Lucio Fulci’s Horror and Thriller

Beat Records Italy

Web: http://www.beatrecords.it

In 1996 the world lost a master of the macabre. He was a strange and eccentric filmmaker who will be as much remembered for his gruff exterior as for his obsessive dedication to his genre, but nevertheless he was a true horror maestro. Sadly, in live, he was often overshadowed by Dario Argento, at least in the public eye, and yet when we look in retrospect at the history of Italian Horror The Beyond certainly stands up there with Suspiria and indeed all of Fulci’s films stand the test of time rather well. Indeed, today, many believe that his work embodies the spirit of macabre and confronting horror better than Argento, Bava and others.

He was certainly a flexible filmmaker who spending some half a century honing his craft, worked in a wide range of genres; however, from the Seventies onwards his horror films were the most successful. Visceral, violent, confronting and twisted are words that come to mind when describing his output.

One of the things that marked all of Fulci’s films was his superior use of sound, whether it be ambient or environmental sound effects or his soundtracks, Fulci seemed to have an innate knack to choose just the right sound for the right scene to increase the level of gore and horror a hundred fold. His musical choices were always varied and included regular use of both progressive rock and jazz, in many cases these seemingly unusual choices helped make his films so much more than simply visual experience.

This impressive CD, Lucio Fulci:Horror and Thriller includes music from seven of his more memorable films; Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna, Lo Squareatore Di New York, Quella Villa Accanto Al Cimitero, Manhattan Baby, L’Aldila, Demonia and Door to Silence by such names as Ennio Morricone, Fablo Frizzi, Walter Rizzati and others.

These are quite exceptional choices, all are noteworthy and offer truly memorable audio experience. They are even better if you have seen the films, they will trigger some truly horrifying sensations in the back of your head as you listen to the music and remember the scenes in your imagination.

As per normal Beat Records practise, this is a high quality recording, beautifully presented. There is a lovely booklet discussing each of the films (in English and Italian) with some great pictures and images from the films. If you haven’t seen them, the summaries and the music will certainly peak your interest !

Lucio Fulci’s Horror and Thriller is a great soundtrack CD and one which will be of interest not only to horror film buffs and soundtrack collectors but to anyone interested in the unique progressive rock and jazz sound of the Seventies and Eighties.