City of the Living Dead

City of the Living Dead (Italian: Paura nella città dei morti viventi, lit. 'Fear in the city of the living dead', also released as The Gates of Hell) is a 1980 Italian supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci. It stars Christopher George, Catriona MacColl, Carlo de Mejo, Antonella Interlenghi, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Janet Agren. The film follows a priest whose suicide opens a gateway to hell that releases the undead. A psychic and a reporter team up to close it before All Saints' Day.

Not to be confused with City of the Walking Dead, Gangs of the Dead, or The City of the Dead (film).
City of the Living Dead
Italian theatrical release poster
ItalianPaura nella città dei morti viventi
Directed byLucio Fulci
Written by
Produced byMino Loy
Starring
CinematographySergio Salvati
Edited byVincenzo Tomassi
Music byFabio Frizzi
Production
companies
  • Dania Film
  • Medusa Distribuzione
  • National Cinematografica
Distributed byMedusa Distribuzione
Release date
  • 11 August 1980 (1980-08-11) (Italy)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryItaly
Box office₤985 million (547,773.91 US Dollars)
$1,897,350

City of the Living Dead was developed after the financial success of Fulci's previous film, Zombi 2, leading him to work with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti to write a new horror film inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The film was greenlit during production of Contraband, which Fulci left to begin working on City of the Living Dead. Principal photography was shot predominantly on location in the United States, with interiors shot in Rome.

The film was theatrically released in Italy in August 1980, which grossed ₤985 million. It was followed by a release throughout Europe, including a screening at the Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film, where Fulci won the Audience Award, and in the United States in April 1983. Upon release, the film received criticism for its performances, plot, and graphic violence, but like many of Fulci's films, has developed a cult following. It is the first film in Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy.

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