No horror director has ever had a better year than the legendary Italian director,Lucio Fulci. In 1981, Fulci released three chilling bangers, one after another, and slam-dunked onall of his competitionlike he was crafting scares in his sleep. First, he released the looseEdgar Allen Poeadaptation,The Black Cat. Following that cult classic, Fulci debuted what might be his most beloved film, the absolutely disgusting and haunting flickThe Beyond. Then, closing out his flagship year, we were thrown one last bone withThe House by the Cemetery, a movie that manages to ride the line between atmosphere and gore that his previous two films set up. All three of these movies rock and helped propel their director into the stratosphere as one of the greatest horror directors of all time. If you’re new to Fulci and need a place to start, you could do way worse than his 1981 selections.
By 1981, Lucio Fulci had already been working as a prolific filmmaker for several decades. He began working in the film industry in the 1950s and directed his first feature in 1959, a little project calledThe Thieves. Throughout the 60s, he would continue grinding out several movies a year, but by the time the 70s rolled around, he would slow down to one movie every 12 months (barring 1972 when he released three, and 1975 when he dropped two). These early decades in his filmography were mostly dominated by comedies, as well as the occasional romance, thriller, Western, action, and of course, horror movies, but towards the end of the 70s, it seems as though Fulci’s interests quickly changed.Zombi 2proved that he had the guts to dive head-first into gorefests, and 1980 furthered that withCity of the Living Dead. Then, 1981 rolled in and showed us that we were working with a guy who was hooked on delivering the grimiest, most atmospheric horror spectacles possible.
‘The Black Cat’ Is the Perfect Poe Adaptation With a Chilling Atmosphere
The first of these three 1981 Fulci films wasThe Black Cat, released on April 4th of that year. This creep-fest was adapted from theEdgar Allen Poe story of the same nameand follows a seemingly cute black cat around the streets of a small English village. What no one realizes is that this cat has the tendency to slaughter folks at every turn, all with the help of its murderous, psychic owner, Professor Robert Miles (Patrick Magee). The fact that the cat is a little killer guarantees a certain degree of on-screen bloodshed (this is a Fulci film after all), but it’s nowhere near as gory as most of the other horror movies in his filmography.
The Black Catworks mostly as an atmospheric chiller. A lot of the runtime takes place on the darkly lit streets of a quiet English village, with fun little POV shots from the cat’s perspective, creating a fantastically chilly fall mood. It’s the perfect movie to throw on during the Halloween season. There is a bit of a slow burn pace to it, but if you’re able to get behind the eerie Poe-isms of it all, then this movie is bound to work wonders for you. At the very least, it rounds out a solid triple feature of Fulci’s 1981 movies by bringing a different brand of horror than the others.
These Are the Scariest 5 Minutes in Any Giallo Horror Movie
And they come from the King of the subgenre himself.
Fulci’s ‘The Beyond’ Is a Bloody Work of Art
If you thoughtThe Black Catwas good, then you haven’t seen anything yet. Just a few weeks later, on April 29th,The Beyondhit theaters and has continued to shock audiences even to this day. This film follows Liza Merril (Catriona MacColl), a woman who inherits a hotel in the backwoods of Louisiana, one that just might be located over one of the gates of hell. How do you think this will go for everyone involved? Well, just about as awful as you can imagine.The Beyondis an absolutely depraved gore fest, and it rules. But beyond its graphic kills and inventive creature designs, this movie stands out from the other two by showcasing some pretty fascinating surreal imagery. There are loads of otherworldly shots, as well as some pretty interesting sets and lighting techniques that positThe Beyondapart from most other movies in Fulci’s filmography. It’s often remembered as one of the most vile movies of its decade, but it deserves more respect as a truly artfully made movie. It’s not just a gross-out haunted house flick!The Beyondis true art!
Fulci Ended 1981 With an Eerie Bang With ‘The House by the Cemetery’
There’s no doubt that Lucio Fulci’s year peaked withThe Beyond, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t still have one more scare-fest left in him.The House by the Cemeterywould come out a few months after its predecessors, hitting theaters on August 14th of that year. This third project finds a bit of a middle ground between whatThe Black CatandThe Beyonddid so well. It doesn’t rely as heavily on atmosphere as the former, but isn’t as gory as the latter. Instead, it kind of operates like an update onthe classic Hammer horror moviesof the 1950s and ’60s. The story follows a family as they move into an old, large New England house, only for a young psychic girl (Silvia Collatina) to warn them of a threat lurking in their new home. LikeThe Black Cat,The House by the Cemeterylargely works off of having an eerie setting, and some wonderfully haunting slow-burn scares. That said, the finale of this movie is so wicked that it might be worthy ofThe Beyond. The ultimate reveal is a genuinely upsetting one, but it’s exactly the type that you’d want in a gothic horror movie set by a cemetery.
Lucio Fulci’s Career After 1981
After 1981, Fulci would continue to make all kinds of horror movies for a little over a decade. He would deliver the goods withZombi 3,go full Giallo withThe New York Ripper, and close out his filmography with 1994’sVoices from Beyond. Everyone knows him for his horror pictures during this time, but he still dabbled in other genres here and there. Fulci went fantasy withConquest, took us to sci-fi worlds inWarriors of the Year 2072, and even got a little erotic with his drama,The Devil’s Honey. Still, he’d never have a year as big as 1981 ever again. He wouldn’t even end up achieving the highs that he hit with all three of that year’s movies. It’s as if he perfected his recipe for atmospheric horror and gore fests, and used all of his ingredients to crank out three bonafide classics.
If you’re new to Lucio Fulci, then I suppose you could start withZombi 2orCity of the Living Dead, or even dive into one ofhis ventures into Giallo. That said, if you’re willing to go all the way with committing to learning everything that he did so well, then you’ll have to hop in on his 1981 films. It might sound like a massive commitment, but they all only run around 90 minutes long, and are sure to give you a killer triple feature. Find another filmmaker who hasn’t just cranked out one, not just two, butthreehorror classics in one year — you won’t. Lucio Fulci is king, and 1981 was the year he gained his crown.
