I quattro dell'Apocalisse

Quattro dell'apocalisse (original title) is a bloody Spaghetti Western with usual Mexican desperado Tomas Milian who steals the show as a merciless bandit and filmed , of course , in Almeria . An Italian production full of action , exaggerated characters, shootouts and lots of violence . For money, for pleasure, for revenge, he doesn't care why he kills or how ¡ ... A group of misfit characters are taken prisoners by the Utah Sheriff (Donald O'Brien) but later they are freed . Four petty criminals, three men , a card player named Stubby Preston (Fabio Testi) , a drunk (Michael J. Pollard) , a crazy African-American (Harry Baird) obsessed with the dead and a pregnant prostitute (Lynne Frederick) , wander through the trackless terrain of the Wild West and are hounded by a hearless outlaw who rapes , slashes, ravages and murders each person involved in his attacks . The quartet looking for food, water is submitted a tempestuous trap by evil Mexican bandit and receive violent knocks, punches, kicks and wounds . The group sees the atrocity over a Mormon family and Stubby Preston executes a single-handedly revenge . He is relentless in his vendetta , deadly in his violence. The conflict is a simple one between avenger , swindler Stubby and oppressors, nasty bandits commanded by cruel outlaw named Chaco .

It's an exciting and tragic western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonist Fabio Testi against the sadistic Tomas Milian and his hoodlums . In the film premiere attained bit success , nowadays is best valued and I think it turns out to be a good Spaghetti Western. The Cuban Tomas Milian as a cruelly baddie role is terrific , he is fine, he cries, ravages the screen , shoots, hit and run and kills . The film packs violence, gore, gun-play , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shootouts or stunts every few minutes . Appears S. W. usual support cast as Bruno Corazzari , Charles Borromel , Donald O'Brien , Lorenzo Robledo , all of them turn up in multiple Italian/Spanish Western productions . There are many fine technicians and nice assistants as Goffredo Unger, also secondary , habitual master of arms in numerous Spaghetti Western. Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors, dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on Austria , Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain and Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy (studio) . The soundtrack is full of sensible songs and sad ballads , furthermore haunting musical leitmotif . Striking cinematography in Eastmancolor by Sergio Salvati , Fulci's ordinary .

The motion picture is realized by one of the most controversial filmmakers of terror movies , Lucio Fulci in his usual style with some flaws a but is professionally made because he is a skilled craftsman . He creates a strange Western that manages to be both scary , tragic and skilfully made . Reviewers are divided over booth the morals and talents of Fulci (1927-1996) who sometimes directed under the alias ¨Louis Fuller¨. For some critics many of his movies are gore-feasts that tried to be disguised itself under many other titles , were cruel and shockingly violent, yet their gory surface often conceals religious, social commentaries or intelligent issues. Whether he should be viewed as a cheap sensationalist or just a genius Fulci has a loyal fan base and undeniably has an important and unique influence on the terror genre , creating great works on a low budget and deserving its cult status such as proved in ¨ The black cat ¨, ¨Manhattan baby¨, ¨Gates of Hell¨, ¨Island of the living dead¨, ¨New York ripper¨ , among them. ¨Four of Apocalypse¨ is one of his more imaginative Western , Fulci also directed another Spaghetti as ¨white Fang¨, ¨Challenge of White Fang¨, and ¨Massacre time¨. It's just one passable Western and acceptable budget movie that still packs a punch for those who like to be entertained out their wits . This peculiar Western will appeal to Lucio Fulci aficionados .

Utah, 1873. A young card-sharp named Stubby Preston arrives in a small town called Salt Flat. On his arrival, the town sheriff (Donald O'Brien) throws him in jail with 3 petty criminals - a pregnant prostitute (Frederick), a hopeless drunk (Pollard) and a mad black slave (Baird). That night, KKK-masked gunmen wipe out most of the town, and the next night, the four are put on a cart and forced out of town, into the bandit-filled wilds. One such bandit (Tomas Milian) forces himself upon the group, soon revealing himself to be a wicked sadist. After kneecapping Pollard, raping Frederick and torturing the other two, Testi swears revenge if he is left alive. Milian heads off, and the four characters set out to follow their dreams and destinies - in Testi's case, a slow, violent death for the bandit...

This unusual, horror-tinged effort suffers from slow pace and some awful music ballads, as well as Frederick phony Transatlantic accent. Where it does score highly, is in the 'feel' of the film. Sergio Salvati's photography is superb, and really presents the Old West as a desolate wasteland where only the most ruthless will survive. Also, Milian's villain is superbly evil, and there are some excellent action sequences, such as the opening purge of the town, and Testi's score-settle.

Some of the violence is truly shocking, and all prints of the film were cut down - Milian gouging into a man's stomach with a knife after pinning a sheriff's badge into his chest (commonly seen in stills), and some of Frederick's harrowing rape ordeal.

Don't get the Swedish Sun Video entitled 'CHACO' - it's heavily cut down. This version misses out some gory bullet-hits at the start, much of Milian's torturous antics (including him stamping Testi's testicles), and Testi cutting Milian's face open with a razor. The most complete version available at present (though it still misses out the pre-studio cuts described above), is the Japanese AT International tape.

Even with what does remain, it's a nihilistic, grim piece of work, and remains one of the most violent of the Spagwests. It's a shame that Fulci, after this and the excellent MASSACRE TIME, would disgrace himself with his third western effort, the limp SILVERSADDLE.

Four lowly criminals that meet in jail; card shark Stubby, pregnant prostitute Bunny, a drunk Clem and the loony Bud manage to escape a vigilante slaughter of the town they were in and end up on a rugged journey in the open frontier. They soon encounter the Chaco, but after helping them out. He soon turns on them, with his sadistic habits coming through and they find themselves at the other end of it. After raping Bunny, Stubby's increasing feelings for her, makes him vow vengeance on Chaco.

Apocalyptic to-right! This cruel, sparse and bleakly nightmarish spaghetti western from Italian maestro Lucio Fulci is one uncompromising trek, where four unique individuals end up guiding us. The episodic screenplay pulls you along for one emotionally domineering and pain-filled excursion into the souls of four (very ordinary) characters longing to make something important from their lives, especially after what they've been through… together. This destiny-bound aspect and redemption angle takes over the odd story, where these rag-tag characters are flung around in manipulative sense and realistically drawn up with rich, quirky and sullen details. It tries to be a passionate and diverse character story, and this makes it one interesting and downright original crack at the flooded sub-genre. I see mentioned a bit, Why's apocalypse in the title? I see this as a reference towards the characters' and their final outcomes. Hope just seems to fade off their faces, after one degrading, macabre and tragic situation after another in a reprehensibly desolate land that can easily break you and take away the things you hold close. Everything that was significant is stripped away, which leaves only one thing on mind for one character… revenge. Tomas Milan's scummy character is the main tool of that torturous downfall.

Fulci is one never to shy away from something in your face, and this one has no boundaries to its depressing nature, relentless violence and unsparingly gritty landscape. His patiently accomplished and pastel direction can feel plodded, but he gracefully lenses it with gusto and the up-close and personal framing illustrates many moody sequences. He knows how to depict haunting images, rough landscape and brutal carnage to fit right in with the film's material and destination. Despite a pretty bumpy rhythm, Fulci keeps it tight and ominous for most part. The opening scenes set the appropriate tone of what's to come and even a slight sense of surrealism. It's technically, a good job. The open and breezy ballad folk soundtrack is a complete delight and gels into the presentation nicely. Performances from the main four are sensitively brought across with a compelling rapport. Fabio Testi's strong performance all round carriers the film. Lynne Frederick is beautifully touching. Michael J. Pollard's screwy town drunk amuses and Harry Baird is fine as the loony black slave. Competing with Testi's performance has got to be the memorably brooding performance of Tomas Milan. He chews up the scenery in what few sequences he does get, as the pitilessly striking bandit Chaco.

The sub-genre was coming to an end, and while Fulci's effort was very late to the fodder. He manages to craft Gothic-laced spaghetti western that has heart within its narrative and guts found in the visuals.

Many people, among them even fans of Spaghetti Western, seem not to like "The Four Of The Apocalypse", but it is actually a good movie, even though untypical for the genre. Although the movie's violent reputation is maybe a little exaggerated, the uncut version of the movie has some very brutal scenes, there is a pretty gruesome torture scene, and there is a lot more blood when people are shot than in most Westerns, including Spaghetti Westerns.

The Movie takes place in Utah of 1873, where gambler Stubby Preston meets prostitute Bunny O'Neill, alcoholic Clem and a mentally ill guy named Bud in prison. After Stubby buys their way out of jail, the four head south to a city 200 miles away. They meet an obscure Mexican hunter called Chaco, who joins their group, but soon turns out to be a villainous and sadistic psychopath.

The acting is very good, specially Lynee Frederick's performance as the lovable and beautiful prostitute Bunny, who gives the brutal movie a little heart-warming touch and almost seems a little too innocent for a prostitute, and Tomas Milian who is truly diabolic as vicious Chaco.

The movie's biggest weakness is its score, which is not really bad throughout the whole movie, but in some parts of the movie the songs don't really fall in place with the scenes. Apart from that, the movie is very entertaining, certainly violent but in some scenes even heart-warming. A must-see for every fan of Lucio Fulci and every fan of Spaghetti Westerns, although quite untypical for the genre, since Fabio Testi's character Stubby Preston is not quite the typical anti-hero of the Italian Western.

A highly recommendable film, entertaining and gory, but in some parts also very moving. 7 out of 10.

I'd imagine Lucio Fulci was developing his taste for the bizarre with "Four of the Apocalypse". In 1975, skin peelings, cannibalism, and stylized rape in a "spaghetti western" probably was shocking. Unfortunately today, these seem rather tame, and are little more than curiosities. What we are left with is a very un-western-like western. The film plays like a cross between a western, a weak horror spectacle, and a 70s flower power message movie. The four strangers wander aimlessly, mostly on foot, wandering almost as much as the very weak script. While the acting, and main character development is acceptable, long scenes such as the endless child birth, tend to drag the movie down. One other thing, the music seems totally out of place for a western. "Four of the Apocalypse" is a very slow western with a few outdated shocks, that simply doesn't hold interest because of the meandering script. - MERK