Lucio Fulci is a horror icon. He may not be as well known to many film goers in North America as his iconic status was cemented some twenty years ago, but if you like films by Wes Craven and M. Night Shyamalan and even David Fincher, then you can look at Fulci and say that his work has inspired some of theirs. This is the firs film that I saw of Fulci’s and it was when I was a teenager and didn’t appreciate a film like this. All I saw in it was a blood and gore soaked film with some really violent deaths. How can one forget the drill to the head? To this day, I still think that actor was actually killed on the set? They really did put the drill bit through his brain and captured it on film for artistic integrity.

I am obviously kidding of course, but is the effect the film will have on you. Films like this are brutal and disgusting and if you like horror films that are high on gore, then Fulci and his counterpart, Argento, are the best in the business. I have always found Italian splatter films to be awe inspiring. They are so much more creative than your typical American horror films. That has changed into the new millennium, but there is still nothing like this on the market. Fulci’s films, like Craven’s 70’s films, would be edited and chopped to bits before anything like this would ever be released. And that is a travesty as the vision and the creativity involved in making a film like this not only takes gusto, it takes talent. Fulci is about as good as they come for this genre.

This is what I wrote in my original review of the film. This is when I was in my mid 20’s. I have seen the film recently and obviously my appreciation of the film has increased.

“Gates To Hell ( English translation ) is very amateurishly made. It is lacking in the acting and the directing is choppy. But what this film is and what it does is it epitomizes horror and terror. There are really disgusting scenes of brains being eaten, guts being puked up, a drill to the head ( one of favourites ) and lots of blood, guts and tissue. This film uses the fear of religious unknowns and uses that fear brilliantly. It shows us and truly makes us feel what it must be like to feel pain. Real pain. Not the comic violence that you get from Jason and Freddy. But real disgusting terror as you watch people die in heinous ways.”

Times change and now I love the film even more. Fulci is a visionary genius and his Gates to Hell is one of the most innovative horror films to come out of any country. This is a must see for every horror fan.

I am just learning about Italian horror. But if this is what the horror genre is all about, then I want to see more of it. Fulci is one of a kind and I don’t think there will be another like him. This is his best work. Check it out.