Door to Silence was the last film from the Godfather of Gore Lucio Fulci, and like most of his latter day output; it's not among the great Italian director's best films. It would seem that after he made the uber-gory Cat in the Brain, Fulci lost the appetite for the red stuff that made him famous, as this film and the earlier Voices From Beyond are more along the lines of a supernatural drama, and while this one isn't as bad as the other - neither are as great as Fulci's best work. The plot is of the slow build variety and indeed, it takes a long time for it to get anywhere. We focus on Melvin Devereux, a man who drives around in his car. Apparently he's driving aimlessly around Louisiana after the death of his father. Then strange things start happening to him - he meets a strange woman who keeps following him, but more ominously, there's a strange hearse driving around too. As he gradually starts to lose his mind, Melvin soon begins to realise that these omens may be pointing towards something.
The main problem with this film is that there is very little to keep your interest. Fulci implants a number of set pieces, but the best of them - a scene that sees Melvin pick up a hitch hiker who wants $50 for sex - isn't even relevant to the central plot. I have to be honest and say that I didn't really care about what the problem with the central character was either. The film is lead by John Savage and the problems with the film are nothing to with his performance. He's good in the lead role, even if he doesn't really impress all that much. Fulci manages to create an almost hallucinogenic road atmosphere which benefits the mysterious plot well. The supporting characters don't really add much, however. A movie like this really should see the star meeting diverse and interesting people; but that doesn't really happen. I doubt many will be too affected by anything by the time the film ends; I couldn't really care less by then. As you would probably expect, I can't recommend this film. Fulci has done worse (Manhattan Baby, Voices From Beyond), but this film is still down there. Skip it!
