City of the Living Dead

City of the Living Dead is an Italian horror movie of the zombie subgenre. It was directed by Lucio Fulci and written by Dardano Sacchetti. It was produced by Medusa Distribuzione and premiered in Italy on August 11th, 1980. The film stars Christopher George, Katriona MacColl, Carlo De Mejo, Antonella Interlenghi and Giovanni Lombardo. The plot of the film involves an ancient prophecy written in the Book of Enoch, which foretells the end of the world when the Gates of Hell open up and the dead rise to take over the Earth. The first part of the prophecy manifests when a priest named Father William Thomas commits suicide by hanging himself; an act which cracks open the portal to Hell and unleashes a plague of zombies.

Notes & Trivia

 * The Italian title for this film is Paura nella città dei morti viventi.


 * Also released under the title The Gates of Hell.


 * The tagline for this film is "From the bowels of the earth they came to collect the living...".


 * Production on City of the Living Dead began on July 8th, 1980. Principal photography concluded on August 1st, 1980. The film was screened in Italy ten days later. The movie was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey, New York City, New York and Savannah, Georgia.


 * This is the third horror film directed by Lucio Fulci. His previous works include the 1977 psycho-thriller The Psychic and his most notable work, 1979's Zombi 2, known as just Zombie in US home video releases.


 * For this film, director Lucio Fulci was inspired by the works of Gothic horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.


 * Lucio Fulci makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Doctor Joe Thompson in this film.

Recommendations

 * City of the Walking Dead