Trivia

Director Lucio Fulci always carried around a bag with his trademark pipe and tobacco. One day on set he reached into his bag and found a handful of maggots (which had been used earlier to film the scene in which maggots blow in through a window). The perpetrator of this prank is rumored to be Christopher George, the film's lead actor, who did not get along well with Fulci.

The scene where the window opens wide and lots of maggots fly in was filmed with the help of two wind machines and 22 pounds (10 kg) of actual maggots.

There are a ton of explanations for how the end took the shape it did, and neither Lucio Fulci nor Dardano Sacchetti were ever of any help straightening it out. Some say the editor spilled coffee on the footage of the original ending, forcing the crew to improvise. Some say the original footage was meant to be a happy ending, but Fulci changed his mind after shooting completed and this was the best they could do.

First part of Lucio Fulci's "Gates of Hell" Trilogy, which also include The Beyond (1981) and The House by the Cemetery (1981).

Each German release was banned over the course of 20+ years. First released on video with the title "Ein Zombie hing am Glockenseil" (A Zombie Hung on the Bell Rope) in 1982, it was banned in 1986. A second video with the title "Ein Toter hing am Glockenseil" (A Dead Body Hung on the Bell Rope) was then released, with several cuts, but was banned in 1988. A final version was released with the title "Eine Leiche hing am Glockenseil" (A Corpse Hung on the Bell Rope), heavily cut without any gory scenes left. Rumors say the video distributors even preemptively designed a fourth video release called "Ein Kadaver hing am Glockenseil" (A Cadaver Hung on the Bell Rope) in case the third version was also banned. It finally was, in 2001, but the fourth version was not released.

Lucio Fulci: The pathologist at the crime scene who examines Emily's dead body.