Gates of Hell (1980)

It’s been several years since my last viewing of Lucio Fulci’s “The Gates of Hell”, a film I always considered to be the weakest from Fulci’s late seventies/early eighties “zombie” period of filmmaking. After a fresh viewing, I still say it’s not on the same level as “Zombie” or “The Beyond”, but I think I found myself appreciating it a little more than I did in the past.

As the title suggests, a local priest has opened the “gates to hell” after committing suicide in the ancient town of Dunwich. Elsewhere, a psychic named Mary (the foxy Catriona MacColl) has a vision of the suicide during a séance, the shock of which causes her to die from apparent “fright”. After the police do their share of investigating, enter the ever-reliable Christopher George as Peter, a reporter who catches wind of the young psychic’s death and decides to snoop around her grave for a possible story. That’s mighty lucky for Mary, because apparently she’s still alive (?) and about to be buried in her coffin, to which Peter promptly rescues her from a second death. Elsewhere in Dunwich, the priest, now back from the dead, is having all sorts of fun by killing local residents along with his zombie minions. After conferring with Mary’s head psychic, Peter and Mary are informed that the priest simply must be stopped before the impending arrival of All Saint’s Day or else the gates to hell will be fully opened upon the world.

While Fulci’s films along with euro-horror in general rarely ever make sense in a linear way; this one may be the most threadbare of Fulci’s films in terms of plot, ranking right up there in lack of logic with his masterfully surreal 1981 zombie dream opus “The Beyond”. For example, we’re never told exactly how the priest’s suicide is causing all the zombies and what not, and all I can say is this: Don’t worry about it. The best way to appreciate “The Gates of Hell” and the majority of films by Fulci and his European contemporaries is to try and not think of story/plot in a conventional, or rather, American way. Things in Italian horror cinema simply don’t apply to standard “rules” of filmmaking, and honestly, that’s why I fucking love em’. “Gates of Hell”, while far from the best example of euro-horror, excels in the typical areas for these films, especially those of Lucio Fulci, with that being mega gore scenes and a thoroughly trippy vibe throughout.

In what is quite possibly his most “Gothic” film, Fulci sets the cursed town of Dunwich amidst a truly superb backdrop of fog enshrouded cemeteries and lonely back roads, perfectly captured by cinematographer Sergio Salvati. The film's opening scene of the priest walking through the cemetery while Fabio Frizzi’s eerie score plays in the background is my personal favorite of the film, and shows that Fulci was able to create some truly artful moments in cinema no matter what his detractors may say. Salvati ’s camera lovingly prowls all over the scenery, whether it’s through the foggy and wind torn back streets of Dunwich or a skeleton infested mausoleum. Fulci creates a brooding sense of dread that slowly builds and builds, and provides the perfect backdrop for another element in which Fulci’s films are famous for: up close and personal scenes of graphic violence.

As George Romero pushed the level of unrated violence with “Dawn of the Dead”, Fulci raised the bar even higher with his illegitimate sequel “Zombie”, and here the bar is raised yet again in the realm of sanguinary spillage. The film’s two “classic” moments involve a scene where a young woman (at the urgency of our undead priest) pukes up her entire intestinal tract, is both patently phony and one hundred percent gross. Legend has it that Fulci made the young woman cram her mouth with all manner of sheep innards, and the less me thinks of that, the better. The film’s other timeless moment occurs when the ever-victimized actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice (a.k.a. John Morghen) has his brain skewered by a power drill, filmed up close and in loving detail. It’s almost a rehash of the infamous “splinter to the eye” scene from “Zombie”, as Fulci’s camera almost dares the viewer to cover their eyes, and, when most filmmakers would pan away at the last second, Fulci rams the whole thing in your face. Gianetto De Rossi’s special effects, while crude and simple, are highly effective examples of terrific fx done on the cheap. Besides these two key gore sequences, we’re also treated to various zombie bites, brain rippings, and loads upon loads of maggot clouds being sprayed at the characters. It’s all rather shocking, and maybe even more so today when compared to the current crop of “safe” stateside horror fare that typically comes neutered and with a PG-13 rating for the kiddies. And to think this film once played UNRATED in stateside theaters and drive-ins! Those were the days…

While “Gates of Hell” definitely delivers on the gore and atmosphere quotients, the main problem here is the film’s pacing. This baby is a real plodder, as in between moments of artful gothic atmosphere and blood soaked gore; we’re treated to lengthy moments of truly idiotic dialogue and even worse acting. I typically could care less about these aspects as most of the films I love have healthy doses of both, but here they just seemed to be in an acute overabundance. Catriona MacColl, a Fulci regular who would go on to star in “House by the Cemetery” and “The Beyond” does the best here, both in acting and overall looks. God I love women with British accents. Christopher George chews on his cigar and does the reporter bit okay, but he’s really sort of disposable. Not good when he’s a main character. The rest of the cast is godawful, serving as no more than zombie fodder and the like. Speaking of zombies, the undead here are sort of a letdown after the undead witnessed in “Zombie”, they just don’t appear as creepy or convincing as they did in that film. They also have the interesting ability to teleport all over the place, and frankly, I hope that’s the last we see of teleporting zombies.

Teleporting zombies and overall idiocy aside, “The Gates of Hell” is definitely a must for fans of euro-horror and Fulci enthusiasts. Though at times rather slow and clunky, there’s enough here to satisfy most die-hard genre fans looking for a fix of gore and gothic atmosphere. Those looking for a more mainstream and logical affair however, best look elsewhere.