Door to Silence (1991)
** (out of 4)
Even though he was turning out one gore film after another, director Lucio Fulci ended his career with this psychological drama, which doesn't feature a drop of the red stuff. In the film, John Savage (THE DEER HUNTER) plays a man leaving New Orleans where he went to visit his father's grave. On the way home he keeps running into closed roads, a mysterious woman (Sandi Schultz) and a strange hearse. Back in the day fans got excited when they learned Fulci was returning to the same grounds as his THE BEYOND but if anyone expects the same type of film then they're going to be very disappointed. This film here plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone and I'm sure that show was the main influence on the director here. The biggest problem is that the movie runs nearly 90-minutes and the screenplay isn't smart enough to keep everything working. The biggest problem is that we get the same stuff over and over. Savage will run into the woman then see the hearse and then run into a closed road. These thing happen at least eight or more times and we even get some stuff that's the same shot over and over. There are also several goofs in the film or things that simply don't make sense. Savage is in a hurry to get home but when his car breaks down the mechanic tells him it will be fifteen-minutes to fix it but what does Savage do since he's in a hurry? He checks into a motel. There are other, what I believe to be, goofs including a country hitchhiker wanting a ride to Memphis for a country music festival. I'm guessing it was meant to be Nashville but the dubbing director didn't do any homework. Savage actually turns in a fairly decent performance, although he doesn't have too much to do. Schultz is also easy on the eyes and makes for a good mystery. The rest of the cast are decent at best but that's what you expect in a movie like this. Again, this isn't your typical Fulci film and I do take my hat off to him for trying something new and getting away from the gore. His direction is quite nice here as he handles everything pretty well but the screenplay just really kills anything he has going. Laura Gemser is credited as Costume Designer.
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