10 of Lucio Fulci’s Best Gore Scenes
He is often referred to as the Italian “Godfather of Gore”, and with good reason. Lucio Fulci’s filmmaking career began in the 1950s and covered almost all genres including spaghetti western, comedy, sci-fi/fantasy, and thriller. However, Fulci would eventually become most famous for his horror efforts thanks to his unique directorial style and flare for visceral scenes of on-screen violence and gore. Where many other films might cut away, Fulci’s camera would linger on the most gruesome of events, sometimes in extreme closeup and sometimes for minutes while gallons of stage blood flowed freely about the set.
In this article we will take a look at ten of Fulci’s bloodier film moments. Since there is no shortage of great clips to choose from, we will keep it limited to one scene per film in no particular order, so that we can cover as much of Fulci’s filmography as possible.
WARNING: The content below may contain spoilers and NSFW material including scenes of violence and some nudity. Please proceed with caution.
#1: The House by the Cemetery (1981): Ms. Gittleson gets “poked”. Enough said.
#2: Conquest (1983): “Wishbone”. Fulci also tried his hand at the ‘Sword & Sandal” genre of fantasy films. So why not inject some depravity and bloodshed into a story which also features Wookie-like “dog-men” and magic bows and arrows? In this scene an unfortunate girl is sacrificed by a group of men in fur suits to the evil sorceress “Ocron” with gruesome results.
#3: The New York Ripper (1982): “Razor”. Perhaps one of the most wince-inducing scenes ever committed to celluloid, this may be the one that unfortunately cemented Fulci’s reputation as a misogynist among his critics. A NYC prostitute is disposed of in a slow and agonizing manner by a mysterious killer who quacks his way through some taunting lines of dialogue meant to antagonize our hero, Lt. Fred Williams.
#4: City of the Living Dead (1980): “Entrail vomiting”. Poor Daniela Doria. Not only does she get slashed to death with a razor blade in the aforementioned New York Ripper, but she also gets to pour her guts out (literally) in Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead. When the apparition of a priest who committed suicide by hanging shows up, Doria’s character goes into a trance and begins to puke up all her innards in one of the grossest and most inventive horror sequences ever. Sure, you can tell when the fake head takes over, but the fact is that the actress did have raw animal guts in her mouth at one point and that’s pretty nasty. The boyfriend played by Michele Soavi looks on in horror, only to have his brains ripped out seconds later. Icing on the cake…
#5: Demonia (1990): “Tongue nailing”. Some consider Demonia to be one of Fulci’s lesser works from his later career. However, there is still plenty to enjoy in this one, such as possessed nuns, Brett Halsey, and this poor bastard.
#6: Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972): “Chain beating”. This one is a tough watch and a big reason for that is the terrific performance by Florida Bolkan, whose character is under suspicion of wrongdoing by some of the local townspeople. After being released by the police who are unable to find any evidence against her, the locals decide to dispense their own form of justice. Bolkan garners a great deal of sympathy for her character in this sequence and this, combined with the music and gruesome effects, makes for a rather unsettling and disturbing scene.
#7: Contraband (1980): “Face burning”. Lucio Fulci’s 1980 crime thriller did not skimp on the violence and gore one might expect from most of his horror films. The poor girl in this scene gets more than she bargains for after trying to cheat a couple of mobsters out of $50,000 for a case of diluted cocaine.
#8: The Beyond (1981): “Gunshot to the head”. Typically in horror movies, when someone you know is transformed into a zombie, you may be a bit hesitant to shoot them in the head right away. Well not David Warbeck, and not in The Beyond. Take a look below at one of the greatest gunshot blasts ever filmed.
#9: Touch of Death: “Head in microwave”. Another of Fulci’s later works and perhaps a bit underrated, Touch of Death showcases the director’s unique sense of humor more than his other horror films. Brett Halsey is Lester Parson, a bachelor who knocks off rich women with plans to use their fortunes to pay off his gambling debts. The movie manages to be genuinely funny and gross at the same time. In this scene, one of Lester’s victims refuses to stay down so he decides to put his microwave oven to work.
#10: Zombie (1979): “Splinter in the eye”. Let’s not forget one of the most infamous Fulci death scenes ever. Olga Karlatos has her eye slowly pulled toward a wooden splinter by a member of the island of Matool’s undead army. The scene is painfully slow and concludes with an agonizing closeup shot of the splinter penetrating the eyeball of the unfortunate victim.