Herschell Gordon Lewis earned the moniker “godfather of gore” in the early ‘60s when he created the splatter subgenre in horror with Blood Feast. But it didn’t take long before another director would earn and share the title; Italian maestro Lucio Fulci. Fulci began his film career as a documentary director before switching gears and shifting into comedy screenwriting.

The screenwriting eventually gave way to producing, acting, and directing feature films. With an extensive career that spanned almost five decades, Fulci dabbled in all genres, from spaghetti western to musicals to exploitation, but it was his work in horror that earned him international success.