Sodoma's Ghost
dir. Lucio Fulci · 1988
Feature
Psychological Horror
Mood
Dark / Tense
Look
grainy, atmospheric, with a focus on shadow and light
Structure
nonlinear with flashbacks to the past
Plot
The spirits of Nazis who were killed by bombs while having an orgy return 50 years later to terrorize a group of six teens who stumble upon the house of their death site.
Why watch
A group of six teens stumbles upon a dilapidated house, unaware that it is the site of a grotesque Nazi orgy that ended in death. As the spirits of the past rise to exact their revenge, the film plunges viewers into a nightmarish landscape where the boundaries of time and morality blur. Watching it is like being trapped in a fever dream, where the past's horrors seep into the present, creating a visceral sense of dread.
Cultural context
late 1980s Italian horror revivalexploration of fascism in mediayouth culture and rebellion