You are very vulgar, bud! the good, the bad, the Fulci. I once said in my Contraband review, “Fulci crime is almost as good as Fulci horror” and now I can proudly say that Fulci Westerns are in a league of their own. Straying far from your typical spaghetti western, no Franco Nero in sight, no gun-slinging stare down, just four hopeless souls trying to make it in this cruel world. a vulnerable man turned scorned, a pregnant prostitute, a drunk, and a man who believes he can talk to the dead, what starts off as a journey through Wild West Utah, turns awry when crossed paths with a sadistic bandit. Merciless killings, humans eating humans, rape, and random acts of cruelty all make up Four of the Apocalypse, this has just the right amount of wincing violence, the right amount of heart, and just enough to make you care ceaselessly for the four on foot. what once starts as a promising partnership close to friendship, the real terror commences when the previously mentioned sadistic bandit, Chaco, shows his true terror, a real tour de force Charles Manson persona. Underneath the considerable amount of gialli and horror in Fulci’s filmography—giving him The Godfather of Gore title that he well deserves— there is a western full of hope, despair, and redemption; with some skinning, bloody gunshot wounds, a dreamlike graveyard sequence in the rain, it wouldn’t be a Fulci film without that. ❤️🔥 two Fabio Testi shaving scenes ❤️🔥fulci ranked ❤️🔥
Never accept peyote from a man named Chaco.Fulci packs a lot of what he’s known for in this violent excursion into the Marinara drenched West—I feel like with Four of the Apocalypse he finally nailed the perfect formula for this sub genre... which is another testament to his versatility as far as genre hopping goes... something that (unfortunately) isn’t spoken about very often. My only issues with Fulci’s best western lay within the pacing of the first act... but then they meet Chaco (Tomas Milián, who may or may not be channeling a Manson-esque persona) the situation escalates into something more morbidly twisted with each passing spaghetti second. Torture, rape, drugs, violence—all featured heavily on display. The early Floyd-esque soundtrack won’t work for everybody (when it works, it’s aces) but the cast of (Testi! Milián! Lynne Frederick! Michael J. Pollard!) is a treat to watch. The final act of Four of the Apocalypse is one of my favorites within the genre and I still think about it often. If this is a Fulci blind spot, definitely check this out—I love this movie.
A charming con, a sultry lady of the night, a drunk drunkard, and a looney loon as four common crooks who escape jail only to be hunted by a psychopath with a taste for blood in Lucio Fulci's trippy and unique spaghetti western. Beatle race? Original masks. Hang time. Horse trip. Stubby the Stud. Pink Floyd-esque soundtrack. Close shave. Bunny's bun. Liquor thief. Church music. Goat lover. Sometimes it's best to hide in the bushes when danger is near. The first time you see Tomas "Badass Motherfucker" Milian. Duck hunt without a NES. Tree torture. Peyote will fuck you up. Mouth spit. Clem's bark. Tit suck. Dick stomp. Bootleg first aid. Tasty water. Tomas Milian's wardrobe has to be seen to believed. Dead doll. Rain feels wet on your face. I think Bud is related to Cole Sear. Bunny's boobs. Stubby's 5 o'clock shadow. A meat that kinda taste like chicken. Perverted preacher. Baby odds. Pecker bet. Horseshoes are lucky. Going all Django on some motherfuckers. Bloody arm. Razors can cut you if you're not careful. Proper goodbye. This is an odd film. The music is nothing like you would expect in a western. It's something you would expect to hear at Woodstock instead. The editing is kinda weird and it might confuse you if you don't pay attention. Fabio Testi is solid as leading man Stubby. However, it's Tomas Milian who steals every scene he's in. I've seen a few of Fulci's horror films, so this was a treat watching a completely different film from what I'm accustomed to him directing. I think I will like this more on a rewatch, but it's still a recommended watch for fans of surreal spaghetti westerns with a side of LSD.
