“Paura nella Citta’ dei Morti Viventi - Fear in the City of the Living Dead”, “The Gates of Hell”, “Twilight of the Dead”, “City of the Living Dead”, call it what you will. This awesome classic zombie chunk-blower is the first in Lucio Fulci’s gothic trilogy. During this 3 year period of horror history Fulci was at the peak of his crimson stained powers with a string of Italian classics. “Zombie” ’79, “The Beyond” ‘81, “House by the Cemetery” ’81 his nasty brutal giallo “The New York Ripper” ’82 and even “The Black Cat” ’81 while low gore was a rewarding film. This is one of the very first films that made me take note of Italian horror. I first saw it in ‘83 on video as “The Gates of Hell” and it’s been a favorite ever since. Especially in the definitive Uncut DVD version.

All the horror starts with a séance in New York where Katriona MacColl sees a priest hang himself in a cemetery which sets loose evil forces as the gates of hell are opened in the town of Dunwich. Meaning the dead will walk the Earth unless the portal is closed before All Saints Day. So she and reporter Christopher George head to Dunwich, where the evil is spreading fast causing the recently deceased to rise, and team up with Carlo De Mejo and Antonella Interlenghi in a attempt to close the gate.

While the story is a bit erratic the atmosphere and gore are the stars of the show with howling dust blowing winds, fog bound streets, dank crypts, the doomed and overly gloomy town of Dunwich. Then there’s the visceral bloodshed. Italy’s ‘whipping boy’ Giovanni Lombardo Radice aka John Morgen gets a giant drill bit thought his head, brains are ripped out, the often discussed poor woman vomiting her entire intestinal tract. On a trivial note Italian actor-director Michele Soavi [See: “Deliria - Stage Fright” ’87, “La Chiesa - The Church” ’89, “The Sette – The Devil’s Daughter” ‘91, Dellamorte Dellamore – Cemetery Man” ‘94] sitting next to her. There’s also the most uncalled for maggot storm, the strange appearing disappearing gore drenched zombies, and the tell tale bleeding eyes.

Gino De Rossi’s stand out f/x rock and repulse, Fabio Frizzi’s best score to these ears is haunting and effectively killer, as well as the wonderful cinematography of Sergio Salvati and the Fulci/Dardano Sacchetti script. It’s all here for your horror stricken eyes.

Anchor Bay & Blue Underground DVD’s are one and the same. It’s a great English language 1.85:1 transfer enhanced for 16 x 9 TV’s, it is a little grainy on the big screen but I don’t mind a bit. Two Audio tracks 2.0 and 5.1 are included. The sad news is the Xtras are nil with only a European English Theatrical Trailer, a Still Gallery, Radio Spots and Fulci Bio.

Frizzi’s Killer Score…a must have companion that gets a spin pretty frequently around here.