's "horror quartet" , I'd rate this light years ahead of "Zombie", and just behind "The Beyond" (his best in this genre) and "The House by the Cemetary."

Masterpiece? I digress
If this is a masterpiece, I'm Brigitte Bardot. First of all, I am a fan of Arthouse and International films, and I despise Hollywood fare. With that in mind, this Fulci example is by no means a classic. I remember having watched the trailer as a little girl and how shocked I was to see the blood-crying scene, I was hooked to the tv wanting to see more. I just saw this film and it convinces me this is NOT Fulci's best, not by a ling shot. BUT, it is better than the average teen-slasher-(...) that is filling movie theatres in the last couple of years. It's atmospheric theme music, the unavoidable sense of dread packing the film is entertaining nonetheless, but you always expect something, anything to happen, when it doesn't. True, Fulci never has been a master storyteller, he's in it for the shock-value alone. So, all I can say is, there are way better Fulci films out there, shop around.

Digital transfer: 3 stars
Sound: 3 stars
Overall quality: 3 stars

CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD
VERY MOODY AND CREEPY.DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BEST ZOMBIE FLICKS.A MUST HAVE FOR ANY ZOMBIE FAN.WELL WORTH THE PURCHASE. A++++++++

City of the Living Dead
Okay, I love gore just as much as the next depraved freak, but City of the Living Dead pretty much disappointed me on all levels. Yeah, it's quite gory and all, but the film just isn't very good. It's rather bad actually. Check out Dawn of the Dead or Night of the Living Dead... They're fare superior horror films.

Lame would-be- shocker
Whereas Dario Argento has managed to turn sheer brutality into a form of high art, Luci Fulci has to rely on brutality simply to disguise the fact that apart from it, there's - well, not much really. "City of the Living Dead" (also known as "Gates of Hell") is downright boring because all attempts at creating some gothic flavour or atmosphere OR suspense fail miserably. Instead, we're kept awake by repeated scenes of (badly made) intestines pulled out of something or somebody, and an electric drill forcing its way into (and out of) the head of a retarded boy! wow! Attempts at creating suspense (and keeping up the viewer's interest in the plot) are undermined by bad timing, editing, and worse acting. could have been high gothic gore, but it's just boring gore. silly. At least, "the Beyond" is better than this one. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In Lucio Fulci's genre classic Zombi 2, the dead rise once again to terrorize and consume the flesh of the living, this time Caribbean style! Those new to Fulci should note Island of the Flesh-Eaters, Zombi 2, and the more commonly known Zombie all refer to the same film. Though there is no Zombi 1, Fulci's film was titled Zombi 2 to capitalize on the commercial success of Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Though marketed as a sequel in Italy, the only similarities to Romero's classic are the title and the fact that the dead rise to eat the flesh of the living. Instead of being a metaphor for consumerism, Zombi 2 is a straight-out adventure story that ends in a horrific, apocalyptic nightmare. The plot is fairly straightforward, and more or less exists simply as a structure to hang scenes of extreme gore and terror on. Dr. Bowles's boat floats into New York Harbor missing its crew and carrying an undead passenger. The doctor's daughter (Tisa Farrow), dead set on finding out what happened to her father, teams up with journalist Peter West (Ian McCulloch) and heads to the cursed island of Matool, where a zombie epidemic is growing and Dr. Bowles's friend, Dr. Menard (Richard Johnson), is desperately trying to find a cure. Will Anne find her father? Will Dr. Menard find a cure? Will our heroes escape? In all honesty, who really cares? Because those in the "know" already know you don't come to a Fulci film looking for Shakespeare.What Zombi 2 lacks in plot development and continuity, it more than makes up for in atmosphere, intensity, and of course the trademark Fulci gore. Some of the unique high points are the never-duplicated zombie-versus-shark vignette, the rising of the Spanish zombie conquistadores, and Fulci's trademark eye shot. Fans of Italian/apocalyptic/cannibal/zombie films should not miss Zombi 2. Along with The Beyond, it defines the genre. --Rob Bracco ... Read more

Reviews (235)

Classic Horror Film; Not So Classic DVD Release Here's Why
Repeated.

First, this movie from an entertainment value from 1 to 10 is a 10 plus.
Second, this movie from a technical visibility and technical audibility release value on DVD from 1 to 10 is a 4.

Reason for the first critique: The PROS
1. Director Lucio Fulci directs a fast paced nail biter from start to finish.
2. Excellent film scoring as the music really accentuates the drama.
3. Excellent casting, the actors are solid for this type of film - no phonies.
4. Excellent locations - from New York City to the exotic Carribean where the two main characters meet up with vacationers who agree to charter their boat and take the main two characters to the island of Matool where the horror begins - you'll know why there going there as you see the film.
5. Excellent makeup effects for zombies and the gruesome and great death scenes.
6. Excellent cinematography to heighten the tension during the film.

Reason for the second critique: The CONS
1. Anchor Bay Entertainment's DVD release of this movie is poor. This critique of poor DVD quality is rare when it comes to Anchor Bay Entertainment releases as their remastered-from-the-good-old-cellar-movie reputation normally puts out excellent quality DVDs with full frame-by-frame color correction, removal of original picture blurriness, and excellent audio track remastering, but this movie somehow slipped through the cracks as perhaps there was a rush to get this movie out on DVD due to its immense popularity among gore hounds and Fangoria Magazine fanatics. The rush job to DVD certainly shows. And below are the main points to look out for on this particular Anchor Bay Entertainment release.

2. Poor picture clarity. The picture from start to finish is viewable, but not at all crisp and without blur. This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

3. Poor color management. The color from start to finish lacks vibrance and richness. The color frame-by-frame is as dead and bland as the zombies themselves. The opening scenes especially as the abandoned yacht( or so you think ) sails into New York Harbor as it is coralled by the New York police, you will see that the city buildings including the World Trade Center towers look more purple/grey in tone, the harbor looks dark brown-grey in color, the sky looks grey in color, and the facial tones of the characters look more fuscia-pinkinsh-beige. The color on this release is horrible and will be corrected. The most frustrating aspect of the poor color is when the movie shfts to the Carribean as two main characters meet up with two vactioners and the four somehow agree to sail for the Island of Matool, after some hesistancy, you will see that the color really suffers here. The exotic locations - the beautiful water, the green of the palm trees, and the like are painfully lacking the vibrant standout color correction needed to make every film frame standout with crisp clear picture quality and life like color. This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

3. Muddled audio track. The sound is clear, but not at the level of a remastered audio track with either DTS or THX Sound treatments. The musical score periodically steps on the sound effects This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

4. From the original uncut full-version, there are some scenes missing on this DVD. This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

5. Periodic purple outlines on the edges of the widescreen black bars.
This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

-----> ALTERNATIVE DVD <------

Coming from Media Blasters Entertainment, another respected DVD Production Studio in the same ilk as Anchor Bay Entertainment and Blue Underground Studios a two new releases of this film are on thier way.

The first will be a Special 2-Disc Fully Remastered ( Picture and Sound ) 25th Anniversary Edition Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer due out as Amazon.com states on the web page hosting this title as July 27, 2004.

--This DVD has 2 hours of Extras including Director commentary, Film Trailers, TV-Spots, Cast and Crew interviews and audio options. This version is the one to buy and as of this review is only less than two months away.

The second will be Single Disc Fully Remastered ( Picture and Sound ) Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer due out I would suspect around the same time as the 25th Anniversary 2-Disc Edition in late July 2004.

Final Thoughts:

1. Avoid buying the Anchor Bay Entertainment release if you can wait less than 2 months from todays date June 13th. The wait will definitely be worth it. If you own this version already as I do, then I would recommend donating this release to the local public library for a tax break when the new versions, especially the 2-Disc set, come in.

Expect from the newer versions as a recap.

1. Excellent Frame-to-Frame Picture Quality from start-to-finish and Full Elimination of Film Blur.
2. Excellent Frame-to-Frame Color correction bringing the movie to life.
3. Excellent Sound Treatment for fully enhanced dialog clarity, punchy sound effects, and a robust musical score getting more crisp.

If these do indeed happen as Media Blasters Enterainment Studios are indicating, then this film goes from a 4 to a 5 plus.

I have revised my opinion of this movie
The first few times I saw this film ,I hated it. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about,but I really wanted to see this film as others saw it(only because so many people love it). So,it was a really hot,dark evening with a thunderstorm threatening to knock the power out,and I was really bored and regretting not buying Torso at the mall earlier, so I pulled out my copy of Zombie and set out to watch it. Lo and behold, I was very entertained and managed to scare myself silly(storms and Italian horror movies make a scary combination). The beginning is somewhat slow, but does a good job setting up the story. There's a zombie here, a zombie there,just enough to show you something's up. By the time they get to the island,though,things really start heating up. All of a sudden,there's zombies everywhere, and these aren't the shambling, blue-skinned ghouls of Dawn of the Dead. These are friggin nasty looking suckers. They have worms crawling through their eye sockets,and their flesh is all rotted and hanging from their bodies. Fulci got the throat-rippings right too, with pulsing blood spurting all over the place. The gore is absolutely superb,especially for 1979, and makes Dawn(another film I was never fond of) look like a sunday school picnic. That said, many people will be bound to hate this film. Some will be bored, some will be nauseated, and some will just laugh. But it's still worth checking out, and if you hate it, you can always scare your friends with it(I have a friend who is deathly afraid of zombies;I already showed her Dawn and Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things,now this...hehe...fun...). I also love Italian horror now, I have no clue why I said before that I didn't (bad brain...bad! Lying is bad, you get a spanking now...hehe... :)).

THE VERY VERY BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 100.000.000 STARS!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST ZOMBIE FLICK EVER MADE IN MY OPINION!!!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION 2 DISC SET TO BE RELEASED ITS ABOUT TIME THIS FLICK GETS THE RESPECT IT DESERVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE IS NOT MUCH ELSE TO SAY EXCEPT THAT FULCI IS GOD!!!!!!!!! later on fellow horror fans!!!

ZOMBIE
EVERYTHING A ZOMBIE MOVIE SHOULD BE! VERY GORY AND SCARY. ONE OF THE BEST ZOMBIE FLICKS AROUND.NICE AND MOODY FEELING.DEFINITELY WORTH THE PURCHASE. GET IT!!!!!!!!!

AWESOME ZOMBIE FLICK!!!
When you think of the all time great zombie movies George A Romero's trilogy "Night of the Living Dead" , "Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead" most likely come to mind. Lucio Fulci's "Zombie", which has been called a sequel to the above mentioned "Dawn of the Dead", doesn't seem to be as popular and not as well known (at least around here) as Romero's trilogy. However, I believe Zombie is almost as good as the above mentioned

Plot is simple; Tisa Farrow plays Ann Bowles, when Ann discovers her father's boat to be abandoned in the New York Harbor her and reporter Peter West(Ian McCulloch) go searching for answers. Their search takes them to the small island of Matool where an unknown virus makes the dead stand up and walk, and of course they do much more than just walk. The plot is so simple yet extremely effective. The movie does move a bit slowly and the acting isn't very impressive but everything that makes a great horror movie is presented, creepy score, spooky elements, extreme gore and the most realistic, best looking zombies of any zombie movie I've ever seen.

This was only the second Fulci film I've seen but from seeing those two movies and reading other reviews it's easy to see a couple of Fulci's trademarks, bad dubbing and extreme gore. The killing scenes were awesome!! A big splinter through an eyeball, zombies feasting on dead woman's guts (that's pretty nasty!) and my favorite, a zombie tearing at the jugular of a woman as blood squirts out and shoots everywhere. If you haven't seen this movie yet and your a fan of horror movies add this one to your collection!! ... Read more

Reviews (235)

Classic Horror Film; Not So Classic DVD Release Here's Why
Repeated.

First, this movie from an entertainment value from 1 to 10 is a 10 plus.
Second, this movie from a technical visibility and technical audibility release value on DVD from 1 to 10 is a 4.

Reason for the first critique: The PROS
1. Director Lucio Fulci directs a fast paced nail biter from start to finish.
2. Excellent film scoring as the music really accentuates the drama.
3. Excellent casting, the actors are solid for this type of film - no phonies.
4. Excellent locations - from New York City to the exotic Carribean where the two main characters meet up with vacationers who agree to charter their boat and take the main two characters to the island of Matool where the horror begins - you'll know why there going there as you see the film.
5. Excellent makeup effects for zombies and the gruesome and great death scenes.
6. Excellent cinematography to heighten the tension during the film.

Reason for the second critique: The CONS
1. Anchor Bay Entertainment's DVD release of this movie is poor. This critique of poor DVD quality is rare when it comes to Anchor Bay Entertainment releases as their remastered-from-the-good-old-cellar-movie reputation normally puts out excellent quality DVDs with full frame-by-frame color correction, removal of original picture blurriness, and excellent audio track remastering, but this movie somehow slipped through the cracks as perhaps there was a rush to get this movie out on DVD due to its immense popularity among gore hounds and Fangoria Magazine fanatics. The rush job to DVD certainly shows. And below are the main points to look out for on this particular Anchor Bay Entertainment release.

2. Poor picture clarity. The picture from start to finish is viewable, but not at all crisp and without blur. This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

3. Poor color management. The color from start to finish lacks vibrance and richness. The color frame-by-frame is as dead and bland as the zombies themselves. The opening scenes especially as the abandoned yacht( or so you think ) sails into New York Harbor as it is coralled by the New York police, you will see that the city buildings including the World Trade Center towers look more purple/grey in tone, the harbor looks dark brown-grey in color, the sky looks grey in color, and the facial tones of the characters look more fuscia-pinkinsh-beige. The color on this release is horrible and will be corrected. The most frustrating aspect of the poor color is when the movie shfts to the Carribean as two main characters meet up with two vactioners and the four somehow agree to sail for the Island of Matool, after some hesistancy, you will see that the color really suffers here. The exotic locations - the beautiful water, the green of the palm trees, and the like are painfully lacking the vibrant standout color correction needed to make every film frame standout with crisp clear picture quality and life like color. This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

3. Muddled audio track. The sound is clear, but not at the level of a remastered audio track with either DTS or THX Sound treatments. The musical score periodically steps on the sound effects This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

4. From the original uncut full-version, there are some scenes missing on this DVD. This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

5. Periodic purple outlines on the edges of the widescreen black bars.
This will be corrected see ALTERNATIVE DVD below.

-----> ALTERNATIVE DVD <------

Coming from Media Blasters Entertainment, another respected DVD Production Studio in the same ilk as Anchor Bay Entertainment and Blue Underground Studios a two new releases of this film are on thier way.

The first will be a Special 2-Disc Fully Remastered ( Picture and Sound ) 25th Anniversary Edition Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer due out as Amazon.com states on the web page hosting this title as July 27, 2004.

--This DVD has 2 hours of Extras including Director commentary, Film Trailers, TV-Spots, Cast and Crew interviews and audio options. This version is the one to buy and as of this review is only less than two months away.

The second will be Single Disc Fully Remastered ( Picture and Sound ) Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer due out I would suspect around the same time as the 25th Anniversary 2-Disc Edition in late July 2004.

Final Thoughts:

1. Avoid buying the Anchor Bay Entertainment release if you can wait less than 2 months from todays date June 13th. The wait will definitely be worth it. If you own this version already as I do, then I would recommend donating this release to the local public library for a tax break when the new versions, especially the 2-Disc set, come in.

Expect from the newer versions as a recap.

1. Excellent Frame-to-Frame Picture Quality from start-to-finish and Full Elimination of Film Blur.
2. Excellent Frame-to-Frame Color correction bringing the movie to life.
3. Excellent Sound Treatment for fully enhanced dialog clarity, punchy sound effects, and a robust musical score getting more crisp.

If these do indeed happen as Media Blasters Enterainment Studios are indicating, then this film goes from a 4 to a 5 plus.

I have revised my opinion of this movie
The first few times I saw this film ,I hated it. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about,but I really wanted to see this film as others saw it(only because so many people love it). So,it was a really hot,dark evening with a thunderstorm threatening to knock the power out,and I was really bored and regretting not buying Torso at the mall earlier, so I pulled out my copy of Zombie and set out to watch it. Lo and behold, I was very entertained and managed to scare myself silly(storms and Italian horror movies make a scary combination). The beginning is somewhat slow, but does a good job setting up the story. There's a zombie here, a zombie there,just enough to show you something's up. By the time they get to the island,though,things really start heating up. All of a sudden,there's zombies everywhere, and these aren't the shambling, blue-skinned ghouls of Dawn of the Dead. These are friggin nasty looking suckers. They have worms crawling through their eye sockets,and their flesh is all rotted and hanging from their bodies. Fulci got the throat-rippings right too, with pulsing blood spurting all over the place. The gore is absolutely superb,especially for 1979, and makes Dawn(another film I was never fond of) look like a sunday school picnic. That said, many people will be bound to hate this film. Some will be bored, some will be nauseated, and some will just laugh. But it's still worth checking out, and if you hate it, you can always scare your friends with it(I have a friend who is deathly afraid of zombies;I already showed her Dawn and Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things,now this...hehe...fun...). I also love Italian horror now, I have no clue why I said before that I didn't (bad brain...bad! Lying is bad, you get a spanking now...hehe... :)).

THE VERY VERY BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 100.000.000 STARS!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST ZOMBIE FLICK EVER MADE IN MY OPINION!!!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION 2 DISC SET TO BE RELEASED ITS ABOUT TIME THIS FLICK GETS THE RESPECT IT DESERVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE IS NOT MUCH ELSE TO SAY EXCEPT THAT FULCI IS GOD!!!!!!!!! later on fellow horror fans!!!

ZOMBIE
EVERYTHING A ZOMBIE MOVIE SHOULD BE! VERY GORY AND SCARY. ONE OF THE BEST ZOMBIE FLICKS AROUND.NICE AND MOODY FEELING.DEFINITELY WORTH THE PURCHASE. GET IT!!!!!!!!!

AWESOME ZOMBIE FLICK!!!
When you think of the all time great zombie movies George A Romero's trilogy "Night of the Living Dead" , "Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead" most likely come to mind. Lucio Fulci's "Zombie", which has been called a sequel to the above mentioned "Dawn of the Dead", doesn't seem to be as popular and not as well known (at least around here) as Romero's trilogy. However, I believe Zombie is almost as good as the above mentioned

Plot is simple; Tisa Farrow plays Ann Bowles, when Ann discovers her father's boat to be abandoned in the New York Harbor her and reporter Peter West(Ian McCulloch) go searching for answers. Their search takes them to the small island of Matool where an unknown virus makes the dead stand up and walk, and of course they do much more than just walk. The plot is so simple yet extremely effective. The movie does move a bit slowly and the acting isn't very impressive but everything that makes a great horror movie is presented, creepy score, spooky elements, extreme gore and the most realistic, best looking zombies of any zombie movie I've ever seen.

This was only the second Fulci film I've seen but from seeing those two movies and reading other reviews it's easy to see a couple of Fulci's trademarks, bad dubbing and extreme gore. The killing scenes were awesome!! A big splinter through an eyeball, zombies feasting on dead woman's guts (that's pretty nasty!) and my favorite, a zombie tearing at the jugular of a woman as blood squirts out and shoots everywhere. If you haven't seen this movie yet and your a fan of horror movies add this one to your collection!! ... Read more

Description

This 1971 classic is key for any Fulchi collection.A woman's nightmarish fantasies of murder and sadism come to life.Contains the legendary disemboweled dogs scene, courtesy of Carlo Rambaldi's special effects.Stars Florinda Bolkan, Jean Sorel, Silvia Monti, Stanley Baker and Anita Strindberg. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Oh,Media Blasters where is it?
We (the Eurohorror fans) are already waiting more than a year for this release.Where is it??
I haven't seen the film yet,but according to many this is better than Don't Torture A Duckling.
All we can do is wait I suppose :-(
Only one star for the waiting...will be more when/if it arrives....
Cheers,
"Crystal Plumage" ... Read more

Amazon.com

Lucio "King of the Eyeball Gag" Fulci made his namewith a series of gory, gooey horror epics, and The Beyond stands aboveall as his outr&eacute; masterpiece. The largely incoherent plot has something to dowith a turn-of-the-century curse and a doorway to hell in the cellar of an old New Orleans hotel. Fulci shows his usual sensitivity with wooden acting, clumsydialogue, and buckets of oozing blood and pus, but don't let that get inthe way of enjoying this mad tale of zombies from hellinvading Earth and eating their way through a cast of humans: crucified martyrs, blindvisionaries, creepy hotel handymen, befuddled cops, and a plucky pair ofheroes desperately fleeing a horde of hungry undead. The blood-red artdirection is eerily beautiful, and Fulci's relentless long takes, punctuated by jolting shock cuts and eruptions of grotesque violence, create a moodof sheer paranoid horror right down to the final, mind-bending image. Anddon't forget the Fulci claim to fame: eyes are gouged out, eaten away,melted with acid, and (shudder) popped out by a spike through the back ofthe skull. Yech! If you dare ignore such piddling details as narrativelogic and let yourself get carried away on the creepy visuals, it's adeliciously stylish treat, an edgy bit of gothic gore pitched in all itsbone-crunching, flesh-ripping, organ-splatting glory. This sadistic,sanguinary hell-spawn tale is for gore-hounds only.

The DVD features chatty but largely jokey commentary by David Warbeck andCatriona MacColl and an alternate German credits sequence featuring Fulci's preferred sepia-tinged prologue (but no alternate footage). --SeanAxmaker ... Read more

Reviews (138)

Beyond, The... (1981) d: Fulci, Lucio
A great selling Laser Disc, and one of the most anticipated films in the Anchor Bay catalogue, Lucio Fulci's The Beyond is finally here. Despite being pieced together with ideas from other film sources - such as The Sentinel (1977), Suspiria (1976), and Inferno (1980) this picture is possibly Lucio Fulci's finest movie. A contemporary horror film about a Louisiana hotel haunted by the living dead, and it is found to be built over top one of the seven gateways to Hell. ...Regular Lucio Fulci heroine Catriona MacColl inherits the haunted hotel along with her helpmate, David Warbeck [both on the commentary track], and she has to endure a number of frightening supernatural manifestations before the climax. The plot could be a little thicker, but the film has many controversial gory moments that make it worth while. A plumber has his eyes gouged out, a maid gets an acid to her melting face, a dog rips a woman's throat out, and venomous spiders strip a man's flesh from his bones. Extras on this disc include the color German version of the Roger Corman inspired [Haunted Palace (1963)] pre credit sequence, instead of the more familiar sepia-tinted US and UK versions. The DVD also contains a blood splattered video by Ohio based Death Metal band Necrophagia directed by Jim [Deadbeat At Dawn / My Sweet Satan] Van Bebber.

Its all about the visuals in The Beyond
And the visuals are astounding. The camera and the director breathe in and revel in every shot, their attention is totally unwavering and they have an eye for the beauty in the scenes, actors, and in the horror as well. Frankly, I couldnt take my eyes off it if I tried, it demands your attention.
Find me any film let alone a horror film from 1983 that looks so crystal clear, so well framed, and so well filmed, its impossible. This film is timeless in that respect, if you told someone this was a 1980's period piece that was filmed in the late 1990's they'd believe you.

Like all Italian horror of the time, the emphasis wasnt put on the script, which is being generous to some of the scenes.

The visuals rule the day though and win out, the quality of all these elements puts you in a forgiving mood for the lesser qualities of the film.

Haunting in a good way.

If this is the best of Italian Horror then shoot me.
Ok, it is obvious that the majority of Italian horror fans feel that character developement, good story, and most importantly, good acting are not iportant factors when creating a horror movie. This film is considered by many Italian Horror films to be one of the best, if not the best Italian horror movie ever shot. Though the story isn't to bad, the acting and the character developement are NO WHERE to be found! There are TONS of scenes where you the victum had seconds if not minutes to escape some slowly approaching zombies or what ever, but rather decided to screw around until they were killed, transformed or what ever. It's almost as if Lucio did this on purpose so that he could squeeze an extra long gore sceen into the picture. Like where the young girl walks in to see her mom collapsed on the floor, with her face being slowly eaten away by acid...

...you would think she'd run away, but rather, she decides to make her self at home. I can NOT stand idiotic moments in horror films like that.

On a good note, the gore in this movie is AWSOME for the most part. There are a few sceens that could use some serious work, but for the most part, most scenes turn out great!

It is too bad for Lucio, his films were definatly visually disturbing, and at times almost creepy, if it were not for the comlpletely un-creepy sound tracks, horrible acting, and over abundance of moments where the victum could have escaped, but chose not to apparently.

Your better off with Zombie, or Zombie Hell House, two of his other films that are still imperfect, are MUCH better than this over rated piece of crap...

...that happens to have kool death scenes! :)

Buy it for the gore, but don't expect to enjoy everything in between.

Uncut? yeah right
This is not uncut, at least the version I received was not. The only place you'll see the uncut footage is in the Necrophagia video in the extras. I am so angry right now that they butchered this great movie. The movie itself I give a 5, I had to rate it as a 2 though for the version I received. Still angry.

The best DVD commentary EVER!
No matter what your feelings may be regarding the quality of "The Beyond" as a movie, this DVD is worth the price of purchase for the commentary by the film's hapless stars David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl. If you're sick to death of narcoleptic commentaries by tedious filmmakers describing camera set-ups or Hollywood stars blowing smoke up each other's arses, this is the commentary for you. Fresh from a boozy lunch, Mr Warbeck and Ms MacColl affectionately recall the horrors of working in the Italian film industry, (...) about their co-stars and create an extraordinary portrait of director Lucio Fulci all the while name-dropping furiously and trying to outdo each other in admiring their own performances. Warbeck is especially endearing as he reels off a string of off-colour jokes at the film's expense and MacColl is very entertaining particularly when her ladylike reserve is upset during the gore scenes which she obviously has trouble watching. All of this is delivered by two chums clearly delighted to be sitting down together having a good old chat after all this time. It's DVD commentary as it should be: entertaining. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

ONE GOOD FILM IN THIS SET....
I went for this 2 disc set because it did not work out much more than buying 1 film on it's own, but only liked one of the films,that being The new york Ripper.The case boasts that both films are razor sharp transfers,this is not a lie.ok so they do not look brand new but have been cleaned up pretty well for the age of the films.I knew that Fulci's films were supposed to be fairly shocking,but the ripper does not dissapoint for sleazy nudity ,sex and violence at all.it is not as hardcore as say,baise moi,but sex/horror fans should be pleased with this,even if the effects have dated badly now.The 'quacking' killer taunting the cops as many others have commented does also seem a bit ludicrous.The film is also a passable thriller in it's own right.
unfortunatelay, I cannot find much good stuff to say about Manhattan baby.The story,effects acting etc do not make up much of a movie for me,maybe one for real Fulci fanatics.Let's face it,the producer admits on the making of feature on the dvd'the budget was slashed and we basically ended up with a poor movie' That summed it up,and I watched it sadly as well(before viewing the extras!)Anyway,I will definetly be checking out some more of Lucio Fulci's movies when I get a chance,it was very interesting to see what all the fuss was about,and not being completeley dissapointed for a change.

Nice Package
Here are a couple of diverse goodies. Manhattan Baby is my favorite of the two. Not as much gore as most of Fulci's stuff but a very good story about a girl possesed by evil. New York Ripper on the other hand is a more typical slasher flic with a high body count and perhaps one of the most brutal murder scenes i have seen in the movies. Anchor Bay has done great things with these movies as the picture and sound quality is very good.

Like A Controversial Value Meal
Anchor Bays collections of newly released, more importantly UNCUT, Italian horror movies are impressive, and these two are no exception to that rule. The movies themselves, two highly disputed - each in their own rights - films, are worth a watch, one for mood and one for its bloody wholesomeness, and this set works as well. The picture quality, especially compared to earlier takes on both movies, is good considering the alternatives, the interviews are worthwhile in explaining exactly why Lucio chose to do the films, and the price is a good deal when you factor in separate costs.
To the movies:

Manhattan Baby
Manhattan Baby, considered a failure by many critics that wanted Fulci to conform to the formula of horror that made him successful, was actually one of his more entertaining movies. This was because it did break from the proverbial mould, building more on a storyline and an ever-present, overwhelming scene of doom. Unlike many of his earlier movies (Zombie, The Beyond) that brought this bleak overview with them as well, Lucio decided to try a new avenue in this presentation, one that only briefly sprinkled gore into the cinematic formula, causing much of the fallout experienced. He said that he wanted to present a more metaphysical terror, using a small array of special effects in the process, that would give his film a more Catholicist, "evil can be beaten but not truly destroyed," mentality. Well, mission accomplished.
The storyline, with its Egyptian focal point, deals with the manifestation of an ancient evil that is awaken (and overused) by a little girl after her foolishly curious archeologist father prods at things best left alone. It has some nice scenes with pieces of dark humor mixed together with catchy "manifesations/proofs of the dark forces present," plus some humorously cheap scenes that keep the movie from taking itself too serious. All in all, its fun and a bit dark at the same time, and is a good film for horror lovers/Lucio fans that remember his Sci-fi trials/Westerners and not simply his gore films.

NewYork Ripper
Sometimes it seems that Lucio, one of the better gore/horror directors to have ever graced the screen, and his releases, ranging from Zombie, The Beyond, Demonia, The New Gladiators, Four of the Apocalypse, can't get a break. Well, The New York Ripper, overly wrought with commentary about unpleasantry that "shocks" and an "overriding unpleasantness (that) makes it an acquired taste at best," is no exception to the bias rule. Railroaded by critics for a sadistic approach to serial killing (and leaving me to wonder when serial killing became a flower picking contest in the process) and then banned by most international venues except in the most butchered formats, this exceptionally brutal film mingles many facets together to paint a bleak rendition of what drives men to murder.
We are given the oddities of a serial killer that chooses a Donald Ducklike voice (which is later explained in the movie) as he vents his anger on the unsuspecting female population of New York and plays mind games with the detective supposedly hot on his trail. Filled with razor blades slicing through varied body parts, throats meeting unfortunate demises, people acquiring unfortunate limps, and an almost sad ending, this movies meets the criteria of something pleasantly contrived.

If you adhere to the opinions of the general public, then perhaps the horror of Field of Dreams would be more to your liking. On the other hand, if you enjoy a fully uncut presentation of gore and serial killing, you'll love this. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Not Fulci's best, but well worth the time and money
This graphic little thriller may as well be one of the sickest serial killer flicks around, but its very satisfying. Not that anyone would watch this movie for its social value. Its a Fulci film. Gore is what you come for, and i tell you gore is what you get. Women are gutted, torn open with a broken bottle, slashed with razor blades (in one of filmdome's most sleazy scenes), and sucumb to overdone throat slashings. Gore fans, don't miss this, its a classic. Women, wimps, and old people: Just stay away.

Donald Duck on a killing spree!
I simply cannot understand why Lucio Fulci has many devoted fans. So far I've seen The house by the cemetary, Manhattan baby, Zombie, City of the living dead and this one. What's good about this director? Seriously?
Commenting on this film only; It's horribly acted, plain disgusting, cheap looking, badly photographed. In fact everything about this film spells: AMATEUR.
And all of the above mentioned films by Fulci are about as good as this one.
Best of all; the scary killer makes noises like a duck when he's slaying. PLEASE!
Some of my friends keep telling me to view "Don't torture a duckling" before I brand Fulci perminantly, so I will. I hope it's better than these films.

Classic Fulci
I dont know why this movie is bashed and made fun of. In my opinion, its classic italian horror. Its contraversial subject matter, and not to mention, overall violence make it something great. I wouldn't call it a basic slasher. It goes beyond that. Its psychological elements also show that it has something of a storyline (unlike most other italian gore epics). So what if the killer talks like a duck. It amused me, anyway...

A Surprise
This was a surprising Fulci movie to watch. Of course the dubbing is something not worthwhile, but the acting is surprisingly good. It lacks much gore that his previous films contained, which is the reason why I gave this four stars, and the violence is unpleasant to watch, but it was a well-plotted movie.

Start Spreading The News.......
As you'll read numerous times over, this is Fulci's most unpleasant , sleazy and ugly film. I think there's two reasons for this: 1) It's all centered in the real world as opposed to the supernatural world Fulci is known for, thus losing the fantasy element. 2) Alot of sex. If someone's not having sex or prancing around naked, there's always some sexual undercurrent going on, making this quite sleazy. In my opinion, the most disgusting scene being, not one of violence, but a game of "footsie" that seems to go on for ten minutes. This part is really bizarre, surreal, and just plain yucky. Yeah, we all know the plot: A sadistic serial killer(is there any other kind?) slices women up into olive loaf, taunts hard boiled detective, tra-la, tra-la. The plot's nothing new, but this is Fulci, people! Which means you get all the trademark gore from his supernatural horrors transplanted to a slasher flick. You also get all the bad dubbing, acting and funky tunes translated too. Basically, if you like his other stuff, you'll like this coz it's still a gory Fulci horror flick-it's certainly not gonna appeal to anyone else! There's a pretty crazy scene when our "duck" killer is slicing up a woman tied to a bed. This is pretty whack! Does Fulci shy away from the carnage and let your mind fill in the gaps? Nosiree, Bob! He just lets you sit back and watch the killer drag a razor blade across the poor girl's eye! Yikes! Sure it looks fake as hell, but it's what it represents that counts. I'm willing to bet by the feel of this film that Fulci's girlfriend must have left him around this time or something, coz he doesn't seem to like women too much here. This film comes across as a way of lashing out or something. Sure it's very juvenile and Type O Negative-ish, but it does make for an entertaining movie. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 2: A Missed Opportunity
If you get to see the trailer for this film, it is likely that your first reaction will be 'Wow ! It looks really pacy and exciting if a little silly'. See the whole film and you'll doubtless soon realise that 'Zombi 3' was a real wasted opportunity.
Overall, it is a poor film and derivative even by 'Living dead' movie standards (and that's saying something), but has some excellent moments which frustrate the viewer by indicating how good the film could have been. So what is good ?
1) The lush tropical setting, reminiscent of 'Contamination' and 'Day of the Dead'.
2) The guys in the white decontamination suits, reminiscent of 'The Crazies' (and 'Contamination').
3) The first machette-wielding zombie who attacks Beatrice Ring with real vigour (now that's what I call action and aggression).
4) The flying head (yes, it's stupid but a moment of gonzoid genius)
5) The moment when the blond soldier pulls the girl out of the pond (you'll have to see it yourself)
6) The soundtrack -which Amazon.com don't sell even though it is available, but be warned the soundtrack CD does not contain the most exciting bit of uptempo music from the film.
7) Beatrice Ring, who plays an annoying insipid character, but is cute.

What's bad ? The dialogue (is it badly translated or just very badly written), the dubbing (remember now that this is an Italian horror movie, so you should be prepared for this), the influence of 'Return of the Living Dead' and 'Day of the Dead' on the script and the fact that it was written by the guy who wrote 'hell of the Living Dead' (aka 'Zombie Creeping Flesh'). In fact, you could argue that 'Zombi 3' is a superior remake of the latter film. Finally, the silly DJ reminiscent of the DJ in 'Vanishing Point' whose dialogue belongs in a very poor seventies exploitation flick.
Now you're thinking 'he doesn't like it'. Wrong. This is a fun movie that all horror fans should enjoy: if you don't then you'll never understand what a missed opportunity is or how to have a good laugh at the more absurd moments in horror history...
Finally, the DVD quality. This 'Shriek Show' edition is very good, including as it does a 5 minute pre-credit introduction previously only available on Japanese versions. This extra material is taken from a 1" video master (the only surving source|) so is low quality compared to the rest of the film, which looks great, much better than the UK edition. BUT several of the gore scenes seem to be lifted from a similarly poor video master, which is unforgivable - the UK edition is better in this repsect. This is bizarre, as the Trailer (which included, and is as I've said one of the most exciting trailers I've ever seen) contains some of these scenes in a pristine transfer) , but overall the film looks miles better than other versions, despite the white haloes around many of the characters in bright scenes, presumably the result of poor lighting/shading control due to the low budget. Also included are trailers for other nasty Italian horrors like 'Beyond the Darkness'(which looks as perverse as you's expect) 'Spasmo' (which looks like a typically silly low quality giallo) and 'House of Clocks' (which just looks like garbage). The package is rounded off with 40 minutes of interviews with some of the stars, second unit director Bruno Mattei and screenwriter Claudio Fragrasso, all basically about Lucio Fulci, clearing up the issue of which bits of the film he directed (sadly no interview with Beatrice Ring) - basically, the 'Contamination' suited guys, the crap scientists and even stupider military men were pretty much all shot by Mattei, Fragrasso using elements of his own 'Zombie Creeping Flesh'/'Hell of the Living Dead' and 'Return of the Living Dead'. Perhaps a true Fulci cut, minus this stuff will emerge one day - it will only be about 50 minutes long, will need the gore scenes restored from a pristine source and contain a Beatrice Ring interview (plus new, more effectively written dialogue would be something) all in DTS sound. Any Fulci purist labels out there willing to take this on ?

What happens when morons take over for a Master
Lucio fulci left the set of Zombi 3 for 2 reasons, he was working with complete idiots and he was still suffering from Hepetitis. Very sick and upset at the way the film was turning out he left and the production was taken over by a former house painter. No wonder Fulci called this film "Complete #@%@!" Fulci himself is only responsible for about 20 minutes of screen time and boy can you tell the difference. The film begins good enough with an exploding Zombie, a gunfight and a man escaping after being "infected" with some sort of ooze that turns him into a crazy murderer who enjoys pushing poor hotel maids faces into mirror's. From then on the movie takes a silly turn for the worst. The acting is horrid, the effects get worse and the cinematography is mind blowingly bad. At one point a Zombi attacks our "actors?" at a garage and for some odd reason the film is speeded up and gives the whole shot a comical, kung fu movie on speed look. Put it this way, I havent even finshed it yet it was that bad. I have about 30 minutes to go and if it all of a sudden redeems itself I will come back and beg forgiveness. I have a strong feeling no begging will be in order. I am anxiously awaiting the New Release of Fulci's Zombi, being released as Zombi 2 in a special uncut collectors DVD. I cant wait!

FUNNY AS HELL AND A BIT SCARY
sweet this movie is funny as hell and for the price wow a must buy for zombie fans oh and heres a tip this movie is zombie 2 name just changed and zombi 2 is zombie.

Zombi 3 : Something to hvae fun with
Many people enjoy ripping on this film... and hell, I dont blame them at all. It definetly is one of the worst zombie films ever made. It is something to laugh at and have fun with, though. I like this movie solely for entertainment value and how laughable and silly it really is. Dawn of The Dead is my all time favorite film... I love fulci's Zombie and I currently own about 20 zombie films. Im a gigantic fan of the sub-genre... and I still find this to be sub-par. I dont think anyone should really take it seriously. I dont blame Fulci for walking out on it. I still reccomend this film and Zombie 4 if you want an entertaining, low-budget zombie film that you can laugh at.

Glad I rented it first!
I remember seeing this movie in a video store. So, I decided to rent it. All I can say is, I'm so glad I rented it, first. This movie was such a waste. Nothing at all what I expected. After I saw this movie, I kicked myself for even wasting the money to rent it. But, had I bought it. I would have been really mad. It's not even worth renting! Everything is bad in this movie. You name it. It was bad. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

weird and bloody
This isn't your typical spaghetti western - you know the sort - lot's of glowering faces, silly dialogue and violent action that crops up every five minutes or so. This operates on a slower, more pretentious level. The dialogue is still silly, the glowering faces are still there, but instead of numerous action sequences, Fulci gives us a slow, pretentious - almost dreamlike - affair. It's supposed to be one of his personal favourites, and it does have that air of "the director doing his thing" about it. Lots of "meaningful" but somehow unrelated sequences strung together to give an incoherant whole. The violence, when it comes, is pretty strong stuff: there's an opening massacre that has no bearing on the plot whatsoever, a scene where a sherrif gets skinned alive (while the heroes stand by doing nothing, for some strange reason), a rape, cannabalism and torture. But it's not the stuff of westerns - it belongs more in the realm of horror films or thrillers (in fact, compare this film with Fulci's earlier western, Massacre Time, and you can see that Apocalypse is really a precursor to his ultra-bloody and silly horror flicks of the 80s, where long bouts of inactivity and inane dialogue are punctuated by extreme gore). Apparently, in order to woo audiences back to a dying genre, the spaghetti westerns became increasingly explicit in their depiction of violence (it didn't work - this was one of the last westerns made). For a better example, check out Majanna. So why 3 stars? Well, it is a strangely haunting film. Maybe it;'s the cinemaphotography, or Tomas Milian's over-the-top performance as Chaco (the DVD features a great interview with him and Fabio Testi), or even the out-of-place 70s style soundtrack. Or maybe it's a combination of all the above (and the gore, of course). But be warned. If you like your spaghettis fast and furious, stay away.

A unique Western
It's unusual to see a Western in which an extended sequence is devoted to giving birth. And when you combine that with other scenes that include torture and rape, it's definitely unique. Even so, the torture scene is cheesy (the fake skin and blood are ridiculously obvious), and the rape scene is really not that graphic (the juicy parts are not shown). BUT--now add to this peculiar mixture a serious alcoholic and a total nutjob who cavorts in cemeteries and winds up being a cannibal and you could honestly say there is truly no other Western like this one.

Fulci here includes elements much more characteristic of his horror films that were just around the corner, but with the birthing scene--in which all the townsfolk (all men) are genuinely sympathetic and warm--he shows a side of him that no one familiar with his work ever would have suspected.

While it's true that the three or four songs in the soundtrack come close to ruining the film--these songs are way beyond cheesy; they're putrid--the presence of Tomas Milian as the evil Chaco does much to counteract the effect of the songs. This character is not one-dimensionally evil. At first he helps the four stragglers (the gambler, the prostitute, the drunk and the nutjob) by shooting oodles of wild game. When he turns bad it's a pleasure to watch, because he does so much more subtly than is usually portrayed in Euro-Westerns.

This is a truly curious blending of various elements that set it apart, without question, from any other Western around, Euro or American. If you can get past the terrible songs (at least they don't take up the majority of the soundtrack), this is a film worth seeing.

This is an apocolpyse??
I think Fulci put that in the title (or however it translates to in Italian) to capitalize on his yet as unrealized desire to create superb horror. Westerns were not his forte' There is some violence, but it goes out of it's way to be gratuitous. There is an annoying song that is used throughout half of the movie. There is a kickass villian who sould've gotten more screen time. And there is loads of Fulcian nilhism that both the story and this view could've done without.

HORROR AND WESTERN : AN IMPROBABLE COUPLE
FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE, a movie directed by Lucio Fulci in 1975, has been released by Anchor Bay in its superb Spaghetti Western collection. Lucio Fulci is best known for his horror movies directed in the 70's and in the beginning of the 80's, movies that are appreciated by a certain number of aficionados.

If I'm very fond of the movies of Mario Bava and Dario Argento, I've always been reluctant in front of Fulci's filmography. In my opinion, this director has crossed the frontier between the horror movie and the pure filming of disgusting images that can only please special effects fans or would-be butchers and surgeons.

When these horror elements are found in a western, their gratuitousness is patent, these scenes don't bring anything to the action and are simply disgusting. Why do Tomas Milian suddenly feel the urge to skin alive the sheriff who was chasing him ? For no good reason at all except for the pleasure of the director and of a few fans.

Furthermore, FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE is a subpar western with a lot of ridiculous scenes such as the delivery of Bonny in a small town lost in the Utah mountains and the encounter of a group of fundamentalists in the middle of the desert. The characters are shallow and even the last shootout is failed.

A DVD zone they like it but I don't.

Uneven, nihilistic, sentimental, riveting
This is a strange film. It's a dreamy, hypnotic Western, and Fulci was evidently developing the weird dream aesthetics that permeated THE BEYOND and HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. There are some brilliant sequences: the opening massacre; Chaco's torturing of a lawman; the travelling through the desert sequences, and others are a marvel. But the film can't sustain this. Sentimentality ruins the film. There are too many extended death bed scenes and too much gushing warmth. The sequences of dread are far more convincing. The film takes a massive detour into sentimentality and takes ages to get back. But the final showdown between Stubby and Chaco is brilliant: the penultimate image of Stubby's shattered narcissism is unforgettable.

The dvd is fine. Picture is excellent, and an interesting interview with the film's stars: the brilliant actors Tomas Milian and Fabio Testi.

Overall, an interesting film, one that I wish was the masterpiece that it could have been. You'll like it, but you'll wish you could like it better. ... Read more

Reviews (138)

Beyond, The... (1981) d: Fulci, Lucio
A great selling Laser Disc, and one of the most anticipated films in the Anchor Bay catalogue, Lucio Fulci's The Beyond is finally here. Despite being pieced together with ideas from other film sources - such as The Sentinel (1977), Suspiria (1976), and Inferno (1980) this picture is possibly Lucio Fulci's finest movie. A contemporary horror film about a Louisiana hotel haunted by the living dead, and it is found to be built over top one of the seven gateways to Hell. ...Regular Lucio Fulci heroine Catriona MacColl inherits the haunted hotel along with her helpmate, David Warbeck [both on the commentary track], and she has to endure a number of frightening supernatural manifestations before the climax. The plot could be a little thicker, but the film has many controversial gory moments that make it worth while. A plumber has his eyes gouged out, a maid gets an acid to her melting face, a dog rips a woman's throat out, and venomous spiders strip a man's flesh from his bones. Extras on this disc include the color German version of the Roger Corman inspired [Haunted Palace (1963)] pre credit sequence, instead of the more familiar sepia-tinted US and UK versions. The DVD also contains a blood splattered video by Ohio based Death Metal band Necrophagia directed by Jim [Deadbeat At Dawn / My Sweet Satan] Van Bebber.

Its all about the visuals in The Beyond
And the visuals are astounding. The camera and the director breathe in and revel in every shot, their attention is totally unwavering and they have an eye for the beauty in the scenes, actors, and in the horror as well. Frankly, I couldnt take my eyes off it if I tried, it demands your attention.
Find me any film let alone a horror film from 1983 that looks so crystal clear, so well framed, and so well filmed, its impossible. This film is timeless in that respect, if you told someone this was a 1980's period piece that was filmed in the late 1990's they'd believe you.

Like all Italian horror of the time, the emphasis wasnt put on the script, which is being generous to some of the scenes.

The visuals rule the day though and win out, the quality of all these elements puts you in a forgiving mood for the lesser qualities of the film.

Haunting in a good way.

If this is the best of Italian Horror then shoot me.
Ok, it is obvious that the majority of Italian horror fans feel that character developement, good story, and most importantly, good acting are not iportant factors when creating a horror movie. This film is considered by many Italian Horror films to be one of the best, if not the best Italian horror movie ever shot. Though the story isn't to bad, the acting and the character developement are NO WHERE to be found! There are TONS of scenes where you the victum had seconds if not minutes to escape some slowly approaching zombies or what ever, but rather decided to screw around until they were killed, transformed or what ever. It's almost as if Lucio did this on purpose so that he could squeeze an extra long gore sceen into the picture. Like where the young girl walks in to see her mom collapsed on the floor, with her face being slowly eaten away by acid...

...you would think she'd run away, but rather, she decides to make her self at home. I can NOT stand idiotic moments in horror films like that.

On a good note, the gore in this movie is AWSOME for the most part. There are a few sceens that could use some serious work, but for the most part, most scenes turn out great!

It is too bad for Lucio, his films were definatly visually disturbing, and at times almost creepy, if it were not for the comlpletely un-creepy sound tracks, horrible acting, and over abundance of moments where the victum could have escaped, but chose not to apparently.

Your better off with Zombie, or Zombie Hell House, two of his other films that are still imperfect, are MUCH better than this over rated piece of crap...

...that happens to have kool death scenes! :)

Buy it for the gore, but don't expect to enjoy everything in between.

Uncut? yeah right
This is not uncut, at least the version I received was not. The only place you'll see the uncut footage is in the Necrophagia video in the extras. I am so angry right now that they butchered this great movie. The movie itself I give a 5, I had to rate it as a 2 though for the version I received. Still angry.

The best DVD commentary EVER!
No matter what your feelings may be regarding the quality of "The Beyond" as a movie, this DVD is worth the price of purchase for the commentary by the film's hapless stars David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl. If you're sick to death of narcoleptic commentaries by tedious filmmakers describing camera set-ups or Hollywood stars blowing smoke up each other's arses, this is the commentary for you. Fresh from a boozy lunch, Mr Warbeck and Ms MacColl affectionately recall the horrors of working in the Italian film industry, (...) about their co-stars and create an extraordinary portrait of director Lucio Fulci all the while name-dropping furiously and trying to outdo each other in admiring their own performances. Warbeck is especially endearing as he reels off a string of off-colour jokes at the film's expense and MacColl is very entertaining particularly when her ladylike reserve is upset during the gore scenes which she obviously has trouble watching. All of this is delivered by two chums clearly delighted to be sitting down together having a good old chat after all this time. It's DVD commentary as it should be: entertaining. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The oddly titled Don't Torture a Duckling (taken from a minorplot point) is one of director Lucio Fulci's most linear and conventional narratives, relying more on story and mystery than on gore and atmospherics. In a rural Italian village, young boys turn up dead, and the authorities are stumped as to who the murderer is. A reporter lends his efforts to the hunt for the killer, many red herrings turn up, and more kids are murdered while the police search for the culprit. A sexually liberated young woman from Milan, a local witch, and the village idiot all fall under suspicion until the killer is uncovered. Gone is much of the director's trademark visual style, replaced with the blinding sunlight of an Italian summer for a hyperrealistic feel (though Fulci's affinity for the zoom shot and deep focus comes through). More tellingly, though, Fulci points toward the superstition and ignorance of the villagers as being as dangerous and destructive as the murderer himself. Also, the film's vehemently anti-Catholic sentiment had to have been controversial at the time of its release. Fans of the giallo and Italian horror in general would do well to seek out this film for an example of Lucio Fulci at his most grim and serious. --Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Wot, no Zombies?
Why does this film have such an odd title? Does it include zombie ducks? Or exessive scenes of bird torture? No. Sorry, Fulci horror buffs may be disappointed with this one, but it's actually a pretty good film. It's more of a "giallo" mystery, concerning the murders of young boys in a small rural village, and does provide an entertaining story, but with hardly any gore, and a tiny bit of completely gratuitous nudity from Barbera Bouchet in a completely wasted role. Well, some scenes showing the corpses of small children may upset viewers, but there isn't really much to upset the stomach, as no child murders are graphically shown. What is most memorable, however is the sickening death that accompanies the climactic unmasking in the final few minutes, a seriously unpleasant scene involving a cliff edge, but capped with a surprisingly poetic denouement...worth holding out for. This film has certain similarities with Argento shockers, but it wasn't until later, with the mind-boggling "Aenigma" that Fulci really tried to copy Argento ("Aenigma" is "Phenomena" with snails!!) Try that one for size, it's hilarious, but watch "Don't Torture a Duckling" in a more serious mood, and you will enjoy it as a surprisingly effective film.

Brilliant Psychosocial Giallo
DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is a rare bird in Lucio Fulci's very gilded cage of horror. Made a good seven years before his gorefests, starting with the excellent ZOMBIE, that defined his reputation here in America and the rest of the world, DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is just as intense and brutal, if a bit less gruesome, than the typical Fulci fan is used to. Yet still in all, the story alone (co-written by Fulci) is as much a testament to Fulci's uncompromising and gutsy approach to horror and suspense as any gore scene in his later films (two scenes ended up starting off two later Fulci films). Hell, even the great Dario Argento says that this is one of Fulci's best films (it says so on the cover), and after my first viewing of DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING on New Year's Eve, I can see why; I also saw a lot of George Romeroesque social commentary in this film.
Child murders and disappearances are very galvanizing experiences for any society, especially in a town like in this movie. Everybody is desperate for answers as to who would do such a horrible thing. There have even been a few cases where some townspeople resort to vigilante behavior towards a suspect to satisfy their need for justice. Fulci handles this story in a surprisingly tasteful matter, with only two instances of violence against children; the fact that little boys are being murdered is shocking enough!
There are no likeable characters in the village, which makes the story more immediate and brutal. Even the little boys that are the targets of murder are portrayed as nasty (e.g., spying on naked people, killing animals with slingshots). The recent scandal with Michael Jackson gives more importance to the story arc involving Patrizia, whom one of the boys sees naked. The only character with any appeal is the reporter Andrea Martelli, who is covering the murders. That character is like the outsider that Argento gets you to identify with in his movies, and that plot device works wonders in this story.
The chain-whipping of a local Wiccan by three men as pop music plays from a car radio is the most psychosocially relevant scene in horror history. It speaks volumes about how far some people will go to achieve a degree of justice in the wake of horrible crimes. In this case, these men are driven by superstition since the woman claimed to have placed a spell on the boys because they were messing around her property. That entire sequence, appropiately hard to watch and grisly, tells you all about the moral decay of the entire village. Fulci also used a chain-whipping scene to kick off THE BEYOND, my favorite Fulci film, and it holds the same meaning.
*SPOILER ALERT* We all know how terrifying killers are in slasher movies, but imagine the killer being somebody who should protect you-such as a Clergyman. Just as Romero has always taken potshots at the military (e.g., THE CRAZIES, DAY OF THE DEAD), so Fulci knocks organized religion front and center here. The ultimate motivation behind the killings is a shocking one because it is so misguided. In fact, the eventual demise of the killer (reused for SEVEN NOTES IN BLACK/THE PSYCHIC) is all the more shocking when juxtaposed with some other footage. This plot point has more shock value in the wake of the scandal with the Catholic church of last year! I have never been stunned by a horror film since childhood until this one!
If DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING were to be released in theaters today, it would generate a major firestorm of controversy, especially in light of the aforementioned events in the media. Yes, this movie was definitely too strong for Europeans to stomach back in 1972 (it didn't get released elsewhere at that time) and it remains potent today. A gritty and ground-breaking giallo, Lucio Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is a definite must-watch!

Very Disturbing & Effective Film From Lucio Fulci
DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is a very well-made, atmospheric, creepy, disturbing, & effective horror film. What makes this movie very unlike what Lucio Fulci makes is that it relies more on suspense, characterization, & disturbing realism other than blood & gore that which he is noted for.

In a small Italian village, young boys are being murdered. Who is responsible for these horrific crimes?

Probably one of the first of its kind of films that deal with the grim reality of serial murder (along with Fritz Lang's M & Ulli Lommell's THE TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES). And when the revelation of the murderer is is truly astonishing & shocking for its time when it was released.

The Anchor Bay video transfer is crisp & bright. They did a marvellous job of bringing this well-made giallo on video the quality is just marvellous.

Barbara Bouchet is mesmerizing as the town tease. Nuff said!

If you're a horror film fan, you won't be disappointed with this classic, yet almost forgotten outing from one of the masters of Italian horror, Lucio Fulci.

Effective giallo thriller from Fulce--but what a title!
The idyllic Italian countryside, with a highway snaking along concrete supports, with church bells, houses clustered like barnacles on mountains, seems an unlikely place for murders to occur. Well, guess what happens in the village of Accendura?

Three boys, roughly 11 or 12 years of age, are strangled by an unknown killer. As the police point out, the killer's a maniac, "but his minds works in certain logical patterns which has a reasonable meaning to him."

At first, Giuseppe Barra, the village idiot, is accused, as he is caught picking up ransom money. Then suspicion falls on Maciara, an outcast and local witch who claims she did kill them for disturbing the grave where she buried her dead and deformed child, but only by making wax effigies and stabbing them with a pin thirteen times so that anyone can kill them.

A further suspect is Patrizia, a hottie who is lying low in Accendura following a drug scandal in Milan. She is so bored with nothing to do, that when one of the boys, Michaele, brings her orange juice, she, lying stark naked on a sofa, walks up to him, and asks him if he'd like to sleep with her. That is something that would never if not rarely be touched on in mainstream American cinema. She drives a cool red dune buggy and carries an expensive golden lighter. Oh yes, and she really steams things up when she appears.

A reporter, Andrea Martelli, is trying to solve the case and enlists the help of Patrizia. He also befriends the local priest, Don Alberto, who is worried about the effect material things have upon contemporary society. While speaking to Martelli about the boys in his flock, he says, "people aren't worried much about their immortal souls. They watch TV, go to the movies, they read the paper with all these scandalous photographs..." He tries to keep the boys occupied by having them play soccer, which is better than them playing in the streets and getting into trouble. After all, at their age, they're most liable to temptation. Indeed, there's a scene of Michaele is drawing dirty pictures, probably after seeing Patrizia in the altogether.

The most famous performer here is Irene Papas, and she has a relatively small role in the movie.

The music, with its intense, staccato strings, really helps work the tension up, especially in the opening, when Maciara's dirty hands dig the ground to produce the skeleton of her baby. And the wailing song that is sometimes heard in the background provides that provincial small village touch.

Originally titled Don't Torture Donald Duck, or in Italian, Non Si Sevizia un Paperino, this giallo thriller ranks alongside Dario Argento's Deep Red. Small question: if Lucio Fulce was to make a sequel, would he have called it Don't Kick Mickey Mouse In The (...)? Just wondering.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FULCI
This is Lucio Fulci in rare form.If you think his movies only consisted of flesh eating zombies and disgusting throat rippings and harsh gore,then you must be a zombie.Buy this DVD and witness Fulci's giallo,this is brilliance!!!!! ... Read more

Description

Malcom Evans leads his archaeological expedition into the Valley of Temples. His former student, Liza Harris, is drawn to the remains of a 16th Century convent and its grisly legend of crucifixion. The local villagers rise to protect the secrets of their ancestors, as Liza's obsession with the truth takes her deeper into the forbidden ruins and further from sanity! ... Read more

Reviews (27)

perfect example of FULCI'S ARTWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this movie is a perfect example of LUCIO FULCI'S unsettleing ARTWORK!!!!most mainstream conditioned critics & adience's shun & insult FULCI'S work because it doesn't make perfect sense to them,they pick it apart & have to many questions when the movie ends & they miss the whole point!!!!!!the point to fulci's work IS!! to unsettle & confuse you that then sets you up to be scared of anything & everything & in "DEMONIA" like most his other efforts he sucseeds at doing just that!!! THATS WHAT ART IS!!! like a painting or a special song,these things have different meanings for everyone!!!!! confusion & loose ends makes great OPEN MINDED ART!!!! like a puzzle thats almost finished but only you have the special pieces within you & your imagination to complete it.if none of this is making any sense to you then DON'T!!! bother watching this movie or any of LUCIO FULCI'S movies!?!?!?! if your a true fan of the ARTISTC HORROR/GORE genre but not to familiar with LUCIO FULCI'S movies or euro/horror in genral then "DEMONIA" is a great place to start as well as "BEYOND" "HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY" "CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD" "ZOMBIE" & so on!!!!!here are some other directors to check out as well "DARIO ARGENTO" "MARIO & LAMBERTO BAVA" "JOE D'AMATO" "UMBERTO LENZI" anyway i love this movie & if you understood anything i said above, then you will love this movie to!!!the dvd came out decent a few bad picture quality spots but nothing to ruin the flick. so hurry up & get this GEM of a movie & TURN OUT ALL THE LIGHTS O--P--E--N UP YOUR MIND & ALL YOUR SCARED SENSES & E----N----J----O----Y!!!!!!!!!@#$%^&*(

Minor Fulci Effort
Sicily, 1486: A group of angry men convey several nuns to an underground chamber. Here they tie the nuns to crosses, then proceed to crucify them. . . .

Canada, 1990: Professor Paul Evans is preparing an archaeological expedition to visit Sicily in search of Greek remains. (The Classical Greeks established several city-states as colonies in Sicily.) One of his graduate students, Liza Harris, who is part of the professor's team, attends a séance and has a strange vision of nuns being crucified. . . .

The expedition arrives in Sicily and begins work at a dig site near the coastal village of Santa Rosalaria. Liza wanders off to investigate the ruins of a medieval nunnery overlooking the site. Something in the atmosphere of the ruins seems to disturb her. She eventually finds a passage leading into a series of crypts beneath the nunnery. At the lowest level, she finds'a group of rotting female corpses, affixed by nails to wooden crosses.

Deeply puzzled by finding physical remains that match her earlier vision, Liza goes into town and attempts to consult the town records. But she finds that several key passages dating to the late Middle Ages have been removed from the records. A strange woman appears and promises to give Liza the answers she seeks if Liza will visit the woman the next day.

When Liza goes to meet the woman, the woman tells here about the old nunnery. The sisters there were really devil worshippers. They lured young men to the nunnery, then killed them during the course of wild orgies. The villagers of Santa Rosalaria finally decided to eradicate the blasphemous evil of the nuns, in the fashion Liza has already seen in her visions'through crucifixion.

Meanwhile, several murders linked to a phantom female figure have occurred in and around Santa Rosalaria. The locals are convinced that the archaeologists somehow have released the spirits of the evil nuns. A mob gathers, and sets out for the ruins. Inside, they set fire to the corpses of the nuns. This seems to end the menace'but Liza dies also. Apparently the spirit of the head nun had been possessing her and using her body to commit the murders.

Demonia is a slow-paced and unrewarding effort from 'wizard of gore' director Lucio Fulci. The murders are simply an excuse for Fulci's customary gruesome exercises, and the general rationale for the supernatural menace is poorly defined. I was disappointed by this film.

Waste of time
I love Fulci's zombie flicks, but this is something very different. Evil nuns coming back to take revenge sounds like a cool idea but trust me, the execution of the story is really bad. The last 20 minutes are so confusing and stupid I just wish I hadn't even bothered with it. House By The Cemetery, Gates Of Hell and the Beyond blow this away. There is some decent gore here but it doesn't save the film. Fulci had just lost his touch at this point, so I'd say see this only if you are a completist.

A Film About Nothing
Demonia sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun, what with an ancient evil, crucified nuns, and horrific murders, but it turns out to be a pretty dud film. The film steals shamelessly from it's predecessors "The Beyond" and "City of The Living Dead", in fact, there is hardly any originality in the whole film. The story centres on a young woman on an archeological dig who unwittingly uncovers the secret of an ancient ruined nunnery, and revives a bunch of long-dead nuns who were put to death for satanic and evil crimes.
The script and acting are pedestrian at best, and while lead actress Meg Register looks gorgeous and does her best, she really isn't given anything intelligent to do or say. What truly lets the film down is that the actual return of the nuns is scarcely even seen on screen, and the various deaths that befall the cast seem to happen by themselves! The murders themselves are of course pretty gruesome, although not in the same league as Fulci's earlier horror epics, and the special effects range from lame (the spike pit) to unconvincing ( an attack by cats), as though Fulci can't be bothered to put the effort into these scenes that he used to. The standout effect, however involves a man split in two by being tied to tree branc