A reporter and a psychic race to close the Gates of Hell after the suicide of a clergyman caused them to open, allowing the dead to rise from their graves.
In the small New England town of Dunwich, a priest commits suicide by hanging himself in the church cemetery which somehow opens the gates of hell allowing the dead to rise. Peter, a New York City reporter, teams up with a young psychic, named Mary, to travel to the town where they team up with another couple, psychiatrist Jerry and patient Sandra, to find a way to close the gates before All Saints Day or the dead all over the world will rise up and kill the living.Written by
matt-282
When theatrically released in the United States in 1983, the original title was 'Twilight of the Dead.' Due to the fact that both the title and poster art were derivative of Dawn of the Dead (1978), United Film Distribution Company filed a cease and desist order against Motion Picture Marketing. Posters and prints of the movie bearing the title 'Twilight of the Dead' were pulled, altered and sent back out with the new title 'The Gates of Hell'. See more »
Goofs
Mary could not have been buried alive as she would not have survived the embalming. See more »
Quotes
Peter Bell:
Hi, officer. I'm looking for Sergeant Clay. Is he in there?
Policeman outside apartment building:
And who are you?
Peter Bell:
Oh, my name's Peter Bell. I'm with...
Policeman outside apartment building:
Don't tell me. You're a newspaper reporter. I can smell you guys a mile away.
Peter Bell:
You're right. I'm actually a journalist. Listen, there's a rumor going around your station house that some young woman died mysteriously in an apartment up on the third floor and I was wondering if I can talk to Sergeant Clay about it to investigate more about this mystery.
Policeman outside apartment building:
There's no mystery around here. I'm ...
[...] See more »
Alternate Versions
The British Cinema version was cut by around 1 minute to remove the drill sequence. This version was released on video in the UK before 1984, after which all videos were required to be submitted to the British Board of Film Classification. When it was finally given a video certificate by the BBFC, further cuts were made to remove the intestinal vomit scene, and the brain squashing scenes. The UK video has a total of 2m 21s of cuts. See more »
This is a much cleverer film than its reputation , and the chortling audience, might suggest. Fulci's use of space is always impressive, the way he opens out a flat composition at the approach of menace. Alternately, the claustrophobic scenes in the catacombs (which really smell like death!), and the premature burial is horribly vivid. The Gothic decay of the content is contained by Fulci's form, his neo-classical use of symmetry, mirrorings, patterns, echoes, fooling his audience into a false sense of reassurance. Shame about his storytelling abilities.
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This is a much cleverer film than its reputation , and the chortling audience, might suggest. Fulci's use of space is always impressive, the way he opens out a flat composition at the approach of menace. Alternately, the claustrophobic scenes in the catacombs (which really smell like death!), and the premature burial is horribly vivid. The Gothic decay of the content is contained by Fulci's form, his neo-classical use of symmetry, mirrorings, patterns, echoes, fooling his audience into a false sense of reassurance. Shame about his storytelling abilities.