City of the Living Dead (1980)

On August 11th, 1980, City of the Living Dead was released in Italy.  

When Catriona MacColl was approached as a lead in City of the Living Dead she had her doubts about the script. 

“It seemed like a series of special effects without a story.”

That’s kind of what the Fulci experience is all about. Sitting through a bunch of dialogue until the next batshit action or gore scene. 

Kind of like Herschell Gordon Lewis. 

Both men have been referred to as the “Godfather of Gore”.

Daniela Doria about to spew guts

Somehow Fulci convinced this poor girl to regurgitate a bunch of baby cow intestines on camera before switching to a projectile vomiting dummy. I read this in Fangoria magazine when I was a kid and it really fucked with my head. 

It wasn’t until many years later that I actually saw the movie. I mostly just wanted to see the practical effects I’d read about and seen screenshots of so many years before in that magazine. 

The ol’ slow drill through the temple bit

Christopher George 

Also on this date in 1937 William Dieterle’s The Life of Emile Zola premiered.