[Brook K]

Rate 'em, Rank 'em, Review 'em, whatever

Volume #227 - Lucio Fulci

Door to Silence (1991) (as H. Simon Kittay)
Voices from the Deep (1991)
... aka Voices from Beyond
Demonia (1990)
... aka Liza
Nightmare Concert (1990)
... aka A Cat In the Brain
Hansel e Gretel (1990) (uncredited)
The House of Clocks (1989) (TV)
The Sweet House of Horrors (1989) (TV)
Zombi 3 (1988)
... aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 (UK: video title)
The Ghosts of Sodom (1988)
When Alice Broke the Mirror (1988)
... aka Touch of Death
Aenigma (1987)
Devil's Honey (1986)
... aka Dangerous Obsession
... aka Divine Obsession
The Demon Is Loose (1984)
... aka Giallo a disco
... aka Murder Rock - Dancing Death
... aka Slashdance (Europe: English title: dubbed version)
Rome, 2072 A.D. (1984)
... aka The New Gladiators
Conquest (1983)
Manhattan Baby (1982)
... aka Evil Eye
... aka Eye of the Evil Dead
... aka The Possessed
The New York Ripper (1982)
The House by the Cemetery (1981)
The Beyond (1981)
... aka Seven Doors of Death (USA: censored version)
The Black Cat (1981)
City of the Living Dead (1980)
... aka The Gates of Hell (USA)
Luca the Smuggler (1980)
... aka Contraband
... aka The Naples Connections
... aka The Smuggler
Zombi (1979)
... aka Zombie 2: The Dead Are Among Us
... aka Zombie Flesh-Eaters (UK)
Silver Saddle (1978)
... aka The Man in the Silver Saddle
... aka They Died with Their Boots On (USA)
Seven Notes in Black (1977)
... aka Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes
... aka The Psychic (USA)
My Sister in Law (1976)
Cav. Costante Nicosia demoniaco, ovvero: Dracula in Young Dracula (1975)
... aka Dracula in the Provinces
... aka The Demonic Womanizer Costante Nicosia, or: Dracula in Brianza (informal literal English title)
Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
... aka Four Gunmen of the Apocalypse
... aka Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Return of White Fang (1974)
... aka Challenge to White Fang
White Fang (1973)
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
Senator Likes Women (1972)
... aka The Eroticist
... aka The Senator Likes Women... Despite Appearances and Provided the Nation Doesn't Know (UK)
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971)
Desesperados, Los (1969) (co-director)
... aka A Bullet for Sandoval (USA)
... aka Desperate Men (UK)
... aka Those Desperate Men Who Smell of Dirt and Death (USA)
... aka Vengeance Is Mine
The Conspiracy of Torture (1969)
Perversion Story (1969)
... aka One on Top of the Other
Operation St. Peter's (1967)
... aka Operation St. Peter's
The Tall, the Short, the Cat (1967)
How We Stole the Atomic Bomb (1967)
Massacre Time (1966)
... aka Colt Concert
... aka The Brute and the Beast
How We Robbed the Bank of Italy (1966)
The Two Parachutists(1965)
002 Operation Moon (1965)
How We Got Into Trouble with the Army (1965)
Two Public Enemies (1964)
00-2 Most Secret Agents (1964)
... aka Oh! Those Most Secret Agents (USA)
Two Escape from Sing Sing (1964)
The Maniacs (1964)
... aka Beautiful Eyes
The Swindlers (1963)
The Strange Type (1963)
The Masseuses (1962)
Those Two in the Legion (1962)
Hunchback Italian Style (1962)
... aka Getting Away with It the Italian Way
Howlers of the Dock (1960)
The Jukebox Kids (1959)
The Thieves (1959)

[Brook K]

An Italian filmmaker of a much different sort, Lucio Fulci began his career making comedies, musicals and Spaghetti Westerns, before making 2 now well regarded, but at the time highly controversial, gialli. His career rebounded with the Dawn of the Dead cash-in "sequel" Zombi and he rose to new popularity as a maker of violent, gory horror films.

My rankings for the top 4 are somewhat interchangeable. At his best he's as good as Bava and nearly up to Argento, but he's also done some really, really lousy stuff.

1. New York Ripper - A- (ultra, ultra violent serial killer film is surprisingly well shot and edited)
*2. Don't Torture A Duckling - A- (Stylish, wacked-out giallo with a healthy dislike of the Church)
3. The House By The Cemetary - A- (Well done, suspenseful horror film.)
4. Zombi - B+ (Not a lot to the story, but well done zombie action like the famous underwater zombie fight)
5. The Beyond - C+ (Some inventively done killings, but much of the film is repetitious and lacking energy)
6. A Lizard in a Woman's Skin - C
7. City of the Living Dead - F (one of the most awful zombie films I've come across.)

Own: 1 (I originally bought The Beyond tin but traded it since I didn't really like the movie)

[Mario Gauci]

In order of merit:


1.Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) ***
2.A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) ***
3.Perversion Story aka One on Top of the Other (1969) ***
4.Beatrice Cenci aka The Conspiracy Of Torture (1969) ***
5.Massacre Time (1966) ***
6.Seven Notes in Black (1977) **1/2
7.The Senator Likes Women (1972) **1/2
8.The New York Ripper (1982) **
9.Zombi (1979) **
10.Four of the Apocalypse (1975) **
11.White Fang (1973) **
12.A Bullet For Sandoval (co-director) (1969)
13.The House by the Cemetery (1981) **
14.The Beyond (1981) **
15.The Thieves (1959) **
16.City of the Living Dead (1980) *1/2
17.Aenigma (1987) BOMB


I had the good fortune of watching 3 of these - nos. 1, 4 and 9 - at last year's Venice Film Festival, with Fulci fans Quentin Tarantino and Joe Dante, not to mention Fulci collaborators Barbara Bouchet and screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti, in attendance!

Apart from WHITE FANG, which I haven't watched in over 20 years (so take that rating/ranking for what it is!), I've caught up with all the rest in the last couple of years. I have only been an avid fan of Euro-Cult cinema for the last 5 years or so (ever since I got myself an internet connection) and, before that, only the best-known works of Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Sergio Leone held any interest for me at all.

Now that I've ventured into several facets of Fulci's work - comedy, adventure, gialli, horror - I can safely say that I much prefer his gialli over all the rest; as a matter of fact, the first 3 films in my list are certainly among the best in the entire giallo canon.

As for his "gorefests", while they are decidedly a matter of taste, I have to say I'm finding them more acceptable the more I get under my belt...


P.S. Brook, I don't know if it's a typo on your part or not, but the correct word is giallo (or gialli for plural). By the way, A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN is a must for any self-respecting Euro-Cult fan!

[Justin_S]

I'm a huge Fulci fan, and have always thought he was a much better craftsman than he ever received credit for.

1: The New York Ripper (1982) *****
2: City of the Living Dead (1980) *****
3: Four of the Apocalypse (1975) *****
4: A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) ****½
5: One on Top of the Other (1969) ****½
6: Zombi (1979) ****½
7: House of Clocks (1989) ****
8: Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) ****
9: Contraband (1980) ***½
10: The Black Cat (1981) ***½
11: The Beyond (1981) ***½
12: The House by the Cemetery (1981) **½
13: Manhattan Baby (1982) **
14: Aenigma (1987) **
15: Demonia (1990) *½
16: Sweet House of Horrors (1989) *

Seen 16
Own 14

[Brook K]

Thanks Mario, I fixed it.

I'm going out of town again next week, and we're supposed to go on vacation later in August so after Wednesday, I'll be done contributing director's threads and someone else can pick it up if there are still directors they think merit mentioning. I'll probably be doing 3-4 a day to make it through the rest of my list.

[george kaplan]

Seen none of these, and certainly have no desire to watch gorefests, but I might someday check out some of his earlier films.

[Michael Elliott]

George, the violence in most of his films is quite violence but DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING would be the place to start. You might also check out ZOMBIE but be warned for the violence and gore, although it's really no worse than DAWN, which you've seen.

Since we've had Bava, Fulci and Argento....hopefully Brook will come up with a Jess Franco next.


Demonia (1990)
Nightmare Concert (1990)
Zombi 3 (1988) BOMB
The Ghosts of Sodom (1988)
Touch of Death (1988)
Manhattan Baby (1982)
The New York Ripper (1982)
The House by the Cemetery (1981)
The Beyond (1981)
The Black Cat (1981) BOMB
City of the Living Dead (1980)
Zombi (1979)
Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
Massacre Time (1966)


I use to enjoy his "gore" films a lot more but with each new viewing they've really slipped for me. MANHATTAN BABY is one I'd say is the most underrated because people are disappointed that this film is in his gore period yet doesn't feature any gore. DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is hands down the best film I've seen from him and I think this can match the best from Bava and Argento. CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD is one I hated for the longest time but for some reason I kept going back to watch it. It's actually getting better with each viewing and I'd watch this again over HOUSE BY THE...

Shriek Show just released TOUCH OF DEATH and this is one I'd recommend for gore fans. The "story" is pretty stupid but the gore is great and downright brutal. Some of the scenes later showed up in CAT IN THE BRAIN.

I guess I'd call ZOMBI 3 his worse film.

[Jim_K]

Seen 6
Own 0

Door to Silence (1991)
Voices from the Deep (1991)
Demonia (1990)
Nightmare Concert (1990)
The House of Clocks (1989) (TV)
The Sweet House of Horrors (1989) (TV)
Zombi 3 (1988)
The Ghosts of Sodom (1988)
When Alice Broke the Mirror (1988)
Aenigma (1987)
Devil's Honey (1986)
The Demon Is Loose (1984)
Rome, 2072 A.D. (1984)
Conquest (1983)
Manhattan Baby (1982)
The New York Ripper (1982)
The House by the Cemetery (1981)
The Beyond (1981)
The Black Cat (1981)
City of the Living Dead (1980)
Luca the Smuggler (1980)
Zombi (1979)
Silver Saddle (1978)
Seven Notes in Black (1977)
My Sister in Law (1976)
Cav. Costante Nicosia demoniaco, ovvero: Dracula in Young Dracula (1975)
Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
The Return of White Fang (1974)
White Fang (1973)
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
Senator Likes Women (1972)
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971)
A Bullet for Sandoval (1969) (co-director)
The Conspiracy of Torture (1969)
Perversion Story (1969)
Operation St. Peter's (1967)
The Tall, the Short, the Cat (1967)
How We Stole the Atomic Bomb (1967)
Massacre Time (1966)
How We Robbed the Bank of Italy (1966)
The Two Parachutists(1965)
002 Operation Moon (1965)
How We Got Into Trouble with the Army (1965)
Two Public Enemies (1964)
00-2 Most Secret Agents (1964)
Two Escape from Sing Sing (1964)
The Maniacs (1964)
The Swindlers (1963)
The Strange Type (1963)
The Masseuses (1962)
Those Two in the Legion (1962)
Hunchback Italian Style (1962)
Howlers of the Dock (1960)
The Jukebox Kids (1959)
The Thieves (1959)

[Steve Christou]

The Beyond (1981)
City of the Living Dead (1980)
Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)

I'm sure I've seen more of those interchangeable gory horrors back in my video renting days. I remember I used to shock and disgust friends and relatives with Zombie Flesh Eaters, when I got my hands on an uncut copy, aaah memories.