Four of the Apocalypse (1975)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Gambler, Pregnant Prostitute, Drunk, and Insane get together, bump into some Mormons, crazy murderous Mexican bandit. The drunk dies, the Insane feeds the dead drunk to the gambler and prostitute. Insane is left behind in the ghost town. The prostitute gives birth in a cold male only mining town. The town adopts the baby. The Gambler gets vengeance on the Mexican bandit.This movie is different. The main ingredient is Fulci. There are some serious kills and gore. There is emotion.It is a bit slow moving. Worst part was the music. The story was fine. Great opening scene with the town people vigilantly, killing the gamblers and drunks in town. The ending was a bit rushed. But it all works well. All the actors did well, even Fabio Testi. I hated Testi's performance in What Have You Done with Solange, and I hate that movie. But here Testi does well. The dubbing is what it is, not great. But the emotion of the film comes through.This is not the best Fulci. But it's worth checking out. Some great moments.Rating is C, or 5 stars.

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.

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.

I was expecting a lot from this film. On the back cover of the DVD is stated that "I Quatro dell Apocalisse" was the most violent western ever made, and as the film was directed by Lucio Fulci, I believed the hype. But it's not for the violent scenes alone that I picked up this film in the DVD rental store. What I like in many spaghetti westerns is their gritty and disenchanted atmosphere, mixed sometimes with a bizarre humor. The best spaghettis are dynamic - travellings, hand-held cameras, fast and good editing, and a haunting and/or ironic soundtrack give these films their unique flavour. But "I Quatro dell'Apocalisse" fell short of my expectations.In "I Quatro dell'Apocalisse" the camera is static. The camera is there to register the conversations of the characters and then there's some action, followed by another chatty scene. The acting is just average (when a film is more on the chatty side, the acting should be good), the dialogues are slightly witty and ribald (nothing remarkable about them), and the violence is nothing to boast about (anyway I've only watched half of the film). And here comes the question: Would you see an indifferent film just because of some violent scenes?In the DVD rental store I had picked up two spaghetti westerns: "I am Sartana, Trade your Guns for a Coffin" and "Four of the Apocalypse". The first that I watched was "I am Sartana...." and I liked it immensely. I was still under the spell of Sartana when I inserted the "Four of the Apocalypse" in the DVD player. I thought that as "The Four of the Apocalypse" had Lucio Fulci's signature, it would be even better than Sartana. Boy, was I mistaken! So I decided to write this comment. Well, you've been warned.