Lucio Fulci (17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie (1979) and The Beyond (1981), although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy. Fulci is known as the "Godfather of Gore" a title also given to Herschell Gordon Lewis.