I'm Back and I'm Bringing Zombies!

 You feeling that?

The days are getting shorter, the temperature's getting cooler, the leaves are changing color.

Fall is here.

And that means I'm back on my BS again.

This past year has been a lot. Some good, some bad, and just a lot going on. I was honestly debating if I wanted to do another horror dive this year.

This was also a result of last year's run. Don't get me wrong, there were parts of diving into Hellraiser that I really enjoyed - finally reading The Hellbound Heart and digging into the production history were good times, including gaining a level of respect for Bloodline, in all of its flawed glory.

Then we had the six movies Dimension pumped out purely to keep the rights in their camp. That was where the project went from enjoyable to a chore. I was being entirely sincere when I said a big part of why I summed those up in a single article was simply because I could only repeat the same flaws so many times.

So, in approaching this year, I had two requirements in mind - I wanted something that was going to be less of a backlog, and I wanted something I would enjoy without feeling like I was forcing myself through it. In the future, I may take on another tall order again, but this year, I wanted to treat myself.

I went over a few options before the answer smacked me in the face, care of a program I did with my partner on Italian horror.

With all that said, buckle your seatbelts and break out your safety goggles - we're going back to Hell. And this time, Lucio Fulci's taking us there.

"It's just the same cenobite designs in every sequel now!"

Okay, I know calling a thematic trilogy a franchise could be read as a cheat by some. BUT, seeing as no one gave me grief for it when I did John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy in 2019, I'm gonna take that as approval for Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy this year.

So, keep an eye on this space in the weeks to come. We kick things off in suitably gut-churning fashion with 1980's City of the Living Dead, followed by the 1981 classic The Beyond before bringing the month a close with 1981's The House by the Cemetery.

Part of me would like to say I could throw in some supplemental material, but I can't make guarantees - I know The Beyond has a comic tie-in, but those tend to be a bit on the pricier side. If anything else comes up, I'll be sure to try to surprise you!

It's gonna be a fun ride. The dead will rise, eyes will be gouged.

Till next time.