The House By The Cemetery (1984)

The last Fulci film I'll ever see....what a crap filmography...

This is the last Fulci film I ever saw, and it will be the last I'll ever rent. Fulci had a sort of renaissance in the 1990's, and I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Directors like Quentin Tarantino (who re-released The Beyond to theaters) and Eli Roth have raved about his work. So I wanted to see the man's work. I watched a ton of his work, and the only film I really liked was Zombie. Zombie is a good film, but it pales in comparison to great horror filmmakers' best films, like Romero's vastly superior zombie films, and Dario Argento's masterful period from 1975-1987. This was the last film of his I saw, and I am angry that I wasted so much time going through this man's catalog.

House by the Cemetery is the usual Fulci mishmash. There's a creepy ending and some good atmosphere, but this film has all the characteristics from the Fulci [...] moviemaking school...bad scenes, bad continuity, bad acting, miserable scripting, complete incoherence, bad dubbing, etc., etc.. Even the gore here isn't as visceral as it is in other Fulci works, like City of the Living Dead and The Beyond. You do remember the gore in some Fulci films, but it's damn near impossible to wade through the rest of the garbage to get to it. I am not a gorehound, so I prefer for an entire film to be good, as opposed to having a few decent gore scenes and having to wade through the rest of a crapy film until I get there, which is exactly what you have to do with Fulci's work. Some say that Dario Argento's work, a far superior filmmaker, doesn't make sense either. Argento's films are purposely ambiguous, like nightmares, and this was used to the greatest effect in Suspiria (one of the few films that really scares me) and Inferno (his most underrated). Just because a film is confusing doesn't mean it's art.

So if anyone is thinking of diving into Fulci's catalog, stop right now. Unless you're a gorehound needing a fix, stay away. Fulci's films are a waste of time (except for Zombie). October 20, 2008

This movie should be buried in the cemetary by the house

A couple and their son leaves their home in NYC to live in a new one in New England. Despite the fact their son sees a young girl warning them to stay away. The house was apparently occupied by a mad doctor with a dark secret.

For starters, don't come into this film expecting a huge zombie outbreak. You are not going to see zombie dine out sessions. That is not what the movie is about at all. It's about murders occuring in a "haunted" house or a house with a violent history. Take your pick. And for the record, my dislike for this movie has nothing to do with the lack of a zombie outbreak.

Haunted house horror films are by far the hardest for me to get into. There are some exceptional standouts but The House by the Cemetery stands out in all of the wrong ways. If you're the type who is easily frustrated by lack of common sense. Avoid this movie because very little makes sense.

If it wasn't for the gore, atmosphere and the mild suspense. I would have completely hated this movie. I know a majority of horror films require all viewers to leave their brain at the door. But I'm only capable of that to a certain degree. The House by the Cemetery expects people to dumb themselves down too much. Many things take place with little to no reasoning behind them. The characters are so cardboard and many moons away from earth. I just couldn't stand anymore. And the child actor... I'll just leave him alone. He was just a child.

I really want to give details and paint a picture for those who never seen this. But I'm against huge spoilers and other reviews already revealed some, I'm sure. I'll just end it like this. If you're a freak for gore or a big fan of Fulci's work, then I recommend this to you.
October 11, 2008

Italian horror that bridges the gap!

This is one of my favorites fromt Italian horror. Fulci really distinguishes his personality/style from the rest with this one. Great story, interesting sets, low budget and and ending that only Fulci would bring us! Highly recommended for someone who wants something fresh from horror! April 5, 2008

lousy

This movie sucks! It's very weird, and dubbed in english. It's about a family that movies into a house by a cemetery. In the basement there is this creepy, warped, leatherface kinda guy. They don't know that he lives in the basement, and strange things happen. It's just a waste of money, it's a little bloody, but not done tastefully. It's kind of hard to follow and all over the place...PASS on this one... March 11, 2008

Further Proof that Fulci Should Have Stuck to Giallos

It's hard to imagine this is the same person behind "The Beyond" and "Zombi." Heck, even "The Psychic" (pretty rare film to dig up) was better than this garbage. This is one of the more boring Italian horror films I have in my collection. The gore was laughable and not even in a goofy/good kind of way, just atrociously stupid. The young boy, I hope, was banned from the screen actor's guild, and the voice actor who dubbed his parts should have been exiled from all of civilization. Wow. If you'd like to watch a series of unrelated random events with a bit of unexplainable gore, 1 hour of nothing, and a pointless ending with one of the more ham-handed performances by an evil, undead villain, by all means knock yourselves out. The only good thing I will say about this film is that the atmosphere is very Italian gothic, and was effective (reason why I give it 2 stars). Anyway, Fulci should have stuck with his mystery movies and neanderthal gory themes, which he's very good at in moderation. The minute he tried to rip off aspects of the Shining and the Changeling, he lost the tiny bit credibility he may have still had. Avoid this gutter snipe, and move on to his better films such as those I mentioned above. October 30, 2007

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