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Spookshow: City of the Living Dead (1980)

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Stephanie Malone
  • May 2, 2024
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City of the Living Dead

Spookshow: City of the Living Dead (1980)
Spookshow: City of the Living Dead (1980)

Though derided upon release, the hallucinogenic “City of the Living Dead” has earned its cult following with memorable and shocking sequences.

City of the Living Dead

This week it’s Josh’s pick, and he went with a Spookshow first, a Lucio Fulci movie, “City of the Living Dead” (1980) aka “The Gates of Hell”!

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

City of the Living Dead (Italian: Paura nella città dei morti viventi, also released as The Gates of Hell) is a 1980 Italian supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci. It follows a priest whose suicide opens a gateway to hell that releases the undead. A psychic and a reporter team up to close it before All Saints’ Day.

City of the Living Dead was developed after the financial success of Fulci’s previous film, Zombi 2, leading him to work with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti to write a new horror film inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Upon release, the film received criticism for its performances, plot, and graphic violence, but like many of Fulci’s films, it has developed a cult following. It is the first film in Fulci’s Gates of Hell trilogy.

A reviewer in the Italian newspaper La Stampa referred to the film as “not recommended for easily impressionable viewers” and added that the film was a sign that Fulci had “reached expressive maturity,” with a story that grew progressively to make an “expressive nightmarish atmosphere,” concluding that the film was a “grand guignol spectacle.”

WATCH THE TRAILER

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

We discussed VHS collecting with Cory J. Gorski, author of VHS Collecting: The Modern Relevance of Home Video.

At one point, nearly the whole world bought and rented tapes. The video store was king. Then, almost overnight, it crumbled. However, you can still find folks buying and collecting old tapes. Is it an obsession? Why do they lust after such an obscure and antiquated format? What was it about the video store and VHS that changed the way we consume entertainment altogether? Corey’s entertaining and insightful book serves as a deep dive into the world of videotape collecting.

ABOUT THE SHOW

All-American Spookshow

The Spookshow is a collection of guys (and, now, one incredible lady!) with varying degrees of Horror fandom. Since 2018, we’ve reviewed Horror, Cult, Action flicks, and, of course, total crap, so you don’t have to, but we encourage you to nonetheless. If you’ve listened to us before, thank you! If you’re new to our brand of stupidity, then welcome. We want you to enjoy watching these films with us; join us in having fun with them & learning about them as well.

Part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcasting Network! Go to the all-new www.aaspookshow.com & join our Patreon for bonus episodes & content over at https://www.patreon.com/aaspookshow & follow us on Twitter @AASpookshow as well as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Slasher & our YouTube channel by searching All-American Spookshow Podcast.  Email us at [email protected] with questions & comments, and be sure to leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify!

LINKS:  https://linktr.ee/aaspookshow

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