It's been a while since I've seen City of the Living Dead, but the first entry of Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy never disappoints, and I had actually forgotten how unsettling this film can be at times. The story isn't really anything to talk about, but the atmosphere is to die for. Superb tension building, excellent gore, and buckets of Italian genre film weirdness. What's not to like?!!?

“City” isn’t a masterpiece and doesn’t bring a ton of novelty to the horror field, but it has its memorable moments. Like a Stephen King novel, the film intersperses scenes that’ll stick with you (if only because of their ridiculousness) into an otherwise snails-pace story-arc (consider: several irrelevant characters and multiple tight-framed staring contents). Don’t seek “City” out, but if the movie pops up on the television, it won’t disappoint. Be aware of some gross scenes (though nothing realistic). You might also find the epilogue-of-an-ending frustrating!

As soon as the score of Mystery's Apotheosis played, I leaned forward in my seat and listened intently. It was an incredible tune. You can really feel the hopelessness and fear in the track, as if the choir is sung by the dead in hell. City of the Living Dead has a dark, atmospheric Gothic vibe. While the characters leave much to be desired, the film doesn't always hold your attention. However, it is made up for by some great scenes, a powerful score, and a strange, creepy story about a demonic invasion of the living. I also don't think I've ever seen teleporting zombies before, and that alone makes them even more nightmare fuel—rotting creatures you can't escape from. Italians definitely made a memorable impact on the zombie genre.

All the close up eye-shots are really something. This movie is just as random as every other silly Italian horror movie. It's a chore to get through.

Definitely NOT my first (probably not my last, either!) time to watch this; I think I've watched it three other times already but this is my first time commenting on it here on Trakt. _City of the Living Dead_ has to rank up there as one of my favorite (if not my favorite) zombie movie and it's certainly my favorite Lucio Fulci movie (although Fulci has some good ones out there). Watched this again today just for the fun of it (it was a slow day at work) and laughed at how completely cheesy and lame the acting is. And the eyes... oh god, if you've watched one Lucio Fulci movie, you KNOW he's going to do the ultra-closeup zoom-in on the eyes in at least ONE scene and this was no exception. The "Bob" character was great, and the leering grin he throws in the direction of the inflatable doll still makes me laugh. It's definitely dated by today's standards but _City of the Living Dead_ (released in the US as _The Gates of Hell_ ) is **still** great fun to watch! 09/29/2023 - **UPDATE** Watched it again just because I was bored. As cheesy as it is, it never fails to entertain. So hilarious and gory and stupid and just absolutely awful but man it's fun to watch. And I _still_ don't get the ending. LOL