Le porte del silenzio

This is unfortunately the last film Fulci would direct and it is a decent film but if you are expecting typical Fulci, this is not your kind of film.

John Savage plays the part of Melvin Devereux. On his way home he is stopped by a funeral and meets a very strange lady. Upon driving away from the funeral, Melvin gets behind a slow moving hearse who he tries to pass. The man driving the hearse will not let him pass and things suddenly get very strange and turn into a car chase. Melvin then notices his name on the coffin in the back of the hearse and begins to really freak out. The movie then goes on like this until the finale.

This is a very hard film to review. First off, it plays like a 90 minute Twilight Zone episode which isn't a good thing. This story could have easily have been a 40 to 45 minute short film and that would have been more appropriate. Instead, the film has a lot of random scenes that don't make much sense and even when the finale comes, still does not make any sense. It seems like Fulci was trying to take his film writing in another direction and if he had lived longer may have succeeded.

All in all, this is not a bad film, but for Fulci fans of the late 70's and early 80's, you might be disappointed. For real hardcore Fulci fans, I would say this is a must see. 7/10

Door to Silence was the last film from the Godfather of Gore Lucio Fulci, and like most of his latter day output; it's not among the great Italian director's best films. It would seem that after he made the uber-gory Cat in the Brain, Fulci lost the appetite for the red stuff that made him famous, as this film and the earlier Voices From Beyond are more along the lines of a supernatural drama, and while this one isn't as bad as the other - neither are as great as Fulci's best work. The plot is of the slow build variety and indeed, it takes a long time for it to get anywhere. We focus on Melvin Devereux, a man who drives around in his car. Apparently he's driving aimlessly around Louisiana after the death of his father. Then strange things start happening to him - he meets a strange woman who keeps following him, but more ominously, there's a strange hearse driving around too. As he gradually starts to lose his mind, Melvin soon begins to realise that these omens may be pointing towards something.

The main problem with this film is that there is very little to keep your interest. Fulci implants a number of set pieces, but the best of them - a scene that sees Melvin pick up a hitch hiker who wants $50 for sex - isn't even relevant to the central plot. I have to be honest and say that I didn't really care about what the problem with the central character was either. The film is lead by John Savage and the problems with the film are nothing to with his performance. He's good in the lead role, even if he doesn't really impress all that much. Fulci manages to create an almost hallucinogenic road atmosphere which benefits the mysterious plot well. The supporting characters don't really add much, however. A movie like this really should see the star meeting diverse and interesting people; but that doesn't really happen. I doubt many will be too affected by anything by the time the film ends; I couldn't really care less by then. As you would probably expect, I can't recommend this film. Fulci has done worse (Manhattan Baby, Voices From Beyond), but this film is still down there. Skip it!

Joe D'Amato approached Lucio Fulci and asked him to make a movie based on short story "Porte del nulla" Fulci himself wrote. Fulci made the movie and Joe D'Amato then added some footage and edited and "Le porte del silenzio" or "Door to Silence" was finally finished. It's basically Fulci's attempt at making a psychological horror. Problem is, anyone with a little bit of functioning brain can understand what the idea of the movie is relatively quickly and after that we are left with mostly silent protagonist who drives a lot through the countryside encountering various problems that slow down his journey or make him confused and afraid. One would think that all those silent scenes are perfect for the main character to have many monologues or maybe think about what's happening to him and we as an audience can hear those thougts, you know, so the character gets at least a little bit character development, but no. Melvin is, simply put, a boring and unlikable main character. He's rich, arrogant and prone to getting himself into danger. He tries to cheat on his wife two times during the movie and he's just not interesting at all. And then, when you realize that you understood the whole point (or plot twist, if you will) of the movie (which isn't very original) before it even ended and that the main character is boring and that there aren't any hallmarks of Fulci's work like gore and nudity at least to give you something to look at, you conclude that the movie isn't really good. If anything the best thing in the movie are the nature shown and (sometimes) the music. Don't get me wrong, this is not the worst movie ever and it's functional. It's refreshing to not receive the same thing from Fulci from time to time. But in the end, the movie is boring and I see no reason for you to watch it if you are not a Fulci fan. 5/10! I don't recommend it...

It is very touching psychological drama. There is no blood and gore in it, so it is not for zombie-fan at all. But for me there is a true feeling of identification with the main character. Savage plays his role brilliantly. He is pitiful and sometimes I feel like I was trapped in this horrible situation instead of him. The masterfully shot sinister landscapes also made me real nervous. Maybe it seems strange, but in my opinion the atmosphere in the movie is the same as in Weir's "Picnic at Hanging Rock". And by the way the plot has a much more interesting intrigue than "Six Sense". It was real pleasure watching the film. Sadly it is the last movie made by Fulci. Maybe he had a presentiment about his death and he somehow put it into his last work. Anyway "Door to silence" is another example of his versatile talent. Must see (not only for Fulci's fans)

As has been stated, this is Lucio's last film. I watched it last night and I happen to think it's one of his best. It has aged well.

The plot is simple enough: a guy is trying to get home to Baton Rouge from what I will guess was New Orleans, judging from the opening scene on Lake Ponchartrain bridge. The highway is shut down ahead, so he has to take backroads. He starts to see a mysterious lady who seems to be wherever he goes. Also getting on his nerves is a hearse whose driver seems to be a road hog in the most serious way. The guy starts to go mad and begins to discover that what is in the back of the hearse is a surreal nightmare. He plunges into a world of insanity and dreamlike terror that lasts the whole film.

"Door To Silence" is best viewed with no expectations. That's how I watched it and I was pleasantly surprised. It does not have gore like other Fulci greats, but it does contain some genuine suspense and nail-biting tension, something that is hardly found in other Fulci movies.

As Fulci's last, this one has not garnered the kind of attention that "Zombi 2" and "The Beyond" have...but I really liked it and I think if you're a true fan of this guy, you will appreciate it's grindhouse appeal and genuinely creepy atmosphere.

9 out of 10, kids.