City of the Living Dead | 11 August, 1980

City of the Living Dead

"City of the Living Dead" (Italian: "Paura nella città dei morti viventi", literally 'Fear in the City of the Living Dead', also released as "The Gates of Hell") is a 1980 Italian supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci. It stars Christopher George, Catriona MacColl, Carlo De Mejo, Antonella Interlenghi, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Janet Agren. The film follows a priest whose suicide opens the gates of hell, unleashing the undead. A psychic and a reporter team up to resolve the situation before All Saints' Day.

The film was developed following the financial success of Fulci's previous film "Zombi 2", leading him to collaborate with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti to write a new horror film inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft. It was approved during the production of "Contraband", and Fulci departed to begin work on "City of the Living Dead". Principal photography mainly took place in the U.S., with indoor scenes shot in Rome.

The film premiered in Italy in August 1980, grossing £9,850,000. It was later released throughout Europe, including a screening at the Paris International Fantastic and Science Fiction Film Festival where Fulci won the Audience Award, and in the U.S. in April 1983. Despite criticism for its acting, plot, and graphic violence, it gained a cult following, like many of Fulci's films. It is the first film in Fulci's "Gates of Hell" trilogy.

At a séance in a New York apartment conducted by medium Teresa, Mary Woodhouse experiences a vision of Father Thomas, who hangs himself in the graveyard of the town of Dunwich. Overwhelmed by the image, Mary collapses, and the group mistakenly believes she is dead and reports it

to the police. The police suspect foul play, and Teresa warns the police chief of impending evil. Reporter Peter Bell begins investigating Mary's death and visits her grave when she is about to be buried. However, she is still alive, and Peter hears her screams and rescues her. Peter and Mary visit Teresa, who tells them that, according to the ancient Enochian text, the event Mary witnessed in her vision foretells the eruption of the living dead into our world. The gates of hell were opened by Father Thomas's death, and the invasion will begin on the upcoming All Saints' Day.

In Dunwich, young vagrant Bob visits an abandoned house but flees upon seeing a corpse. Across town, psychiatrist Gerry is consulting with neurotic patient Sandra, and his 19-year-old girlfriend and secretary Emily Robbins tells him she will later meet Bob, whom she tried to help. That evening, Emily discovers Bob acting strangely in an abandoned garage. When Bob runs away, Father Thomas appears and suffocates Emily with a maggot-covered hand. The next morning, Emily's body is found. Emily's father expresses suspicion of Bob to the sheriff and Gerry due to Bob's criminal record. Meanwhile, Peter and Mary leave New York to search Dunwich.

That evening, Bob returns to the abandoned house and sees a vision of Father Thomas. After Emily's funeral, her younger brother John-John sees her ghostly figure outside his bedroom window. At Sandra's house, the corpse of an elderly woman known as Mrs. Holden appears on her kitchen floor. Sandra seeks help from Gerry, but the corpse vanishes as Gerry arrives. The two search the house but are disturbed by broken windows and blood dripping from the glass.

Meanwhile, Bob finds shelter in the garage of a local resident, Mr. Ross. Ross's teenage daughter Ann finds Bob and offers him marijuana. Fearing that Bob is trying to seduce his daughter, Ross bursts in and attacks Bob. Ross kills Bob by stabbing him through the head with a drilling machine.

The next morning, Peter and Mary arrive at the cemetery Mary saw in her vision. They start searching for Father Thomas's grave and meet Gerry and Sandra. The four return to Gerry's office to discuss Father Thomas's death, and they are soon covered in maggots. Gerry receives a call from John-John, who explains that Emily has returned and killed his parents. They rush to the Robbins' house to find the sheriff, and while Sandra tries to get John-John to safety, Emily tears off her scalp. John-John escapes through the streets and is rescued by Gerry, who hands the boy over to the police.

At a bar, Mr. Ross is attacked by the resurrected dead led by Bob. Ross and two other men are killed, and an emergency is declared on the radio. As the clock strikes midnight and All Saints' Day begins, Mary, Peter, and Gerry return to the cemetery. They descend into Father Thomas's family crypt and discover a cave of decayed bones and cobwebs. Sandra, now a zombie, kills Peter, and Gerry impales her with a metal spike. Mary and Gerry continue until they confront Father Thomas, who leads the undead army. Before Thomas can kill Mary, Gerry grabs a wooden cross and extracts Thomas's entrails. The priest and other resurrected corpses are consumed by flames. Mary and Gerry exit the cemetery in the morning and see John-John and the police. Mary is relieved to see John-John alive, but everything turns black, and she screams in terror.