City of the Living Dead...

[Mike70]

Also, Some are beautifully photographed and very slow paced, which is pretty cool if your in the mood for it....Plus, there's a ton of sex and gore. outside of bava and argento i'm not that big of a fan of italian horror but i totally agree with jay. argento's movies, particularly suspiria, opera, and deep red, are among some of the most beautifully shot movies in any genre. the way argento (and his cinematographer) use color is damn near hitchcockian. the scenes in "deep red" where argento recreates the nighthawks painting by edward hopper are pure art.

[Trin]

I've never seen any Euro horror. Sounds like I should give it a go. If I were to choose a couple to get me started, which ones would be a good primer? Fulci's Zombi I assume? What else?

[EvilNed]

Euro Horror is probably never you love from the get-go. It takes awhile getting used to it. You have to be introduced into their zany world, disregard it as crap, then get over it being crap... You know you've reached the final step when you love the way the dialoge doesn't match the lips, and when you can recognize certain voice actors who you've heard in several other italian horror films. Fulci's Zombie is where most people start. It's a good one, but it feels very "light" to me now. Other than that, Zombie Holocaust was a terrific adventure film if you ask me. Oh and go out and get Suspiria. If you hate Suspiria, then you can quit right away. You don't have to like it, but if you're in anyway fascinated by it... Then you're on the right track.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Yeah, you'd think he'd be all over this thread like a fly on Tommy-Tit. FulciFan, thats Scott Simpson, my make-up artist from my Dead films... If I am thinking of the same one, or was there an older member? Anyway if it is Scott you're talking about last I heard from him he was working with Robert hall on Laid to Rest.

[major jay]

argento's movies, particularly suspiria, opera, and deep red, are among some of the most beautifully shot movies in any genre. Yeah, those are great movies! I like Wernor Herzog's too. Nosferatu The Vampire is a good one. It's pacing is like molasses, but it fits the times being depicted.

[krakenslayer]

Did anyone paying attention to the threadbare plot in City notice that the drill scene had NOTHING to do with the supernatural or the main storyline? it was just a little subplot about the village idiot and that guy's daughter that just goes nowhere and ties up with nothing but that one set piece. Wasn't a big fan of this one - some good atmospheric visuals but the pace is excruciatingly slow and very dull in places. And the logic of the ending is either infuriatingly obscure or just a total lazy copout.

[EvilNed]

I always assumed the guy doing the drilling had been somehow possesed by the evil spirits that haunted the town. But It's been awhile since I saw it.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Other than that, Zombie Holocaust was a terrific adventure film if you ask me. The ending seemed anti-climatic though. I was expecting a boatload of gore when the natives seemed bent on revenge but nothing really happened. Maybe the version I saw was edited. Up until the end, the movie was quite enjoyable, although nothing was done much with the zombie natives. I guess they were there for atmosphere only.

[krakenslayer]

I always assumed the guy doing the drilling had been somehow possesed by the evil spirits that haunted the town. But It's been awhile since I saw it. As far as I can remember, the dad threatens to kill the guy near the start, then later on, he does.

[EvilNed]

The ending seemed anti-climatic though. I was expecting a boatload of gore when the natives seemed bent on revenge but nothing really happened. Maybe the version I saw was edited. Up until the end, the movie was quite enjoyable, although nothing was done much with the zombie natives. I guess they were there for atmosphere only. I thought the ending was Okay. I liked the mad scientist bit, myself. As far as I can remember, the dad threatens to kill the guy near the start, then later on, he does. Hehe, I might have to rewatch that film. :P

[Mr.G]

Eh, not a bad film but nothing great. I've never gotten the EuroZombie movies. Give me Children of the Living Dead ANY day!

[krakenslayer]

Some Fulci mini-reviews/opinions for the uninitiated: Zombi 2 (Zombie Flesh Eaters/Zombie) - My rating: **** One of my favourites. Not too heavy on plot and characterisation, like many other films of it's ilk, but at least they're there and serve the purpose. The movie looks great and has some amazing visuals and legendary gore scenes and gloriously weird set-pieces. Some decent actors too. The plot is a bit slow, but that's par for the course. City of the Living Dead - My rating: ** Not Fulci's best. This was the first of his movies to really disregard plot and characterisation in favour of sleazy/gory set pieces - this was later to become a trademark of his, but it really doesn't work here. Visually, it doesn't look as good as Zombie or The Beyond, and although some of the set pieces are good, it's difficult to actually give a shit about the random nasty things that happen to people during the film. Not really a true zombie movie. This one is a little sloppy. The Beyond - My rating: *** Similar in plot to City of the Living Dead, but actually a quite bit better, Beyond is a visual feast (to use a cliche). Some of the stylings remind me of Suspiria, and anyone who's seen that knows it's a good thing. There are some amazing gore effects (including some of the nastiest headshots ever), and some not so amazing (a man attacked by rubber spiders and a plastic-looking eye-gouge that pales in comparison to Zombie's). Slightly overrated, but worth a watch mainly for the wonderfully surreal atmosphere - like a bad trip. House by the Cemetery - My rating: ** Meh. A family move to a creepy house inhabited by the ghost of a nanny and a little girl, with a flesh-eating undead occultist living in the basement. The slowest and most boring of Fulci's "big four", and the one that deviates most from logic, without anywhere near the same volume of atmosphere and chills as The Beyond. As with City of the Living Dead, just as things start to get exciting near the end - BAM ...anticlimax.

[MaximusIncredulous]

I thought the ending was Okay. I liked the mad scientist bit, myself. So did I . It just seemed that he was due for some major veng-gore by the natives.

[major jay]

Some Fulci mini-reviews/opinions for the uninitiated: Zombi 2 (Zombie Flesh Eaters/Zombie) - My rating: **** One of my favourites. The movie looks great and has some amazing visuals and legendary gore scenes and gloriously weird set-pieces. I agree.

[triste realtà]

You know you've reached the final step when you love the way the dialoge doesn't match the lips, and when you can recognize certain voice actors who you've heard in several other italian horror films. Several other? Try every other! Nowadays I try to imagine how the actor sounds on set with the heavy accent. As far as I can remember, the dad threatens to kill the guy near the start, then later on, he does. It has something to do with Bob's mom being slutty and considered the same as a witch and the town's forefathers being Salem witch burners which has damned them somehow (written in Enoch) but Fulci probably gouged the script and now it's confusing.