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THE MOVIE |
THE DVD |
REVIEWER |
REVIEW DATE |
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WesCraven |
13th September, 2004 |
Review Quote
"Fulci fans can probably handle this film with no problem, gorehounds will easily find something to wow them (seriously). Your average, and even more hardcore horror fans might want to shy away from this one, at least until you've seen some of Fulci's better work."
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The Plot
In the small town of Dunwich, a priest hangs himself. Soon after the dead began to rise, and begin to murder. Who will stop them?
The Movie
Here we have another horror piece from Italy's godfather of gore, Lucio Fulci, which may be (in my opinion) his weakest film. Don't get me wrong, I love Lucio Fulci, he's easily one of my favorite directors, however this film, was just not on par with some of his other work.
We get the same with Fulci here, that we'll usually find with him: zombies, plot holes, closeups on the eyes, and extreme amount of gore. First off with the zombies, I'm not sure if that's what they really were. They had this ghost-like ability to disappear and reappear at will, which was a little odd. Also the zombie makeup in this movie, was a little weak in my opinion. At times, they almost looked like they were just tired-looking people with dirt on their faces, which may come as a result of Giannetto De Rossi being absent in this film, and the makeup instead being done by Gino De Rossi (I kid you not, their names are that close), who I believe is an underling of Giannetto's. So really all I have to go on is the title of the movie, and Fulci's constant usage of zombies to help decide whether or not they were zombies or not. In the end it wasn't really difficult, just odd I suppose.
The gore returns here as well, and I must say for Giannetto De Rossi being absent I am thoroughly impressed with some of the special effects in this film.
***SPOILERS***
Both the girl who vomits up her insides, and the drill through the head deaths, are very explicit, and look very, very realistic
***END SPOILERS***
Even if Gino De Rossi failed (at least in my eyes) on the zombie makeup, he excelled in the special effects makeup, and I must give him the credit that he is due.
Fulci's obsession with the eyes, returns yet again, though not noticeably as much in this film. However, when it is done, as usual, it's quite eerie, and only heightens the intensity. Finally the plot holes. Fulci, my dear friend, where did you go wrong with this one. I must say I was often wondering what was going on. There were far too many side stories going on, not to mention that most of these side stories did nothing to move picture along (except to maybe show some kills). Often times they would show some people, and I'd have no clue who they were, or what they were about; then they would maybe never show them again. Then characters would reference these people (or people we're never introduced to) later in the film, and we're not quite sure for whom they speak. It was all rather annoying, and this easily the film in which Fulci fails considerably when it comes to a fluid script.
All in all, I must say for a Fulci flick, I was mildly disappointed. Fulci fans can probably handle this film with no problem, gorehounds will easily find something to wow them (seriously). Your average, and even more hardcore horror fans might want to shy away from this one, at least until you've seen some of Fulci's better work.
The DVD
The DVD is OK. The transfers, audio and visual, are both pretty solid, though nothing to rejoice over. The extras are pretty bland. We get a theatrical trailer, a couple radio spots played over a poster and still gallery montage, which is pretty cool, considering what the two things are, and a Lucio Fulci bio. I yearn for more extras, and feel very dissatisfied.
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Director
Lucio Fulci
Cast
Christopher George
Catriona MacCall
Carlo De Mejo
Janet Agren
Giovanni Lombardo Radice
Screenplay
Lucio Fulci
Dardano Sachetti
Tagline
"The dead shall rise and walk the earth."
Country
Italy
Classification
Not Rated
Year
1980
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Format
NTSC
Region Coding
1
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1
16x9 Enhanced
Yes
Running Time
93 minutes
Year Released
2000
Packaging
Snap Case
Extra Features
Radio Spots
Photo Gallery
Lucio Fulci Bio
Theatrical Trailer
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This Version On DVD
Region 1: Buy Me Now
Other Versions On DVD
None
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