Il fantasma di Sodoma

Lucio Fulci's "The Ghosts of Sodom" is so dumb that it's very difficult not being at least a little entertained by it.A group of kids arrives at the old Nazi mansion and soon they are haunted by Nazis from the past."The Ghosts of Sodom" must be among the worst films made by Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci.There is almost none of the Fulci magic left.The film is also pretty boring and filled with unnecessary dialogue.There is plenty of nudity,so if you like them sleazy you won't be disappointed.No gore to speak of apart from some nice shots of decaying corpse.The film is quite rare and hard to find,so if you like Italian horror give it a look.4 out of 10.

I have seen here some bad reviews about this, but I think this was quite funny and some special effects are quite effective. Some people prefer the first movies made by Fulci such as "House by the cemetery" but instead I like more some of the last such as this or "Aenigma" which was also quite interesting, so if you are a fan of B horror movies, take a look at this, it is at least funny.

The Ghosts of Sodom (1988)

1/2 (out of 4)

The film starts off in 1943 where a group of Nazis are having an orgy when forces drop a bomb on them and kills them. Flash forward to current times when six teenagers get lost and end up at the place that was bomb (somehow it was undamaged). Soon the ghosts of the dead Nazis are seeking vengeance.

THE GHOSTS OF SODOM came from the later period of Fulci's career as well as the very end of the Italian horror boom. Both Fulci and the genre were pretty much dried up during this era and it sadly shows in this awful film. Some have argued that even the classic Fulci titles were mainly gore and perhaps that's true but they also had some energy, atmosphere and style. Those things are all missing from this picture.

The biggest problem is the fact that Fulci is working with very little money and there's just very little that you can actually do. The story itself should have made for a great film as you could have had one grisly death after another. The Naziploitation genre is full of these types of films so something could have been done. However, there's nothing but boring scenes of the teenagers talking about being lost and every once in a while you get some pretty girls taking their clothes off.

Being a Fulci film you'd expect some gore but you'll be disappointed because there is very little. Again, the lack of a budget meant not much could be done with the special effects so we're basically left with nothing. The death scenes are all rather bland and boring and the only saving grace is that the orgy sequence is so bad that you can laugh at it. THE GHOSTS OF SODOM should have been so much more but sadly it's just proof that the genre and director were at the end.

Well, I was actually one of the actors in this movie. I am not in the habit of criticizing anyone or anything - especially when it reflects negatively on me! I was enthusiastic when I learned I had been chosen for the role but when I got the script, I never got passed the first half. When I got on the set, I realized that nobody else but myself and another actor could actually speak English so I basically had the luxury of improvising my entire lines - which couldn't have been as bad as the intended ones by the way. Although shot in 1988, I only mustered up the guts to watch this film in 2001...I think even that was premature now that I've seen it! Anyway, if you expect to even remotely jolted - you've got the wrong flick! I personally found it quite funny at times! Nothing happens, yet the actor's reaction shots would have you believe that the worst atrocity just occurred. You're left thinking, "what happened, did I blink? Maybe I need to rewind...!" Anyway, if you want some gore, check out "White Apache" dir. by Bruno Mattei. I'm in that one too by the way - playing the White Apache. Sebastian

In an all-too-familiar scenario, a group of teenagers traveling in Europe discover an isolated villa and choose to stay there overnight, unaware of the mansion's dark, war-time past.

Italian filmmaker, Lucio Fulci, ventures into the realms of Nazi-exploitation with this crudely produced, yet strangely entertaining, obscure, low-budget film. 'The Ghosts of Sodom' begins in a typically sleazy manner, with a short portrayal of a drug-laden Nazi party of debauchery being filmed by one member of the party who we will soon come to know as Willy (Robert Egon). Despite the pseudo-eroticised nature of the opening segment, the sequence soon takes a rather unpleasant, repellent tone before the cut-shot quickly transports the viewer back to the present day. It is here that we are introduced to the main characters and, rather characteristic of a Fulci film, these characters remain underdeveloped throughout and seemingly have no individual personality. This is an unfortunately consistent flaw with a large number of Fulci's movies but more so with this film. Despite a few brief instances, the majority of lines in the film could have been spoken by any one of the six main characters. Sadly, this rather glaring fault is coupled with numerous instances of wholly pointless and asinine dialogue.

However, this is not to say that 'The Ghosts of Sodom' is an entirely bad movie. In fact, for a production of this type, it is a rather accomplished piece of film-making. Fulci utilises a beautiful, enchanting soundtrack in a professional, productive way to create a dynamic, dramatic and foreboding atmosphere when coupled with the astonishingly gloomy, despairing and mesmerising visual elements that had become one of his trademarks. Although there are only a few gory shots to satisfy those viewers who have become accustomed to Fulci's often-excessive usage of gore, one should be able to appreciate that the erotic and supernatural elements of the film provide the fodder here. Unfortunately, the rather slow-pace and often empty, prolonged instances of tedium can certainly subtract from the viewing enjoyment and distract the viewer from appreciating the more intricate and important plot-aspects; a true concern as the story is far from enormously intricate. However, in reality, how many similar films do not suffer from these same problems?

One can appreciate this film for the superb, atmospheric presentation if they are able to ignore the predictability, plot/character flaws and kitsch of the whole production. Despite the somewhat inane storyline (although adequate for the production) and often-ridiculous scripting of the movie, one can certainly waste eighty minutes on films far poorer than this. 'The Ghosts of Sodom' is quite simply Nazi-exploitation with a supernatural twist which, in places, is full of tension with the 'Russian Roulette' sequence being the absolute peak of heart-pounding suspense. Fans of Fulci's other films may be disappointed, but fans of the sub-genre may find various things to like about this film despite the movie not being as explicit as other movies of its type. My rating for 'The Ghosts of Sodom' - 6½/10.