WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
It’s interesting to think that Lucio Fulci is referred to as the “Godfather of Gore” when I honestly don’t find any of his films, the ones that I’ve seen of course, especially gory. What I did notice however is that he seems to have a fascination with focusing on his actors’ eyes which in certain scenes in the below films works really well as it adds a little bit of tension but in others it seems a little out of place, and almost implies something that isn’t even happening…
Zombi 2
Probably better known as Zombie Flesh Eaters, it’s strange to think that this is referred to as Zombi 2 when it is a standalone film. Thankfully I was lucky enough to get access to the uncut version of this film – the full 91 minutes. OK, only 1 minute and 45 seconds was cut when it when released over here in order to gain its X-rating back in the 80s but still. As you can guess, this is one of Lucio Fulci’s video-nasties (1 of 3 that feature in this article to be exact). Even though the opening is simple, it is clear that it is setting up for a zombie flick – as you know, no normal dead body sits up when it’s tied in a body bag! This is my second watching, and I honestly didn’t remember so much happening in the city before it changes to the island. In truth very little happens overall for the first 40 minutes before the zombie attacks the shark but even that isn’t exactly eventful. We credit World War Z for being one of the first to have clever zombies but I think its pretty clever that one can swim and another seems to deliberately pull Mrs Maynard’s head so that the broken part of door goes through her eye! I remembered this film being much more shocking but maybe this was due to it being my first watch but I was still more startled than the cast when they find Mrs Maynard being eaten – they are way too calm for my liking.
Don’t Torture a Duckling
You want to talk about a weird title for a film? It literally gives nothing away about the film you’re going to watch. You’ll be happy to know though, that no ducks were harmed in the making. Three young boys on the other hand, now that’s a different story! I have to admit, I actually found the way Patrizia flirts with 12 year old Michele more disturbing than any of the violence committed towards the children. Especially as the body of Tonino looks like a doll underwater, he doesn’t look even remotely real. I felt for a while that the opening scene didn’t actually make much sense in connection with the rest of the film until the introduction of Maciara. It turns out she was the young woman digging up the infantile bones at the very beginning. Even with the addition of the occult in this way, this film feels more like a murder mystery than an actual horror film – especially as it would probably have been the same film without the addition of Maciara and her father. Patrizia could have been the suspected killer for the majority of the film before the reveal of the actual murderer. The one thing I will say though, and this is very rare in film as I’ve only said this once or twice before, is that I think it is very brave that Fulci had Michele killed on screen. With him being a child, many directors may have shied away from this.
House by the Cemetery
Welcome to part two of the Lucio Fulci’s video-nasties! Strangely the opening scene of this film reminded me a little of a moment in John Carpenter’s Halloween when Michael Myers kills Lynda and Bob, but this is just a little bit more violent. Even the music is a little bit similar to Halloween. The rest of the film doesn’t seem to follow in the same vain though and it seems that no one ever seems to reference the murders at the beginning. I was genuinely confused by the plot and wondered for a long time if Mae Freudstein, the little girl who speaks to Bobby, was even really alive – the fact that she appears to him in a painting first and no one else ever seems to see her. Unfortunately this isn’t the only question I had about this film but if I went over them all, we would be here for a long time. This is the one time in this article I’m going to complain about the dubbing and that is only because this film was clearly in English and the voice given to Bobby is unbelievably irritating! I mentioned about the fascination with focusing on actors’ eyes at the beginning of this article and I feel this is one situation where it implies something that isn’t there. The way it focuses on Norman and Ann’s eyes almost implies an attraction between them and with the addition of the shot on Lucy’s before they go into the cellar, makes it look like there’s an affair taking place.
The New York Ripper
I want to start this by making something completely clear. This film is not about The New York Ripper or Torso Killer Richard Cottingham who was arrested two years prior to this film’s release. What’s interesting about this film is that even though it was released in both Italy and America in the 1980s – it was banned in UK until 2002. That being said, this is not the third of Lucio Fulci’s video-nasties. Can someone please explain to me what in the world is with the duck voice? On the phone I understand it as he’s trying to disguise his voice but the quacking when he’s actually murdering the women? That makes absolutely no sense to me. Speaking of weird unexplainable things in this film – the scene with Jane, Chico and Morales feels uncomfortably out of context! If you have seen this film or watch it following this article – you’ll know which scene I mean. I’ll be honest, even though the murders are brutal I don’t think I would describe this as a horror film. I guess it’s technically a Giallo which I have come to understand is possibly the Italian answer to a slasher but with much more police involvement.
The Beyond
This is actually the second time I’ve watched this film and even though at the time I knew it was a video nasty, what I didn’t know was that much like Dario Argento’s The Three Mothers trilogy, The Beyond forms part of Fulci’s Gates of Hell trilogy along with House by the Cemetery mentioned above and City of the Living Dead. I don’t know if it’s the sepia grading of the opening scene but the crucifixion of Schweick looks unbelievable realistic. When I watched this film for the first time I got a little confused about the relevance of the opening scene but it is the killing of Schweick that basically causes the events of the film – taking him out of the equation means there is no one to stop the gate in the hotel opening. I was also a little confused regarding Emily’s character and her relevance to the plot but the fact that she tries to tell Liza to give away the hotel says to me that she represents what is typically known in horror as the harbinger. Actually, I’ll just come out and say it – a lot of things in this film confused me on both watchings, a bit like House by the Cemetery actually, but if I went into all of them we would be at this forever. The confusion also isn’t helped by an inaccuracy in the plot. Emily tells Liza that Schweick is killed in Room 36 and that is exactly where his body appears to her, however, we see right at the beginning that he is dragged from his room into the basement and killed. I also think it says more about me than the film’s special effects that I was more disturbed by the scene with Martin and the tarantulas than any of the other death scenes.
