My thoughts on fulci, and Italian horror in general are pretty well summed up by this movie. The plot is paper thin and barely cohesive (this one holds together a bit more than others) BUT if you allow yourself to be taken in by the film as a work of visual art and not necessarily a storytelling device, well then holy shit what a ride.
It's beautiful, wretched, gory, peotic, nauseating and sublime all at the same time. Frizzi's score, like so much of the music of this genre from him and goblin and morricone et al, elevated the imagery from somethig that could come off as cheap to something that feels like a dream. The tones and moods created by the soundtrack push the film past fulci's slapdash storytelling and into something so compelling you can't take your eyes off the screen. I worry sometimes that people will think I enjoy films like this "ironically" thanks to the pervasive nonsense of my generation's lack of authenticity, but the reality is, I genuinely love these films in all of thier quirky flaws, they are like living Bosch paintings scored by some of the most evocative film scoreing ever, music that provides real emotional cues for the viewer.
I show these movies to people because they exist in such a bizzare space, no one would be allowed to make a movie like this today. They are B films that think they are A films and come off like high surrealism and brilliant pop art, there's nothing like them out there. I think ZOMBI 2 may be his masterpiece, until I watch the beyond or city of the living dead at least. Anyway, sorry for waxing on and on, it's 7 am on Saturday morning here in NY and I'm oddly alert. Just wait till I get going on carpenter
then you'll see some poetry. Cheers
I have been in this business a long time. Now if I don't want to do a show, it's not because I got stage fright. It's because some creature from beyond doesn't want me to do the show. Now gangway.
