DOOR
INTO SILENCE (1991) Director: Lucio Fulci (as H. Simon Kittay)
Severin Films
DOOR
INTO SILENCE (1991) For his final film, Lucio
Fulci took a page from the Rod Serling handbook of atmospheric twist endings
to construct an otherworldly drama, played out on the open (and closed) roads
of Louisiana. Executive produced by Aristide Massaccesi (aka Joe D'Amato), DOOR
INTO SILENCE forgoes the graphic gore and bloodshed most commonly associated
with the Italian director. Instead Fulci opts to tell a more ethereal thriller,
about one man's trip into madness. Granted the film's atmosphere isn’t
very thick and its inevitable conclusion is clear five minutes in, but we are
talking about Fulci here. Even when his game isn’t at its strongest, there
are often still touches of bravura that make the time spent worthwhile.
Melvin Devereux (John Savage, THE KILLING KIND, THE DEER HUNTER) is having one
of hell of a time trying to reach his final destination. Traveling the highways
and back roads of Louisiana, Melvin can’t seem to move more than 20 miles
without hitting some form of roadblock along his journey. After a brief encounter
with a mysterious woman (Sandi Schultz, John Savage’s current wife), Melvin
finds himself having to deal with constant car repairs, hazardous road conditions
and a hearse driver (Richard Castleman) whose erratic behavior forces the already
high-strung businessman into a dizzying fit of paranoia. In no apparent hurry
in escorting his passenger to their final resting place, the hearse driver somehow
manages to continually pop up in front of Melvin, blocking his way and slowing
him down. Melvin, who already has very noticeable issues with authority, constantly
ignoring every “Do Not Enter” and “Warning” sign placed
in front of him, attempts to pass the lumbering vehicle but only succeeds in
provoking the driver into bobbing and weaving all over the road. Such frustrations
only add to his already mounting hysteria, as Melvin begins to unravel at the
reoccurrence of his name, in obituaries and on tombstones and most significantly,
on the very casket that his tormenting hearse is escorting. Determined to get
to the bottom of the strange occurrences and reactions to those around him,
Melvin takes his road rage to the next level, actively seeking out the hearse,
defiant in uncovering the identity of its passenger.
As
best as I can gather, DOOR INTO SILENCE is a film about the horrific inconvenience
of car trouble. There's a supernatural tint to the picture and Fulci does pull
off several attractive set-ups but all in all the film plays out as a testament
for being a AAA card holder. Throughout his journey, Melvin gets pulled over
by the police, his car breaks down, he gets stuck in the mud and he almost collapses
through a bridge no one in there right mind would ever try to cross. John Savage
does a laudable job expressing angst and confusion in a decidedly believable
manner, but Melvin simply isn’t a very likable or relatable character.
As such, it’s easy to lose interest and concern as to the reason for him
trekking his way across Louisiana in the first place. Even when he stops to
pick up a young gal, hitchhiking and hooking her way to a country music fest,
there’s little build up as by this point the film has already set up a
pattern of anticlimaxes. It also doesn’t help that the picture is somewhat
tediously padded with unnecessary stops that do little but reinforce a recognizable
conclusion. But every now and then there’s a tinge of Fulci that reminds
you why you’re there in the first place. It’s not so much the story,
and certainly not the characters that make the film interesting, it’s
the zooms and other identifiable flairs that make Fulci’s swan song worthy
of your attendance.
ZOMBIE, ZOMBI 2, ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, call it what you want, I’m a huge
fan of Fulci’s magnum opus and credit it for opening my eyes to the rest
of the director's work. After watching ZOMBIE for the first time, I wanted to
see everything the man touched and in turn found myself constantly enthralled
by his eclectic filmography. Be it western (FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE), giallo
(THE PSYCHIC) or bat shit insane fantasy epic (CONQUEST), the man never failed
to entertain. That being said, anyone looking for the undead fighting a shark
fun found in Fulci’s infamous gore classics (ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND) would
best be advised to look elsewhere. On the other hand, Fulci completists will
no doubt find picking up DOOR INTO SILENCE to be a no brainer. There is very
little action, save for a rather tame cat and mouse road game ala DUEL, and
nothing, save for a few bumps and bruises in the way of crimson. Cut out the
film's one expletive and trim the hitchhiking hooker scene and SILENCE would
easily be subtle for broadcast and considering the way in which the picture
is framed, that may have been the point.
For
their latest Fulci revival, Severin Films presents DOOR INTO SILENCE full frame,
holding true to its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The picture appears to have
originally been shot for television and it shows. Everything is slightly hazy
and colors are little drab but this is by no means any fault of Severin, as
it appears they have used the best materials available to them as there is no
noticeable debris or damage to the print. Dolby Digital mono audio holds up
well enough and features an English language track that appears to use dialogue
recorded on set. There are no supplements on the disc, save for a chapter selection
menu. Having already released several of the maestro's films (THE PSYCHIC, THE
EROTICIST and PERVERSION STORY), fans of Fulci owe a great deal of admiration
and gratitude to Severin Films for continuing to expand the director's filmography
onto DVD. While he may have departed us sometime ago, through his films, Fulci
Lives! (Jason
McElreath)