jacksmoviepage

Review (Contains Spoilers)

Following the unprecedented international success of his 1979 classic Zombie Flesh Eaters (aka – Zombi 2), legendary Italian horror specialist Lucio Fulci would promptly embark on his most productive and vividly memorable period of filmmaking. The years 1980 and 1981 would prove to be the most fruitful of the reinvigorated Fulci’s long and often checkered career as he would deliver a trio of blood soaked gothic horror films for producer Fabrizio De Angelis which would all achieve legendary status amongst fans of continental horror cinema. Following the masterful Lovecraft flavored City Of The Living Dead (1980) and The Beyond (1981), Fulci would bring his memorable run of gothic spaghetti splatter opuses to a close with The House By The Cemetery. Whilst making some notable concessions to successful American haunted house fare such as The Amityville Horror (1979) and The Shining (1980), by and large The House By The Cemetery continued in more or less the same vein offering another revision on the formula of heady, brooding atmosphere, outrageously OTT gore set pieces and murderous walking cadavers. As with Fulci’s previous successes The House By The Cemetery would be received enthusiastically by horror fans both domestically and abroad, further solidifying his blossoming reputation as the genre’s foremost purveyor of graphic violence. Predictably this would not go down to well here in the UK where The House By The Cemetery would be one of three Fulci efforts (the others being Zombie Flesh Eaters and The Beyond) to get caught up in the early eighties over so-called “Video Nasties” and was promptly banned.; This was despite the fact that the films UK video distributor Vampix released the same censored, BBFC approved version that had played UK cinemas earlier in the decade and which omitted the most extreme gore footage. To this date The House By The Cemetery has still never been legally released uncut here in Britain.

The plot of The House By The Cemetery sees Dr Norman Boyle (Malco) assigned to continue the research work left by his late colleague and friend Dr Peterson who has recently committed suicide after apparently murdering both his mistress and children. In order to continue this research Boyle along with his wife Lucy (MacColl) and their young son Bob (Frezza) take up residence in Dr Peterson’s old house in Boston – a large, crumbling old property which neighbors a cemetery. This is against the protests of Bob who has the unique ability to communicate with the spirit world and has received a warning from a ghostly young girl named Mae (Collatina) that he will be in danger at their new home.

Sure enough no sooner as the Boyle’s settle in they discover all is not quite right in their new home. Strange noises are heard in the night, the macabre discovery is made of an old tomb inside the house and unbeknownst to them several visitors to the house are brutally killed by an unseen killer. An increasingly obsessive Norman does some digging and soon discovers that his family’s new home once belonged to an infamous turn of the century surgeon called Dr Freudstein who was banished from the medical profession after he was discovered to be practicing illegal experiments. To their horror the Boyle’s discover that Dr Freudstein is still very much alive having discovered a method of prolonging his own life using the blood and body parts of others. Residing in his charnel house lair located in the cellar Freudstein preys on the houses occupants and visitors in order to acquire the body parts he requires to continue his horrifying existence. Will the Boyle’s escape or become further victims of the terrifying secret of the house by the cemetery?

If you echo the sentiments of most Fulci fanatics and approach City Of The Living Dead, The Beyond and The House By The Cemetery as an unconnected but stylistically and thematically similar trilogy of films, then its safe to say that on an initial viewing The House By The Cemetery feels every bit the least of Fulci’s famed gothic horror films. After grabbing the viewer by the throat with a stylish, unnerving and brutal prologue in which a trespassing teenage harlot (played by regular Fulci victim Daniele Doria) and her suitor are savagely slain, The House By The Cemetery settles into something of a lull. The trademark Fulci mayhem is largely confined to the second act meanwhile the horrendously awful dubbing of child protagonist Bob swiftly becomes an unwelcome irritant and derivative aspects of the supernatural are introduced but not really taken anywhere. Meanwhile Fulci’s trademark obsession wit extreme close-ups of protagonists eyes reaches an absurd fever pitch and the film generally just doesn’t seem to really click into top gear until its admittedly phenomenal finale.

Yet while it could be said that The House By The Cemetery in some ways lacks the immediacy of City Of The Living Dead and The Beyond, fortunately it is a film that improves immeasurably on a repeat viewing. Whereas City Of The Living Dead and The Beyond created an oppressive otherworldly atmosphere ten assailed the viewer with spectacularly gory set-pieces, The House By The Cemetery instead follows a more traditionalized horror film approach by showing the viewer just a little and then settling down to simultaneously tease and unnerve us with steadily paced, suspenseful build-up before finally culminating in a crescendo of grisly shocks. Once you get over its more linear approach truly begins to shine as a fitting final chapter to Fulci’s short but exceptionally sweet “Golden Age”.

While the first half of the film is admittedly somewhat low on incident, Fulci does an admirable job of holding the viewers attention whilst expertly generating suspense. Once the ill-fated Boyle family take up residence in the eponymous house of the title, The House By The Cemetery simmers along tantalizingly as Fulci conjures up and then maintains an all-pervading sense of lurking menace and heavily atmospheric dread. The cinematography of regular Fulci collaborator Sergio Salvati is nothing short of excellent as the shadowy recesses of the creaky, sinister old house take on a spine-chilling life of their own as eerie whimpering sounds emanate from the darkness of the cellar in the dead of night. In terms of atmosphere The House By The Cemetery is also aided by a solid if somewhat repetitive score from Walter Rizzati that is in turns both melancholy and foreboding.

Fulci also adds extra layers to his fairly straightforward “something in the cellar” premise via the addition of supernatural elements. In a central plot point that borrows liberally from The Shining the Boyle’s son Bob demonstrates the ability to openly communicate with the spirit world and soon finds himself a spectral playmate in the form of Mae – the ghost of a benevolent young girl whose fate is irrevocably linked with the horrific events which have taken place in the house. Even some of Fulci’s most ardent admirers have criticized this particular aspect of The House By The Cemetery branding it illogical but personally I feel the way in which these supernatural elements are shown through a child-like almost naïve perspective adds a good deal to the films dark fairytale-like tone and far from being illogical and going nowhere it actually ties in perfectly to the films eerie yet oddly poignant closing moments. Unfortunately The House By The Cemetery does suffer from the well; documented and truly appalling English dubbing job inflicted upon Bob. In what must surely be the most atrocious piece of dubbing ever seen in an Italian horror film (which is really saying something) poor blond haired moppet Giovanni Frezza is clearly voiced by a grown woman doing a horrendous nasal job of imitating the voice of a small boy. As a result Bob’s presence at times becomes an irritation leading the viewer wishing they could close their ears in sync with the opening of his mouth. Fortunately Bob is able to remain sympathetic purely due to the extremity of peril both he and his parents find themselves in.

Additional intrigue and tension also stems from the manner in which Fulci very craftily invites us to question the motivations of several characters, most significantly Norman Boyle. While Fulci’s obsession with relentless extreme close-up shots of people’s eyes may seem like nothing more than an absurdist personal touch it does ultimately serve a purpose. As the tension gradually mounts in the films first half the camera intermittently zooms in to capture an odd, questionable look in Norman’s eyes which very subtlety hints at possible sinister intentions behind his words and actions. Whether by accident or design Norman soon callously places his wife and son in peril as he becomes increasingly obsessive about uncovering the circumstances surrounding the suicide of his predecessor Dr Peterson. Eventually when the horrible truth concerning the hideous Dr Freudstein is unveiled Dr Boyle reverts to being every inch the strong, dependable father and husband figure but the shades of doubt cast over his motivations beforehand add a lot to the gathering suspense. Of course it helps that The House By The Cemetery is gifted with good expressive leading performances from Paolo Malco and equally solid support from Fulci’s regular leading lady Catriona MacColl as Norman’s semi-hysterical wife Lucy who seems to be teetering constantly on the edge of a complete nervous breakdown. One-time European horror sex siren Dagmar Lassander also turns up in a supporting role as estate agent Mrs. Gittleson and frankly looks an unsightly physical wreck who bears little resemblance to the Czech beauty who had lit up several significant Italian gialli and horror efforts throughout the seventies. A special mention however, must be made regarding Ann – the Boyle’s decidedly sinister babysitter played by the striking Pieroni (best known for her brief but memorable appearance in Dario Argento’s classic Inferno the previous year). With her subdued, mysterious behaviour and constant knowing glances towards Professor Boyle it seems as if Ann is some sort of possible accomplice in the horrific events taking place in the house. She is even shown nonchalantly mopping up the blood of one victim. Any suggestion of Ann being a conspirator in some capacity is swiftly abandoned however when she herself becomes one of Dr Freudstein’s victims.

If my review thus far has painted The House By The Cemetery as a picture of subtlety then I have perhaps been a little misleading. While the graphic gore is used sparingly – at least in comparison to certain other Fulci efforts – The House By The Cemetery certainly delivers the grisly goods when called upon serving up choice moments of protracted, bloody mutilation and death that rank up there with Fulci’s best. A knife is driven through a victims skull exiting through her mouth, a fire poker punctures another unfortunates jugular resulting in what is practically a geyser of blood and there is some very nasty business concerning a (phony looking) voracious bat. Elsewhere throats are torn out and knife wounds to the neck result in total decapitation. The most intense moments however come in the films thrilling extended conclusion in which the Boyle family are finally forced to battle for their lives with the seemingly indestructible Dr Freudstein in his charnel house lair in the cellar which is littered with the bodily organs and dismembered remains of previous victims. In his review of The House By The Cemetery for Starburst magazine at the time of its UK theatrical release respected genre critic Alan Jones remarked that the film “builds to one of the best sustained climaxes of gothic melodrama seen in recent years”. As I cannot really sum up the films excellent finale any better than that I’ll simply echo Joneses sentiments – pound for pound this is one of the best sequences to be found in the entire Fulci oeuvre and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat right up until its typically grim final denouement. Dr Freudstein himself once revealed suffers somewhat from a rather cheesy, over the top make up job but ultimately cuts a suitable loathsome and intimidating figure. In a memorably yucky touch when Norman attempts to stave off the shambling advance by thrusting a knife into his midriff a slimy mass of maggots spill out from the wound. Yet for all the grue and viscera that is eventually unleashed it is perhaps quite telling that the films creepiest moment simply involves a pair of bright glowing eyes looming unexpectedly out of the darkness and not a single drop of blood being spilt.

Sad as it is to say The House By The Cemetery would prove to be arguably the last truly great film Lucio Fulci would ever make as his output underwent a swift downturn in quality almost immediately afterwards. His mutually beneficial working relationship with producer Fabio De Angelis which had led to all of his best work would end acrimoniously after just one more film (the underrated Manhattan Baby) and after courting controversy like never before with his ultra-nihilistic classic The New York Ripper (1982) (which also featured Paola Malco in a leading role) Fulci would begin a long and depressing slide into anonymity as he delivered one sloppy, unworthy film after another in a futile bid to recapture former glories. Speaking as a fan I find it far more heartening to remember Fulci for how uniquely brilliant he could be during his 1979-1982 career peak which came after years of being under appreciated in the Italian film industry. If you’re looking for a film to remind you of that then The House By The Cemetery is as good a choice as any.

While Fulci’s previous exercises in blood-drenched gothic horror City Of The Living Dead and The Beyond proved his unrivaled ability to place both plot structure and logic in the backseat whilst assaulting the viewer with vividly imaginative scenes of graphic gore, The House By The Cemetery offers proof that Fulci was equally capable of integrating his trademark blood and guts into a gripping and tightly handled narrative when he wished to do so. While the surrealistic touches you might expect from a Fulci film are present they are for the most part kept on a tight reign as the tension mounts. In this respect The House By The Cemetery flies directly in the face of Fulci’s many detractors who still insist there was nothing more to his work than its graphic extremes of sadistic violence and death. While the killings are lingering, bloody and brutal enough to satisfy even the most jaded fan of continental splatter, Fulci proves here that when the occasion called for it he was just as capable of creating suspense and sending the icy chill up our spines without having to spill a single drop of the old red stuff. All in all The House By The Cemetery as an overall package does remain perhaps a slight step behind its directors other horror output from the same period, but it is nonetheless a truly top drawer Italian horror film which impresses in its ability to shock and unnerve with moments of both quiet chilling subtlety and brutally gory scenes of mutilation typical of its creator.

Also Try… The Beyond / City Of The Living Dead / Zombie Flesh Eaters / Don’t Torture A Duckling / The New York Ripper / House Of Clocks / A Blade In The Dark.

Please place any comments or queries about this film / review on the message board below. Please note that the newest comment is always displayed first so if you wish to read the comments in order start from the bottom and work your way up. Thanks.

Piczo