Rating: 
Summary: Great Gore, little plot
Review: I first saw an X rated version of this film in the early 1980s when I was in my mid teens. It was my first 'Fulci' experience and, to some extent, completely re-defined up my notions of what to expect from a horror film. Fulci's films (and Italian 'splatter films' in general) seemed so much more mean spirited and graphically nasty than any American horror movies I had ever seen (the UK cinema release originaly left all of the gore intact apart from the full head-drilling scene, but with the moral panic over so called 'video nasties' in the mid-eighties, many of the other gore scenes were cut in subsequent video releases). Having watched this film again, uncut, courtesy of Anchorbay's DVD, I must say I am considerably less impressed with the film now. Sure, it has some great gore scenes, but the film itself seems to revolve around these scenes, rather than having them integrated into a story. For example, Fulci's Zombies all seem to have a penchant for ripping off the backs of people's heads, for no other reason, it would appear, than because it makes for a good gore scene. The same could be said of the infamous gut-vomiting scene, and it certainly applies to the poor bozo who gets his head drilled by an over protective father!!!! As a result, Fulci's film only seems to come alive during the gore sequences. I give this three stars, largely for nostalgia - I became a big Fulci fan in my teens at a time when his name was little known to 'mainstream' cinema goers. But, Fulci was never really any more than a hack Italian director who found brief fame during the horror film boom of the eighties. The way he is eulogised now by horror film fans makes me cringe with embarrassment.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Scary fun but....
Review: I think this movie was good. When I first saw it, I loved it, but then I started noticing alot of flaws. It has some very disturbing moments, like the girl puking out her own guts, and how they used real lamb innards, now thats a trip. To the brain sqeezing, and the drill in the head seen. You can tell that this film is very low budget. There are like only about 15 people that play in this movie that is supposedly supposed to be in a city. 3 guys hanging out in a bar, only 3 guys in the bar during the day? And on halloween night, you do not see anyone roming around trick or treating, quite strange wouldnt you say? and some of the scares were very funny. Like when the zombies gather around the old man, just walking towards him and staring at him, and how he just stands there scared, not even trying to defend himself. You just have to see it to believe it. Also the ending didnt make much sense either at all, your like what was that all about? Also I think the dvd couldve had better features on it, like captioning, the original italian language version and more special features. Still its enjoyable to watch, the music on the other hand is quite awesome, especially the slow dark drum beat you keep hearing, the keyboards. The whole...soundtrack was great. The acting was farely decent for being dubbed. Still this movie had its moments of scares and fun. So fans of horror alike, I would reccommend you to add this to your collection, or maybe wait to look for a better dvd edition. Also known as "Gates of Hell" on VHS.
Rating:
Summary: Comedy of the Living Dead
Review: As the second 'gore' film after Fulci's ZOMBIE, CoTLD has little to do with its predecessor. Taking elements from H.P. Lovecraft (Dunwich, Massachusettes from 'The Dunwich Horror' as the site of the open Gate of Hell which in fact was really some one horse town in Georgia) and Edgar Allen Poe (Katriona MacColl's premature burial), Fulci broke some cinematic ground on the zombie genre. The zombies are a little different this time around. They are slimey and they disappear into thin air when you close your eyes and furrow your brow!!!Yes, there is plenty of gore which one can expect but I did find some black comedy here and there that makes the viewing of CoTLD worthwhile. 1) Grave diggers that like to look at porn more than burying stiffs. 2)Christopher George always looks like he is about to burst into laughter. 3)The denizens at the local bar know something diabolical is happening because a mirror breaks and a wall cracks-almost knocking the Pabst sign off the wall. 4) Michele Soavi (actor, 1st assistant director for TENEBRAE and BARON MUNCHAUSEN, directed STAGEFRIGHT, THE CHURCH, DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE) gets a fist into his cranium. 5) The local mortician paints all of the corpses in a very whorish manner and the mourners don't seem to take notice. 6)Giovanni Radice aka John Morghen, nuff said and finally 7)4 zombies in a town with a population of 10 people can really manage to turn everything upside down.
Rating: 
Summary: the real masterpiece
Review: i was once completely oblivious to whom Lucio Fulci was, but i've always liked a good zombie flick. then a friend of mine ... lent me this movie, along with another Fulci classic the Beyond. although many consider the beyond to be his best work, i disagree. this movie beats it out in a number of categories, from gore factor, to suspense, to the plot itself. this is one of the most gory movies i've ever seen, and it isn't cheezy gore, it's bloody, guts puking, exorcist gore. the zombies are believable(about as believable as zombies can be, anyway), and it has enough heart-skips-a-beat fright scenes to keep anyone intrested to the end. it's definetly worth watching, over and over again
Rating:
Summary: It may not be Lucio's Best but still Gory and good.
Review: I still say " Zombie" is his best, but this movie is preety dang good and Violenty Gory. One of the most notorious Video Nasties
from the early 80's, it's not a Zombie movie but it's a Ghost
movie about a Preist who kills himself and unleases a Army of
Killer ghosts, it does offer some good gore effects including
the Head-Drilling Scene but if you want a great Italian Horror
movie then see " Zombie" or " Suspiria" instead but this is
still preety good and worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: A very under rated film
Review: Like many people, I didn't like this as much as Fulci's other zombie flicks until recently when I watched it for the first time in years. The story was much better than I remembered and even though it does rely largely on the gore it is still one of Fulci's better films. Better than Zombie and House by the Cemetary but not as good as The Beyond. Anchor Bay's DVD, while far from perfect, is the best looking version I have seen and has a nicely remixed stereo soundtrack (the film was originaly recorded in stereo but most video versions are mono). The picture is quite grainy but still has good detail and strong colour. Some more extras would have been nice but we do get the theatrical trailer, biographies and radio spots playing over a picture gallery. Now let's see some of Fulci's scarcer films such as Beatrice Cenci, The Smuggler (uncut please, not like the Italian Shock disc), Rome 2033 and Conquest.
Rating:
Summary: What's With The End?
Review: I adore this movie, so don't get me wrong. What is with the end? It makes no sense really after this absolutely cool, scary and gory film. The plot in CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD is pretty concrete compared to things like MANHATTAN BABY...but then there is the funny and strange ending that drives me up the wall. I guess it's just meant to be left open to interpretation.
Oh well.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good Surreal Horror Movie
Review: Warning: SpoilersI found City Of The Living Dead (or The Gates Of Hell, as it's better known) to be a very cool and scary Horror movie with cool gore and a creepy atmosphere. The plot is nothing spectacular (a psychic has a vision of a crazy priest hanging himself that causes the Gates Of Hell to open, and if by All Saint's Day the Gates aren't closed, the Living Dead will take over the Earth), but the movie is pretty entertaining with a good and fun performance by the late great Christopher George, a creepy musical score, and some really nasty gore scenes (the Gut-Spewing scene is a gorehound's dream! And look out for the Head-Drilling and Brain-Ripping scenes, ouch!). Plus the movie has a lot of creepy and intriguing moments, enjoyable characters, and a cool (albeit senseless) finale. The ending is a bummer, but overall the movie itself is pretty good and is worth a watch if your in the mood for some repulsive gore and to be scared silly.
Rating:
Summary: GutPuking
Review: This has got to be one of my all time favorite movies of all time not only does this movie have a lot of Nasty Gore and Creepy looking Zombies but it has a lot of Mysterious Interest in it and Wonderful Dark Classical Music in it > The Zombies in this movie move slow but I like it why should every Zobmie movie have fast running Zombies I think in many ways the fact that they move slow makes it more suspenseful,I do like Zombie movies where they do run fast but the slow Zombies can be just as good and sometimes better > I liked the fact that The Gates of Hell were opened by a Priest hanging himself and when that Hot looking Chick Puked up her Guts I fell in love ( I think all Hot looking Woman should Puke up there Guts it turns me on ) Some people may not like this movie since we all have different taste and thats fine ( it would be boring if we were all the same anyway ) but many of us like this movie so if you don't like this movie then just simply do not watch it >
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece? I digress
Review: If this is a masterpiece, I'm Brigitte Bardot. First of all, I am a fan of Arthouse and International films, and I despise Hollywood fare. With that in mind, this Fulci example is by no means a classic. I remember having watched the trailer as a little girl and how shocked I was to see the blood-crying scene, I was hooked to the tv wanting to see more. I just saw this film and it convinces me this is NOT Fulci's best, not by a ling shot. BUT, it is better than the average teen-slasher-(...) that is filling movie theatres in the last couple of years. It's atmospheric theme music, the unavoidable sense of dread packing the film is entertaining nonetheless, but you always expect something, anything to happen, when it doesn't. True, Fulci never has been a master storyteller, he's in it for the shock-value alone. So, all I can say is, there are way better Fulci films out there, shop around. Digital transfer: 3 stars
Sound: 3 stars
Overall quality: 3 stars
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