The Black Cat (1981)

Italy’s own “Godfather of Gore” goes gothic! Lucio Fulci (Zombie, The Gates of Hell) gruesomely reimagines the classic Edgar Allen Poe tale with Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange) and Mimsy Farmer (The Perfume of the Lady in Black) in tow. When a young couple goes missing in a sleepy English village, Scotland Yard Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck, The Beyond) is brought in to assist on the case. But what starts off as routine investigation turns into a murder inquiry when the couple are found dead in mysterious circumstances. Fusing a classically creepy atmosphere with visceral elements that are the hallmark of Fulci’s films, The Black Cat is an overlooked and underrated entry in the Italian master filmmaker’s canon. (American Genre Film Archive)