For April we’re examining the work of the notorious Italian director Lucio Fulci. Fulci had a career that spanned five decades, wherein he tackled disparate genres—comedy, Spaghetti Westerns, musicals, erotic thrillers—but he remains best remembered for his horror films and gialli. His are not just any genre entries, but some of the most shockingly gory to ever induce a seasoned horror fan to wince at the mayhem. A cited influence on filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth, Fulci’s fanbase has only grown as horror fans have spent decades proselytizing his body of work.

April Fulcis is sponsored in kind by Messed Up Puzzles and Left Bank Books. All who register and attend an event will be entered to win a registration prize: we have two Fulci puzzles in the Messed Up Puzzles line and one copy of Kea Wilson’s novel We Eat Our Own from Left Bank Books to give away. You’re entered once for each night you attend, so any one person can be entered up to five times if they attend all five April Fulcis events. (Current Webster University faculty and staff are not eligible to win. Prizes will not be shipped outside of the United States.

Each film is available to watch on streaming services or VOD. Watch each film ahead of time and then join us every Thursday evening for an in-depth discussion. 

On Thursday, April 15th, at 7pm, Andy Triefenbach, Owner & Editor-In-Chief of DestroytheBrain.com; Creator & Programmer of Late Nite Grindhouse.

The Beyond

(Lucio Fulci, 1981, Italy/USA, 87 minutes)

Second in the Gates of Hell trilogy and, alongside Zombie, one of the films most responsible for Fulci’s reputation, The Beyond is lifted by unusually strong production and sound design, used in the service of surrealist flourishes, more fun eye trauma and surprisingly vocal tarantulas. Here our gateway to hell comes in the form of the Seven Doors Hotel just outside of New Orleans, newly inherited by an unsuspecting young woman named Liza (Catriona MacColl of City of the Living Dead). Hoping to turn the hotel into a success, Liza inadvertently allows for the gates to open, thus resulting in strange occurrences in and around her property.