Le porte del silenzio

This is considered to be lucio fulci's last film before he passed away from diabetes. He wrote a couple screenplays and was supposed to direct another film but got too sick. But this is hos last film but not your average fulci film. Absolutely no gory violence or sleazy sex. But a great twilight zone type movie. Great atmosphere and John savage as the main character. I would recommend it but if your looking for gore and violence, you're going to be disappointed. Not to mention Laura gemser did the costumes and joe d'amato produced.

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.

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 (1991)

** (out of 4)

Even though he was turning out one gore film after another, director Lucio Fulci ended his career with this psychological drama, which doesn't feature a drop of the red stuff. In the film, John Savage (THE DEER HUNTER) plays a man leaving New Orleans where he went to visit his father's grave. On the way home he keeps running into closed roads, a mysterious woman (Sandi Schultz) and a strange hearse. Back in the day fans got excited when they learned Fulci was returning to the same grounds as his THE BEYOND but if anyone expects the same type of film then they're going to be very disappointed. This film here plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone and I'm sure that show was the main influence on the director here. The biggest problem is that the movie runs nearly 90-minutes and the screenplay isn't smart enough to keep everything working. The biggest problem is that we get the same stuff over and over. Savage will run into the woman then see the hearse and then run into a closed road. These thing happen at least eight or more times and we even get some stuff that's the same shot over and over. There are also several goofs in the film or things that simply don't make sense. Savage is in a hurry to get home but when his car breaks down the mechanic tells him it will be fifteen-minutes to fix it but what does Savage do since he's in a hurry? He checks into a motel. There are other, what I believe to be, goofs including a country hitchhiker wanting a ride to Memphis for a country music festival. I'm guessing it was meant to be Nashville but the dubbing director didn't do any homework. Savage actually turns in a fairly decent performance, although he doesn't have too much to do. Schultz is also easy on the eyes and makes for a good mystery. The rest of the cast are decent at best but that's what you expect in a movie like this. Again, this isn't your typical Fulci film and I do take my hat off to him for trying something new and getting away from the gore. His direction is quite nice here as he handles everything pretty well but the screenplay just really kills anything he has going. Laura Gemser is credited as Costume Designer.

Well,due to the complex Man that Lucio Fulci was,I think that this Movie wasn't so bad that certain people want it to be.I think that since it was his last movie,He Went Out in Style! I Mean: Look at it's Budget! He proved he could make a Movie nearly without a Budget at all! No,not his greatest achievement,but He Went Out In Style! A complex and a Superb Film Maker! No one can come close.Fulci is purely FULCI! Enjoy or Die!(not even trying).Fulci was responsible for(or known for)the Splatter/Zombie movie "Zombi 2" in Italy(an unofficial follow up to George A.Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead"),but he made Movies far more better than that one.Just take a look at his "Don't Torture a Duckling" where he proved himself as a Superb Film maker! He made several Movies as well,which is as good as well.It's just a matter of taste! Long Live The master Of Italian "Grand Guignol".