House by the Cemetery (1981)
Studio: Blue Underground
Theatrical Release: March 1, 1984 (USA release)
Blu Ray Release: October 25, 2011
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
Italian director Lucio Fulci didn't seem to take a break in the early 1980's. He directed such horror classics as Zombie, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, The Black Cat, New York Ripper and Manhattan Baby within a four year time period. While most of these have turned into horror classics, his under appreciated haunted house film House by the Cemetery is his scariest film. While not quite as graphic as his other films, House by the Cemetery throws plot out the window and focuses on scaring the crap out of you.
House takes off right away as we see a topless girl putting her shirt back on after a quick love making session. She's in an abandoned old house and when she can't find her boyfriend, she goes to look for him. Just this opening sequence gave me the chills. Floor boards creak, foot steps are heard, you know something is about to happen but you don't know what or when until she finds the remains of her boyfriend. As she screams, a knife plunges into her head and out her mouth, silencing her. Something drags her down to the basement floor and the door closes. This all happens before the opening credits.
A doctor is researching the death of one of his colleagues and takes his wife and young son Bob up to a smallNew Englandtown to stay in the mansion where the doctor had lived. Mom and Dad are having marital problems and young Bob keeps seeing a young child or ghost that warns him not to stay in the house. As days go by, the mother hears bizarre sounds which lead her to believe that something is wrong. When a bat attacks her and the family's creepy babysitter keeps giving Dad some odd looks, Mom is ready to bolt with Bob who he himself is terrified of something in the basement.
Fulci hits a home run with House in creating some very scary and genuine creepy moments. He builds some great tension and provides the film with some fantastic atmosphere that is chilling and unsettling. Maybe watching this at night all alone did the trick for me but House is a scary film and its sudden graphic moments are even more shocking once they happen. One can't help though that Fulci may have been influenced by The Shining in terms of both plot and tone.
House isn't without its flaws. in fact, there are many. The first is the incoherent story. Who is this little girl Bob talks to? Who hired this babysitter and why is she so weird? Why does the killer cry like a child? How come no one takes notice of all the blood on the floor after someone is mutilated? Why does Bob go back down to the basement after witnessing a decapitation? I know some viewers will not get past these huge plot holes and its hard to stick up for the film because of this. There is also some terrible dubbing of the Italian actors, most notably Bob. While Bob already looks rather strange with his huge mouth and bright blond hair, his voice is obviously an adult trying to sound like a child. It is almost laughable but soon gets irritating very fast. Another issue I had was some of the effects are a bit cheap. When a woman is killed by a fireplace poker, you can see the poker is filled with fake blood and it's running up and down inside the poker to give it it's bloody effect. Maybe it's because of the HD image that I picked up on this but I found it pretty noticeable. Still, it beats any CGI effect.
Blue Underground does another great job with the picture and especially the sound. I did notice the picture quality would change at times but being this is an old film and having seen an old VHS tape many years ago, it looks great. The blu ray contains a quick one minute deleted scene that has no sound, a bunch of trailers and some short featurettes with several of the actors which is very interesting (Fulci apparently didn't like working with children). Even the actor who plays Bob apologizes for the dubbing of his voice, also knowing how bad it really is.
While I prefer Fulci's Zombie and City of the Living Dead more, House by the Cemetery is a very spooky and creepy little haunted house film. I still can't get out of my mind the scene where Bob is being chased slowly by this monster in the basement and having his arm get stuck in the basement door. I've seen a million horror films dear readers and even I even spoke out loud, "Get the hell out of there!" to the TV. It's great that certain horror films still work.
Theatrical Release: March 1, 1984 (USA release)
Blu Ray Release: October 25, 2011
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
Italian director Lucio Fulci didn't seem to take a break in the early 1980's. He directed such horror classics as Zombie, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, The Black Cat, New York Ripper and Manhattan Baby within a four year time period. While most of these have turned into horror classics, his under appreciated haunted house film House by the Cemetery is his scariest film. While not quite as graphic as his other films, House by the Cemetery throws plot out the window and focuses on scaring the crap out of you.
House takes off right away as we see a topless girl putting her shirt back on after a quick love making session. She's in an abandoned old house and when she can't find her boyfriend, she goes to look for him. Just this opening sequence gave me the chills. Floor boards creak, foot steps are heard, you know something is about to happen but you don't know what or when until she finds the remains of her boyfriend. As she screams, a knife plunges into her head and out her mouth, silencing her. Something drags her down to the basement floor and the door closes. This all happens before the opening credits.
A doctor is researching the death of one of his colleagues and takes his wife and young son Bob up to a smallNew Englandtown to stay in the mansion where the doctor had lived. Mom and Dad are having marital problems and young Bob keeps seeing a young child or ghost that warns him not to stay in the house. As days go by, the mother hears bizarre sounds which lead her to believe that something is wrong. When a bat attacks her and the family's creepy babysitter keeps giving Dad some odd looks, Mom is ready to bolt with Bob who he himself is terrified of something in the basement.
Fulci hits a home run with House in creating some very scary and genuine creepy moments. He builds some great tension and provides the film with some fantastic atmosphere that is chilling and unsettling. Maybe watching this at night all alone did the trick for me but House is a scary film and its sudden graphic moments are even more shocking once they happen. One can't help though that Fulci may have been influenced by The Shining in terms of both plot and tone.
House isn't without its flaws. in fact, there are many. The first is the incoherent story. Who is this little girl Bob talks to? Who hired this babysitter and why is she so weird? Why does the killer cry like a child? How come no one takes notice of all the blood on the floor after someone is mutilated? Why does Bob go back down to the basement after witnessing a decapitation? I know some viewers will not get past these huge plot holes and its hard to stick up for the film because of this. There is also some terrible dubbing of the Italian actors, most notably Bob. While Bob already looks rather strange with his huge mouth and bright blond hair, his voice is obviously an adult trying to sound like a child. It is almost laughable but soon gets irritating very fast. Another issue I had was some of the effects are a bit cheap. When a woman is killed by a fireplace poker, you can see the poker is filled with fake blood and it's running up and down inside the poker to give it it's bloody effect. Maybe it's because of the HD image that I picked up on this but I found it pretty noticeable. Still, it beats any CGI effect.
Blue Underground does another great job with the picture and especially the sound. I did notice the picture quality would change at times but being this is an old film and having seen an old VHS tape many years ago, it looks great. The blu ray contains a quick one minute deleted scene that has no sound, a bunch of trailers and some short featurettes with several of the actors which is very interesting (Fulci apparently didn't like working with children). Even the actor who plays Bob apologizes for the dubbing of his voice, also knowing how bad it really is.
While I prefer Fulci's Zombie and City of the Living Dead more, House by the Cemetery is a very spooky and creepy little haunted house film. I still can't get out of my mind the scene where Bob is being chased slowly by this monster in the basement and having his arm get stuck in the basement door. I've seen a million horror films dear readers and even I even spoke out loud, "Get the hell out of there!" to the TV. It's great that certain horror films still work.
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