The Four of the Apocalypse... (1975) User Reviews

Violent And Moving Western By Lucio Fulci

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 7/10 · 28 May 2006]

Many people, among them even fans of Spaghetti Western, seem not to like "The Four Of The Apocalypse", but it is actually a good movie, even though untypical for the genre. Although the movie's violent reputation is maybe a little exaggerated, the uncut version of the movie has some very brutal scenes, there is a pretty gruesome torture scene, and there is a lot more blood when people are shot than in most Westerns, including Spaghetti Westerns.

The Movie takes place in Utah of 1873, where gambler Stubby Preston meets prostitute Bunny O'Neill, alcoholic Clem and a mentally ill guy named Bud in prison. After Stubby buys their way out of jail, the four head south to a city 200 miles away. They meet an obscure Mexican hunter called Chaco, who joins their group, but soon turns out to be a villainous and sadistic psychopath.

The acting is very good, specially Lynee Frederick's performance as the lovable and beautiful prostitute Bunny, who gives the brutal movie a little heart-warming touch and almost seems a little too innocent for a prostitute, and Tomas Milian who is truly diabolic as vicious Chaco.

The movie's biggest weakness is its score, which is not really bad throughout the whole movie, but in some parts of the movie the songs don't really fall in place with the scenes. Apart from that, the movie is very entertaining, certainly violent but in some scenes even heart-warming. A must-see for every fan of Lucio Fulci and every fan of Spaghetti Westerns, although quite untypical for the genre, since Fabio Testi's character Stubby Preston is not quite the typical anti-hero of the Italian Western.

A highly recommendable film, entertaining and gory, but in some parts also very moving. 7 out of 10.

A real surprise from Fulci

[noahbbrown · 7/10 · 22 June 2009]

I'm a fan of Fulci's work but until now had only ever seen the splatter movies from his mid- to-late career. On the basis of this, I will dig deeper and check out more of his earlier films.

This is a very strange Western, beautifully shot with a bizarre psychedelic score. Performances are good, theatrical and a little overblown (the dubbing never helps), but they fit well within this unusual morality play.

The film is loaded with symbolism, concerned with themes of birth, death and redemption. Fulci was an artful director when he wanted to be, but never concerned himself with linear plots. The story here is easier to follow, but takes an interesting turn towards the end when Stubby and Bunny find the town populated by men. Pacing up to this point was sharp, but here things did drag a little.

There are some well-handled action sequences, a little hard-boiled violence (but leagues away from the incredible sadism of something like 'New York Ripper') and some humorous touches, mainly provided by the character of Clem, the town drunk. The whole thing has an acid-fried feel that's a bit redolent of Jodorowsky.

Worthy of repeated viewings and further study. The conventions of the Western have provided a great canvas for many auteurs - Fulci makes the most of stock characters and visual cues, imbuing them with all the sub-text he wanted to get across.

I'll definitely check out 'Massacre Time' after this. Anyone who's been bored or insulted by the director's later stuff like 'Voices From Beyond' should watch this and see the full breadth of the grumpy old feller's ability.

Low voltage "shock western".....

[merklekranz · 5/10 · 25 April 2008]

I'd imagine Lucio Fulci was developing his taste for the bizarre with "Four of the Apocalypse". In 1975, skin peelings, cannibalism, and stylized rape in a "spaghetti western" probably was shocking. Unfortunately today, these seem rather tame, and are little more than curiosities. What we are left with is a very un-western-like western. The film plays like a cross between a western, a weak horror spectacle, and a 70s flower power message movie. The four strangers wander aimlessly, mostly on foot, wandering almost as much as the very weak script. While the acting, and main character development is acceptable, long scenes such as the endless child birth, tend to drag the movie down. One other thing, the music seems totally out of place for a western. "Four of the Apocalypse" is a very slow western with a few outdated shocks, that simply doesn't hold interest because of the meandering script. - MERK

One of the best Spaghetti westerns.

[nico-77 · 7 March 2000]

Utah, 1873. A young card-sharp named Stubby Preston arrives in a small town called Salt Flat. On his arrival, the town sheriff (Donald O'Brien) throws him in jail with 3 petty criminals - a pregnant prostitute (Frederick), a hopeless drunk (Pollard) and a mad black slave (Baird). That night, KKK-masked gunmen wipe out most of the town, and the next night, the four are put on a cart and forced out of town, into the bandit-filled wilds. One such bandit (Tomas Milian) forces himself upon the group, soon revealing himself to be a wicked sadist. After kneecapping Pollard, raping Frederick and torturing the other two, Testi swears revenge if he is left alive. Milian heads off, and the four characters set out to follow their dreams and destinies - in Testi's case, a slow, violent death for the bandit...

This unusual, horror-tinged effort suffers from slow pace and some awful music ballads, as well as Frederick phony Transatlantic accent. Where it does score highly, is in the 'feel' of the film. Sergio Salvati's photography is superb, and really presents the Old West as a desolate wasteland where only the most ruthless will survive. Also, Milian's villain is superbly evil, and there are some excellent action sequences, such as the opening purge of the town, and Testi's score-settle.

Some of the violence is truly shocking, and all prints of the film were cut down - Milian gouging into a man's stomach with a knife after pinning a sheriff's badge into his chest (commonly seen in stills), and some of Frederick's harrowing rape ordeal.

Don't get the Swedish Sun Video entitled 'CHACO' - it's heavily cut down. This version misses out some gory bullet-hits at the start, much of Milian's torturous antics (including him stamping Testi's testicles), and Testi cutting Milian's face open with a razor. The most complete version available at present (though it still misses out the pre-studio cuts described above), is the Japanese AT International tape.

Even with what does remain, it's a nihilistic, grim piece of work, and remains one of the most violent of the Spagwests. It's a shame that Fulci, after this and the excellent MASSACRE TIME, would disgrace himself with his third western effort, the limp SILVERSADDLE.

Based on Bret Harte stories

[dphelan-1 · 6/10 · 15 January 2005]

I am surprised nobody has commented in any reviews that this film is based on 2 Bret Harte short stories - " The Outcasts of Poker Flats" and " The Luck of Roaring Camp". Names and details are slightly altered but the plots are very much intact.As far as I can determine this is the only European western based on Bret Harte's works. "The Outcasts of Poker Flats" has been filmed several times before including a 1930's version with Preston Foster and a 1952 version with Dale Robertson.Harte's stories have a touch of the sentimental about them and this is reflected especially in the "Luck of Roaring Camp" part of this film.

Atypical spaghetti western from Lucio Fulci.

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 26 October 2021]

Director Lucio Fulci is most (in)famous for his ultra gory horror movies, such as Zombie Flesh Eaters, however, as with others such as his psychedelic giallo A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, this one shows once again that Fulci was in fact an excellent director. Sure, it does showcase the violence and brutality he is known for but it also is surprisingly emotional too, with actual three dimensional characters, which is hardly a given for this kind of thing. The story has four petty criminals meet in a jail and then trek across the desert, where they encounter various obstacles including a very sinister Charles Manson like bandit played excellently by Tomas Milian. The storyline and characters mainly avoid the typical spaghetti western cliches, with Fabio Testi's central character pretty far removed from the usual loner with incredible weapons skills. Also atypical is the score which is nothing like a Morricone bells and whistles affair, surprisingly it sounds more like Pink Floyd! This one also has a good turn from Lynne Frederick as one of the title characters, along with No Blade of Grass, Phase IV, Vampire Circus and Schizo this one makes up the Lynne Frederick 70's cult quintet.

Rare and violent Italian Western about an enjoyable group who is harassed by a brutal Mexican bandit

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 21 December 2011]

Quattro dell'apocalisse (original title) is a bloody Spaghetti Western with usual Mexican desperado Tomas Milian who steals the show as a merciless bandit and filmed , of course , in Almeria . An Italian production full of action , exaggerated characters, shootouts and lots of violence . For money, for pleasure, for revenge, he doesn't care why he kills or how ¡ ... A group of misfit characters are taken prisoners by the Utah Sheriff (Donald O'Brien) but later they are freed . Four petty criminals, three men , a card player named Stubby Preston (Fabio Testi) , a drunk (Michael J. Pollard) , a crazy African-American (Harry Baird) obsessed with the dead and a pregnant prostitute (Lynne Frederick) , wander through the trackless terrain of the Wild West and are hounded by a hearless outlaw who rapes , slashes, ravages and murders each person involved in his attacks . The quartet looking for food, water is submitted a tempestuous trap by evil Mexican bandit and receive violent knocks, punches, kicks and wounds . The group sees the atrocity over a Mormon family and Stubby Preston executes a single-handedly revenge . He is relentless in his vendetta , deadly in his violence. The conflict is a simple one between avenger , swindler Stubby and oppressors, nasty bandits commanded by cruel outlaw named Chaco .

It's an exciting and tragic western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonist Fabio Testi against the sadistic Tomas Milian and his hoodlums . In the film premiere attained bit success , nowadays is best valued and I think it turns out to be a good Spaghetti Western. The Cuban Tomas Milian as a cruelly baddie role is terrific , he is fine, he cries, ravages the screen , shoots, hit and run and kills . The film packs violence, gore, gun-play , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shootouts or stunts every few minutes . Appears S. W. usual support cast as Bruno Corazzari , Charles Borromel , Donald O'Brien , Lorenzo Robledo , all of them turn up in multiple Italian/Spanish Western productions . There are many fine technicians and nice assistants as Goffredo Unger, also secondary , habitual master of arms in numerous Spaghetti Western. Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors, dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on Austria , Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain and Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy (studio) . The soundtrack is full of sensible songs and sad ballads , furthermore haunting musical leitmotif . Striking cinematography in Eastmancolor by Sergio Salvati , Fulci's ordinary .

The motion picture is realized by one of the most controversial filmmakers of terror movies , Lucio Fulci in his usual style with some flaws a but is professionally made because he is a skilled craftsman . He creates a strange Western that manages to be both scary , tragic and skilfully made . Reviewers are divided over booth the morals and talents of Fulci (1927-1996) who sometimes directed under the alias ¨Louis Fuller¨. For some critics many of his movies are gore-feasts that tried to be disguised itself under many other titles , were cruel and shockingly violent, yet their gory surface often conceals religious, social commentaries or intelligent issues. Whether he should be viewed as a cheap sensationalist or just a genius Fulci has a loyal fan base and undeniably has an important and unique influence on the terror genre , creating great works on a low budget and deserving its cult status such as proved in ¨ The black cat ¨, ¨Manhattan baby¨, ¨Gates of Hell¨, ¨Island of the living dead¨, ¨New York ripper¨ , among them. ¨Four of Apocalypse¨ is one of his more imaginative Western , Fulci also directed another Spaghetti as ¨white Fang¨, ¨Challenge of White Fang¨, and ¨Massacre time¨. It's just one passable Western and acceptable budget movie that still packs a punch for those who like to be entertained out their wits . This peculiar Western will appeal to Lucio Fulci aficionados .

Well, Fulci tried but failed. Boring western with a very gorgeous Lynne Maria Frederick.

[Fella_shibby · 4/10 · 8 June 2020]

I saw this for the first time recently. Got excited knowing that it is a spaghetti western film directed by Lucio Fulci but got totally disappointed as the film is very boring. Apart from the gorgeous Lynne Maria Frederick, ther is nothing good in this film. The rainstorm dinner scene may shock audiences but that's it. The story is about four people who meet each other in a prison n are sent away by the sheriff. Wandering in the desert, they come across a sadistic gun slinger. Forget about a good showdown, it doesn't even have a fair n decent duel.

Oh, that was bitter.

[lost-in-limbo · 8/10 · 16 May 2007]

Four lowly criminals that meet in jail; card shark Stubby, pregnant prostitute Bunny, a drunk Clem and the loony Bud manage to escape a vigilante slaughter of the town they were in and end up on a rugged journey in the open frontier. They soon encounter the Chaco, but after helping them out. He soon turns on them, with his sadistic habits coming through and they find themselves at the other end of it. After raping Bunny, Stubby's increasing feelings for her, makes him vow vengeance on Chaco.

Apocalyptic to-right! This cruel, sparse and bleakly nightmarish spaghetti western from Italian maestro Lucio Fulci is one uncompromising trek, where four unique individuals end up guiding us. The episodic screenplay pulls you along for one emotionally domineering and pain-filled excursion into the souls of four (very ordinary) characters longing to make something important from their lives, especially after what they've been through… together. This destiny-bound aspect and redemption angle takes over the odd story, where these rag-tag characters are flung around in manipulative sense and realistically drawn up with rich, quirky and sullen details. It tries to be a passionate and diverse character story, and this makes it one interesting and downright original crack at the flooded sub-genre. I see mentioned a bit, Why's apocalypse in the title? I see this as a reference towards the characters' and their final outcomes. Hope just seems to fade off their faces, after one degrading, macabre and tragic situation after another in a reprehensibly desolate land that can easily break you and take away the things you hold close. Everything that was significant is stripped away, which leaves only one thing on mind for one character… revenge. Tomas Milan's scummy character is the main tool of that torturous downfall.

Fulci is one never to shy away from something in your face, and this one has no boundaries to its depressing nature, relentless violence and unsparingly gritty landscape. His patiently accomplished and pastel direction can feel plodded, but he gracefully lenses it with gusto and the up-close and personal framing illustrates many moody sequences. He knows how to depict haunting images, rough landscape and brutal carnage to fit right in with the film's material and destination. Despite a pretty bumpy rhythm, Fulci keeps it tight and ominous for most part. The opening scenes set the appropriate tone of what's to come and even a slight sense of surrealism. It's technically, a good job. The open and breezy ballad folk soundtrack is a complete delight and gels into the presentation nicely. Performances from the main four are sensitively brought across with a compelling rapport. Fabio Testi's strong performance all round carriers the film. Lynne Frederick is beautifully touching. Michael J. Pollard's screwy town drunk amuses and Harry Baird is fine as the loony black slave. Competing with Testi's performance has got to be the memorably brooding performance of Tomas Milan. He chews up the scenery in what few sequences he does get, as the pitilessly striking bandit Chaco.

The sub-genre was coming to an end, and while Fulci's effort was very late to the fodder. He manages to craft Gothic-laced spaghetti western that has heart within its narrative and guts found in the visuals.

It's not without its problems but on balance it's a very good film.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 26 January 2012]

I appreciate the DVD for this film very much. It seems that the original American version was not the same as the Italian release. So, in this restoration, the missing bits have been added. But, since it was so many years later that it was reassembled, the new portions have captions--not dubbed like the rest of the film. Some may dislike this, but I like that you can note what was and wasn't in the original release.

The film begins with four small-time misfits sharing a jail cell--a gambler (Fabio Testi), a pregnant prostitute (Lynne Frederick), a drunk (Michael J. Pollard) and a crazy man (Harry Baird). They are eventually thrown out of town and find themselves in the inhospitable countryside. Considering how hot and dry it is, it seems that their troubles MAY be over when they meet up with a hippie-esque guy named Chaco (Tomas Milian). Chaco is amazing with the gun and soon they have plenty to eat and they have every reason to be happy. But the gambler seems to reserve his judgment here--and soon you learn it's for good reason. Chaco is a maniac--and he soon begins terrorizing them and quickly kills a posse looking for him. Now, all trussed up, the three friends can only sit back when Chaco rapes the lady. He then leaves them to die--without horses and in the middle of nowhere. What's next? Well, watch the film--as there's a lot more to follow in this odd little Italian western.

Although I enjoyed this film, it had a very sloppy quality about the film. Continuity was often a problem. In one case, it's warm and they're in a desert when a woman goes into labor--suddenly they're in a snow-filled town! Also, the women appears through most of the film to be, at most, 4-5 months pregnant--then gives birth to a healthy baby. It's also NOT a film for kid--with lots of blood, rape, unintentional cannibalism and more! The thing that bothered me most, however, was the awful hippie-style music with the dreadful singing--very sappy and very 1970s.

But there also was quite a bit to like. The film, at times, had some real heart. I liked the portion set in the mining town--the miners were great characters and offered a nice contrast to all the violence early in the film. Also, the character development of several in the film (such as the gambler and the drunk) was nice--very nice. An oddly moving film that, with a bit of editing and cleanup, could have been a classic.

By the way, I did think it was odd that the western began in a lawless town in Utah. I am sure there were some, but considering Utah was mostly filled with Mormons at that time, this did seem a bit unlikely. Also, the prostitute (Lynne Frederick) was once married to Peter Sellers as well as David Frost. This beautiful lady died very, very young--apparently from the effects of drugs and alcohol.

Weak film from a promising premise, country and director

[Bogey Man · 3/10 · 9 April 2003]

Lucio Fulci made some Westerns in his prolific career (like the 1966 Tempo di Massacro aka Colt Concert and 1978 Sella d'argento aka Silver Saddle) but this film, I Quattro dell'apocalisse aka The Four of the Apocalypse (1975, and among the very last of the Spaghetti Westerns alongside Enzo G. Castellari's Keoma, 1976 and Sergio Martino's Mannaja from 1977) is perhaps his most noteworthy Western as it at least has some marks of the director's talent as well as a very great premise and potential which are sadly used very minimally.

Fabio Testi, a great actor, stars as a clever card shark who arrives in one town somewhere in the West. Soon he gets to trouble and finds himself travelling with three other lost souls, a kind hearted "whore" (Lynne Frederick), a mentally unbalanced black man (Harry Baird) and an alcoholic loser (Michael J. Pollard) who all soon meet the film's and perhaps the whole Western genre's most heinous and mean spirited villain, Chaco, played by the always great Tomas Milian (Django Kill, Compañeros, Run Man Run among many others). A tale of violence, revenge and some surreal goings-on has begun in the hands of the director who has done much better.

First the negative things as Fulci has a certain place in my heart as he was the very first to introduce me to the wonderful and atmospheric, and sometimes very gory, Italian horror genre as well as being responsible for two of the greatest Italian Giallo mysteries ever, Non si sevizia un paperino aka Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) and Sette note in nero aka The Psychic (1977). The Four of the Apocalypse begins very promisingly as it is not too long before we see something's going to change inside the first seemingly "good" character of Testi's. He starts to hunger for revenge as he sees something horrible done by the sadistic bandit Chaco. But this anti-violent, human being depicted as it deep inside is theme of wickedness and dualism of our nature is not there as it should be, it is only a tale of revenge without the kind of harrowing, realistic and universal power as in, for example, Sergio Corbucci's 1968 masterpiece Il grande silenzio aka The Great Silence in which the theme of revenge and animal living inside man is taken as far as possible, making perhaps one of the saddest, most honest and violent endings in the whole cinematic history. Klaus Kinski's character in that film is even more convincing than the sadistic Chaco in Fulci's film.

At the end of Fulci's film, it is unpleasantly obvious that this is just another violent Spaghetti Western without the ambition that would have done it among the masterpieces. The lonely animal in the desert in which Testi rides at the end only tries to make his character more likable and his acts "acceptable" while it all just makes bad for the piece. When the baby is born for Testi and his wife, we see long takes of Testi watching the small human being with amazement and something definitely going on inside him, but still he, and the film makers, don't understand how great scene that would have been to make Testi's character forget about his hunger and see what he has achieved, something that he should protect with his whole heart. But no, the potentially great sequence (very long one, too) promises much but after all manages to give nothing for the film as a whole.

Another problem is the last third of the film, when they arrive in the wonderfully white place, again reminding me of the mentioned Corbucci masterpiece. That long sequence, involving one tragic death and one life affirming birth, is very slowly paced and feels very bad in contrast to the rather well told first part that preceded it. There is too much discussion that doesn't give anything important to the film and so they only feel boring. But that same sequence has some great acting, mostly by the "whore" who became Testi's wife as she really cried in that scene, and that, according to Testi, moved the whole crew a lot as they saw how emotional the girl got for the scene, and despite the actress Frederick at times moves her eyes a little too much and exaggeratedly, she shows her abilities in that moving scene.

The third major negative thing is the way how the black character (Baird) is treated here. He gets to hear everywhere nasty and mean comments about his skin color and race, and as if that wasn't enough, he is not a balanced man trying to fight against the oppression of the racist others but a very neutral and almost just plain silly character that don't even seem to understand how mean and narrow-minded some of the others are against him. He, however, finds something larger than life in the rather impressive and almost surreal ghost town sequence which also suggest the rather pessimistic but so realistic fact how sometimes it is not so remarkably better to be alive than dead. And that in this world, surrounded by all kinds of human beings, sometimes even the dead feel safer and more human than the alive. But Alexandro Jodorowsky, for example, would have done it all so much more powerfully and with greater impact, as he does in his masterpiece La montagna sacre aka The Holy Mountain (1973) so fantastically. If there had been at least one "normal" and safe black character, it would have been a lot better.

Some of the positive things to be found are at least in the visual look of the film as it has some interesting images and landscapes captured on film. The film is photographed by the future Fulci regular Sergio Salvati who is alongside Fulci and composer Fabio Frizzi responsible for the greatness and atmosphere of Fulci's horror films of the early eighties. The rain and the ghost town sequences are pretty good here, as well as the ones that show rocky mountains and deserted places in the world the Four are wandering. The scene in which a character dies is also, alongside the potential birth sequence and the ghost town sequence, very memorable and supports the theme and message of the ghost town in same way. Somewhere must be a better place as all the dead or soon-to-become-ones in the film seem to know.

The actors are also good as can be expected from the cast and naturally Testi and Milian stand out. Milian's character does some horrific acts in the film and the torture scene is very haunting and would have also been ever more so if Fulci had only shown the great face Testi has in that scene. Now it loses its power as he goes to details but still the impact of the devilish scene and Milian is quite strong and shows also what kind of carnal imagery Fulci would be capable to shoot. Still, the film would have been much greater as well as more surreal, if Milian's character had vanished totally after he is first introduced as, as mentioned before, now the ending involving the same devil doesn't work at all. If Jodorowsky had done this film, Milian's character had vanished and Testi's character had learnt. And the piece would have been much more magical.

The Four of the Apocalypse is not as great as it should have been. The mentioned Il grande silenzio is a perfect example of the abilities of this powerful genre and films like this Fulci effort are examples of how it can be misused making more or less shallow and violent films. It has some merits but mostly only potential. The maestro has done much better, may his soul now rest in peace and shall his (below) mediocre films teach something with their flaws. 3/10

The final word in nihilist pasta westerns

[El-Stumpo · 8/10 · 1 November 2007]

Prolific B-filmmaker Lucio Fulci made Four Of The Apocalypse just after his violent giallo thrillers like Lizard In A Woman's Skin and Don't Torture The Duckling, and before he kickstarted the Euro-splatter genre with Zombie Flesheaters in 1979. With a pedigree like that, you can tell that Fulci specialized in the darker side of human nature. In The Four Of The Apocalypse, when the blood starts to flow - and it seems to appear more often than necessary - Fulci rises to the task and is not afraid to show it.

This is the West as rewritten by Leone, Peckinpah and company - lawless, brutal, and certainly no place for the righteous. Fabio Testi plays Stubby Preston, a super-suave card shark who rolls into town just as gambling is declared illegal. The sheriff (played by Run Man Run's sheriff Donal O'Brien, locks him in a cell with the so-called scum of the earth: the visibly pregnant woman of the night Bunny (played by the late British actress Lynne Frederick), an unnervingly upbeat African American named Bud, and the weird-looking cherubic Michael J Pollard, most famous for his role as the slightly brain-damaged CW in Bonnie And Clyde, here on his downhill career slide as Clem, the slightly brain-damaged town drunk.

Hooded killers cut a swathe through the rest of the town in a display of gloriously slow motion wholesale butchery while sheriff plugs his ears - and this is before the end of the credits! The four cell mates hitch their wagon southwards, bickering and sniping at each other, all to Greek Chorus courtesy of an abysmal 70s West Coast pop group. Along comes the mysterious half-Indian Chaco, played with demented abandon by a very different Tomas Milian. He soon shows his true talents - hunting, torture and administering peyote like a crazed psychedelic priest.

The harsh landscape suddenly becomes nightmarish and surreal, and the film frequently makes trips across the border into grand guignol territory, which is great news for lovers of Fulci's zombie quartet. But it's not all gloom; there are moments of genuine tenderness and heartbreak in the unlikely pairing of a gambler and a pregnant prostitute. And speaking of pregnant, you're going to need a cast-iron stomach to handle this one, possibly the last word in nihilist splatter westerns: the 1975 Four Of The Apocalypse.

Brutal

[JasparLamarCrabb · 6/10 · 19 May 2012]

It's not really saying something, but this features some of Lucio Fulci's best direction. His work here is quite good. It's the story of four disparate criminals driven out of town by a crooked sheriff. They run into some holy rollers, some brutal outlaws and lunatic sharpshooter Tomas Milian. Fabio Testi is a gambler, Lynne Frederick is a whore, Michael J. Pollard is a drunk and Harry Baird is a ghost seeing nut. It's a brutal, uncompromising spaghetti western, with so-so dubbing and some fine acting by Testi, Fredrick and the great Milian. As with many films of this ilk, the action is marred by some silly pop songs played at various intervals. Not bad.

Totally crazy--potential for enjoyment or boredom

[Polanski_Fan · 5/10 · 22 August 2005]

This movie was not governed by the normal laws of film-making or narrative, and whether that makes Fulci a nut or a genius is pretty much what will determine your response to this film. The short documentary included on the DVD has the two principal male actors explaining that Fulci's technical expertise was continually undermined by his "bad taste" in scripts and tendency to "direct with his left hand," i.e.: without true effort. I never really got into this movie because my attention kept drifting during the several over-long and pointless sequences which occur every 10 minutes or so and contribute nothing to the movie but to slow it down. However, just as often would be a completely off-the wall, inexplicable crisis or character appearing in the film. So, while there was zero momentum, there was a certain episodic merit. The rape scene was depraved and definitely misogynist, and most of the violence in the film occurs either in the opening credits or the final scene. In between is a very strange, badly dubbed, poorly scored, but occasionally compelling picaresque/revenge tale. Definitely more watchable than some other Fulci I've seen, and obviously all his standard quirks/charms apply.

Fulci's Not-So-Finest

[wildsidecinema · 10 March 2011]

Filmed with a sleepy haze, creating an almost dream-like atmosphere similar to Fulci's Conquest, it was obvious (outside of the title) that Fulci and writer Ennio De Concini (Salon Kitty) were drawing religious parallels with some sequences and imagery. Each of the four survivors also seemed to represent unfavorable aspects of the pioneering West including gambling (Stubby), sex (Bunny), alcoholism (Clem) and insanity (Bud). Is it a straight-up Spaghetti Western or an allegory? Tomas Milian is chilling as the diabolical Chaco and Fabio Testi delivers a surprisingly touching performance as the seasoned gambler Stubby. Lynne Frederick was absolutely gorgeous as Bunny, Pollard does a solid job as comedic relief and Harry Baird lends the film a child-like innocence, despite his insanity. There's really not much I can say about the acting or the locations but I did have a problem or two with Four of the Apocalypse. For starters it was boring as all hell, it just seemed to go on and on without any real focus, the journey seemed to be about the characters themselves and not where they were going or where they might end up. Another issue I had was the score, UGH! I found myself loathing the hippie, folksy score by Frizzi, Bixio and Tempera with an indescribable intensity. There was nothing even remotely western about the music, not one thing.

Aside from pacing and score, I had an issue with the editing, it seemed to jump about from sequence to sequence with little to no explanation or resolution. One minute Stubby is discovering Bud's grisly secret, the next they're shouting goodbye to him. Perhaps it was the print I was viewing but where was the confrontation between Stubby and Bud? Was one ever filmed? It just felt disjointed.

Four of the Apocalypse was a cool Spaghetti Western but it was a bit of a chore to get through, it seemed to never end as the four wander aimlessly, constantly bumping into new people to the tune of shitty, inappropriate music. In other words, if you're not a patient person, I guarantee this will tax whatever patience you do possess. I enjoyed this film on a different level from films like The Great Silence, Django or The Good, The Bad & The Ugly because I liked the characters more than the actual story but this is a rough film to recommend to anybody not familiar with Fulci's work or Spaghetti Westerns in general. I'd recommend renting first.

Fulci's Apocalypse

[FightingWesterner · 7/10 · 5 May 2010]

A fairly entertaining mix of director Lucio Fulci's usual excesses and a bit of rambling seventies style pretentiousness, Four Of The Apocalypse isn't a film I'd easily recommend to non-Fulci fans, though some spaghetti western aficionados might find it interesting.

Cult stars Fabio Testi, Michael J. Pollard, Harry Baird (in his final film), and Lynne Frederick are all good. However, squinty-eyed villain Tomas Milian is extremely nasty and steals the film from them, despite only limited screen-time, particularly when he feeds the four stars peyote and spits alcohol into the mouth of craven drunk Pollard, before forcing him to bark like a dog!

Late in the film, the film's unrelentingly downbeat tone gives way to a heart-warming sequence reminiscent of 3 Godfathers and a satisfying revenge finale.

The dated soft-rock score is pretty terrible though.

Much Better Than Expected

[ravcon · 7/10 · 2 August 2004]

I recently picked up Four Of The Apocalypse as part of Anchor Bay's "Once Upon A Time In Italy" box-set of non-Leone spaghetti westerns. After reading mixed reviews of FOTA, I delayed viewing it until after the other four movies contained. I was surprised to find that I liked it.

My only other experience with director Leo Fulci had been "House By The Cemetery" which my wife and I felt had potential, but was ultimately pretty dreadfully bad. With that in mind, I didn't expect to be impressed with FOTA and was worried that some of the gore I'd been reading about would ruin it for me. Although I'll have to admit that some scenes we're pretty hard to watch, overall the film had a classic spaghetti atmosphere with some fairly macabre moments, and was a step above many I have viewed.

Many people have complained about the score which includes narrative songs with a kind of folksy early period Pink Floyd/Byrds sound which I personally love. In comparison with the more respected film Keoma, which is also included in the OUATI collection, the soundtrack is pure gold! The caterwauling that passed for a score in Keoma virtually made it unwatchable for me.

Overall, I gave this film a 7 out of 10 rank. If you like the genre, and aren't turned off by some of it's non-traditional western elements, you should enjoy it. Recommended.

Unique euro-western, draws from "Straw Dogs"

[funkyfry · 6/10 · 11 February 2005]

I haven't quite seen anything like this before. Not that it was anything all that incredible, but it was pretty interesting and, I think, unique. In a way, though, the central plot is basically a variation on Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" in a Western setting. I had heard this movie was an attempt by Fulci (whose zombie movies I am familiar with) to "top" Corbucci's "Django".... I kind of thought that Chaco was going to rip the girl's fetus out of the womb, because that's the only thing that would actually have topped Django! This movie is not more shocking, nor I think is it truly a better film than Django, but it's certainly one of the better "imitations." I found it very odd the combination of the music and the setting... the early part of the film set it up as much more of a lighthearted film than it actually ends up being. I have a feeling a whole lot of audiences probably walked out of the theater when Chaco started flaying that guy.

Not recommended for the squeamish.... this is closer to a cannibal flick (in fact, now that you mention it.....) than it is to a classic Western.

An Apocalyptic Bore...

[Flixer1957 · 2/10 · 6 February 2009]

Four outcasts are thrown out of town by corrupt sheriff Donal (DR. BUTCHER) O'Brien. There's card-sharp Fabio Testi, pregnant prostitute Lynn Frederick, drunk Michael J. Pollard and Harry Baird, called a "Mexican" by some other characters though his ancestors are definitely from a big continent across the Atlantic. Their struggle to survive in the desert is bad enough but the filth really hits the fan-blades when they encounter sadistic outlaw Tomas Milian, star of a few million spaghetti Westerns.

There is a rape scene, a bloody gunfight with shotguns, and Lucio Fulci is one of the few who would throw a live skinning and cannibalism into a western. (Once you find out who gets cannibalized, you'll want to barf right there.) And only Fulci could turn such a western into a colossal snore. He plays the old exploitation trick of throwing all the red stuff into the first half, just to keep the audience from walking out, and then practically nothing happens during the second half. By the time Testi catches up with Milian you won't care who murders who, as long as the film comes to an end.

This was supposedly based on a story by Bret Harte. I'm no authority on that writer but based on his reputation, the source material must have been better than the movie.

I won't give this flick a "Bomb" rating, only because the gore is well-executed and Lynn Frederick, as always, is easy on the eyeballs. However, judging from this and CONQUEST, Uncle Lucio should have stuck to the horror movies he did so well. I'll be taking my own advice when I rent Fulci films in the future.

Visceral and Symbolic

[BrandtSponseller · 9/10 · 5 November 2007]

Although by standard genre conventions, I Quattro dell'apocalisse (Four of the Apocalypse) is definitely a (spaghetti) western, in many ways it is just as terrifying as any of director Lucio Fulci's more famous horror flicks.

The story centers on four people who end up together by happenstance--they are all jailed in a small Utah town. After most of the town is massacred, the four are set free and try to make their way together to a city 200 miles distant. Although adapted from two Bret Harte stories, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat", Fulci and screenwriter Ennio De Concini amped up the violence, added a character, Chaco (Tomas Milian) probably influenced by Charles Manson (and prescient of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow portrayal in a way that must be more than happenstance), and embedded the Biblical "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" connection.

In the Bible, the four horsemen represent the destructive phenomena of pestilence, famine, war and death. Here, there's more of a "seven deadly sins" flavor, as the four main characters represent greed/gambling, prostitution, alcoholism and insanity. Adding Chaco to the mix flips traditional morality on its head, as the four protagonists must bond as they try to help each other survive.

The penultimate act is subtly mystical--it's almost as if the remaining protagonists have been temporarily transported to heaven, although the greatest tragedy occurs in this setting, too. Fulci slyly transforms the environment during this section, a change that actually begins to occur during the previous act, with a heavily symbolic downpour.

Excellent Western

[jimlacy2003 · 7/10 · 16 January 2015]

(Only minor spoilers if at all here, just wanted to warn you) I saw this movie listed as one to see out of Lucio Fulci works so I had to go out and find it.

Now it's pretty rough at a lot of parts; Raw, violent, but then not all that unusual for movies of the period 1975' and for Westerns in general as there is often a major (read violent) revenge element(s).

Some neat things about this movie. I actually live close to some of the the named areas of the film (although the actual movie was filmed in Spain, Italy and Austria). Altaville, California is an actual small old mining town. It's just past historic Angels Camp, California. While there is not much historic buildings left (the old school house comes to mind), unlike Angels Camp that has quite a bit remaining. Also "Poker Flat" is a near by town (very little remaining) and I'm sure there are others.

All these real locations shouldn't be that surprising though as Bret Harte is a well known and prolific writer who lived here. He's up there with the likes of Mark Twain (who also lived in the area for a while). Many locations here in this area are named after him (Harte). While doubtful the events from the movie are actual, undoubtedly he based them on real people as are the locations real.

One of the best scenes, one of the most real, was towards the end when the baby was delivered. As it was true back in the gold rush days there were very few women and children here. I'm sure the whole town(s) would have been delighted at the blessed birth of a child. It was a touching moment and added a nice contrast between the over the top violence and roughness; as were the scenes where the protagonist learned to Love and protect the poor misguided girl. Maybe a lot of the men of the old west were rough & tough characters (living out in the elements, working long hard hours) but they were still human. This is the greatness of Lucio Fulci to bring out these extremes.

Great classic Western film, highly recommended.

The Wild Wild West isn't Lucio's specialty

[Coventry · 3/10 · 13 July 2005]

I usually prefer Italian westerns to the American ones every day of the week and twice on Sunday (because they're much meaner and filthier) but this movie regretfully turned out a big disappointment. More particularly since it was Lucio Fulci, a man infamous for his gory and unscrupulous filming style, who sat in the director's chair and I did not think that he would deliver a western so tame and 'ordinary'. The premise (like described here on the website as well as on the back of the DVD-cover) of four desperadoes wandering through Utah might sound like promising spaghetti-western material but in fact it's an unjust and very misleading synopsis. The four actually meet in a small town's prison and they're forced to ride through the desert together. None of them actually is a gun-slinging hero (or heroine) and the film merely just focuses on how they're trying to find food and shelter. The 'apocalypse' of the title is never there and the script is rather boring most of the time. Also, and to my personal surprise, this film features many aspects that you don't expect to see in a western, like a lot of sentiment (the dreadful interactions between Stubby and Bunny) and even occult stuff (the black character Bud supposedly communicates with the deceased). The villain Chaco – based on the persona of Charles Manson – is misfit and really not that threatening. "4 of the Apocalypse" has two or three well-mounted and truly bloody gunfights but they're actually rather pointless… They are 'shoot-first-ask-no-questions-at-all' sequences that add nothing to the story. Positive elements include a great soundtrack and some beautiful camera-work. The female lead Lynne Frederick (R.I.P) looks absolutely ravishing and her performance is the only one worth mentioning, since the rest of the cast is mediocre at best. I definitely still worship Lucio Fulci's work but this film is truly weak compared to his gut-munching horror flicks.

Very nicely done.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 11 September 2012]

The late, great filmmaker Lucio Fulci shows with films such as "The Four of the Apocalypse..." that he deserves to be known for more than his horror films of the late 70s and 80s. Here he brings his talent to the Western genre, with compelling results.

The film, based on a story by Bret Harte, unites four disparate characters as they make a perilous journey from one town to another, in the year 1873. They'd all been sharing a prison cell, but were freed after the town fell victim to a vigilante mob. Now, gambler Stubby Preston (Fabio Testi), pregnant prostitute Bunny O'Neill (Lynne Frederick), alcoholic Clem (Michael J. Pollard), and amiable flake Bud (Harry Baird), make their way through the desolate country. Their fortunes truly take a turn for the worse when they make the acquaintance of Chaco (Tomas Milian), a depraved bandit.

"The Four of the Apocalypse..." is fairly episodic, but its episodes are each riveting in their own way, and there's a real poignancy to the film that fans of Fulci's horror films might not expect. The film is truly quite moving at times; it really puts a commendable accent on character, and our four main characters are people we can come to like, especially the easygoing Stubby. The penultimate episode, when our protagonists come across a town of chauvinistic men, is far and away the best, as these macho individuals eventually come to embrace the imminent arrival of Bunny's child.

The principals are all wonderful in their roles - the handsome Testi and the lovely Frederick are well matched, Pollard supplies a bit of comedy relief, Baird is engaging even as his character is clearly shown to have gone off the deep end, and Milian is great malevolent fun as the unrepentant villain. His scenes where he terrorizes the group are some of the grimmest in the film, as he humiliates Clem and forces himself on Bunny. Horror fans will note the presence of Donald O'Brien, who played the title role in "Dr. Butcher M.D." (a.k.a. "Zombi Holocaust"), as the sheriff of Salt Flat.

Fortunately, for those who love the gore of Fulci's horror films, there are some very violent moments, even some disturbing ones. They do come across as a little jarring, but also give the film some real punch. Sergio Salvati does his usual solid job with the cinematography, the period recreation is effective, and the music (by Franco Bixio, Fabio Frizzi, and Vince Tempera) and songs are wonderful. Those film lovers eager to explore Fulci's filmography in detail should find this well worth a viewing.

Eight out of 10.

Fulci in the west

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 14 October 2018]

Salt Flats, Utah. 1873. Professional gambler Stubby Preston (Fabio Testi, Contraband) is arrested the moment he steps off the stagecoach, thwarting his plans to win money from the town's casino. It turns out that he's actually lucky, because the town has become a vigilante mob that burns that den of iniquity to the ground, leaving only Stubby and three other criminals alive: Bunny (Lynne Frederick, Phase IV), a pregnant prostitute, a black man named Bud and the alcoholic Clem (Michael J. Pollard, Bonnie and Clyde).

The four are given safe passage out of town by the sheriff, who gives them a wagon and horses for all of their remaining money and possessions. Soon, they are traveling with a Mexican gunman named Chaco (Tomas Milian, Don't Torture a Duckling) who saves the group from lawmen, only to torture one of the remaining lawmen in front of the group.

Nevertheless, everyone agrees to take peyote together. The four wake up tied up as Chaco (Milian claims he based his performance on Manson) taunts and beats them, shooting Clem and raping Bunny in front of the entire group.

There have been rumors for decades that Frederick and Testi were having an affair during this film. Testi was dating Ursula Andress at the time, who was incredibly jealous. Some evidence is that even when Frederick's scenes were all wrapped, the two actors improvised scenes that would include the two of them, including a love scene that has been lost. During the aforementioned rape scene, Milian was so into character and so rough that Testi's reaction in that scene is real.

The four manage to get the gravely injured Clem onto a makeshift stretcher and follow Chaco and his gang as they kill everything in their path. Finally, they find a ghost town where Clem dies, Bud loses his mind and Stubby and Bunny admit that they love one another - just in time for her to die in childbirth and Stubby to leave her son to a town made up of only men.

Stubby hunts down Chaco, learning that the sheriff set up the events of the entire movie. Enraged, he murders every single person there, leaving Cacho alive so that he can torture him. When Chaco reminds him that he raped Bunny, Stubby shoots him without a word, as he walks into the sunset with only a stray dog as a companion.

Four of the Apocalypse... is influenced by Easy Rider and attempts to offer up a journey of redemption, but you have to understand that Fulci is at the helm. That means that as soon as you have a tender, feel-good moment, you're going to be given moments of pure gore, like people skinned alive or used for food. Yet there's also art to be found, thanks to Fulci's first of ten collaborations with cinematographer Sergio Salvati. It's also the first time Fulci would work with Fabio Frizzi on the soundtrack. The result is unlike anything you've heard in a spaghetti western

Arty fluff

[dontworryboutitbaby · 2/10 · 30 March 2023]

I wish I had read these reviews before watching this. I didn't love it.

Don't get me wrong, there's definitely an audience for this film. Another reviewer mentioned it in the same sentence as 'El Topo' or 'Django Kill', and I totally agree, that's where this film resides.

It's definitely a cult piece. As I understand it, this director is more famous for horror films. Perhaps he should have stayed in that genre, but I guess he had something to say that couldn't be presented in that context. This isn't a horror film at all. It's not really an anything film.

I could say that nothing really happens, but that wouldn't be exactly true. It's just, whatever happens is kind of boring and a bit of nonsense.

If, like me, you're a lover of Spaghetti Westerns and think this has a bit of a badass title, don't be suckered in by the title - give it a miss.

If you're into things a bit arty, with a bit of a more subtle story, go for it.