City Of The Living Dead

Lucio Fulci’s undisputed masterpiece of horror – City Of The Living Dead – gets the royal treatment with this DVD- and Blue Ray release, presenting the film fully restored, uncut and with exclusive extra-features as manifold as tombstones in a cemetery.
Originally released in 1980, the film caused controversy from the outset and subsequently got banned or heavily censored in various countries, though compared with nowadays horror fodder it almost seems ridiculous. City Of The Living Dead sure has its moments of splatter and disgust such as the entrails-puking scene (and never mind the countless maggots), but it’s also atmospheric and stylish in a way that only Italian giallos can be. Visually, the film has an eerie Lovecraftian feel to it.

The story begins bang-on macabre with priest Father Thomas’ suicide in the cemetery of Dunwich, New England. When a priest commits a sacrilegious act like that, there’s got to be more trouble ahead and indeed, trouble comes from all corners. Father Thomas’ death results in the opening of the gates of hell and a small group comprised of reporter Peter Bell; Mary, a young psychic; as well as a psychiatrist and his patient get together to try and close the portal before All Saints Day, when the dead will rise to take over the world. As they find out the hard way, they can’t escape their destined fate, which has to do with the prophecies in the Book Of Enoch.

The film offers plenty of tense moments and glides from macabre to sinister to downright gory, but never does it drift into cheap schlock. A gem of a horror classic.
Disc 2 offers plenty of special features, like ‘City Of The Living Dead’ featurette, various Lucio Fulci-related featurettes, interviews and more.
It would have been a great publicity stunt to release the film in time for All Saints Day. An absolute must for lovers of horror in general and Italian horror in particular.