SEVEN OUT OF TEN STARS
Fulci turns in another one of his sub-standard horror schlock fests with "The House By The Cemetery"; and I really like it... But naturally, I'm a horror film monger with an immense interest in older horror movies that draw repulsion and disgust from many viewers. Enter Fulci's "House", which draws the ire on many in the film world. It actually seems as if he's still widely regarded as a slouch by the Hollywood movie making machine. Admittedly, Fulci wasn't a great screen writer in any of his films; which at the end the day, is his greatest fault. I mean, his stories are always full of plot holes and irrational character behavior.
And who are the characters in this story? Our main characters are a small family of three, who move from New York City to a small town so the father (Who apparently has some type of doctorate, we never find out) can pick up on a colleague's research project. In the end, it turns out some educational institution was paying the father's colleague to research a demented doctor, who coincidentally, is somehow living in the colleague's basement; unbeknown est to the father's colleague.? Getting the idea? No? Well, the idea is that, as I mentioned, the plot is full of holes and idiotic happenings that are mislead and underdeveloped.
It gets worse. The father's colleague never finished this research on the demented doctor because he killed himself. And to throw salt on the wound, the father, his wife, and child decide to blindly move into the colleague's old, dirty, and disgusting house. Yes! Well you can pretty much imagine the rest. In the course of the movie a girlfriend and boyfriend, a Realtor, a hot babysitter, and the mother and the father, all meet their fate in the basement of the house our good family from NYC moved into. Their son escapes this fiasco with the help of another character whose existence and origins in this plot are highly implausible.
But I've still found a way to enjoy this movie. The music is classically synthetic 70's foreign horror film fare. The gore and violence are wonderfully done, and an art in their own right. Their is plenty of creepy atmosphere, a couple of decent jump-scares, and enough action to keep the movie well paced and reasonably entertaining. I think as this film ages, more and more people realize it's importance as an artistic piece of film making. What I'm saying is that I did like the cinematography; it en captures a lost time and place and at times is like a moving painting. Sadly, Fulci's lack of writing ability and abysmal editing in places (Whose fault that was, I don't know, probably the business end) keep this dated gem from being what it could really be.
If your the type of horror fan person that enjoys old classic horror, "House" is highly recommended. If on the other hand you enjoy much of what Hollywood has produced since 1995, stay away, you aren't going to get the importance of this movie. For me I'll take a plate of homemade Italian cuisine, red wine, and "The House By The Cemetery" any day of the week. RIP Mr. Fulci.
Fulci turns in another one of his sub-standard horror schlock fests with "The House By The Cemetery"; and I really like it... But naturally, I'm a horror film monger with an immense interest in older horror movies that draw repulsion and disgust from many viewers. Enter Fulci's "House", which draws the ire on many in the film world. It actually seems as if he's still widely regarded as a slouch by the Hollywood movie making machine. Admittedly, Fulci wasn't a great screen writer in any of his films; which at the end the day, is his greatest fault. I mean, his stories are always full of plot holes and irrational character behavior.
And who are the characters in this story? Our main characters are a small family of three, who move from New York City to a small town so the father (Who apparently has some type of doctorate, we never find out) can pick up on a colleague's research project. In the end, it turns out some educational institution was paying the father's colleague to research a demented doctor, who coincidentally, is somehow living in the colleague's basement; unbeknown est to the father's colleague.? Getting the idea? No? Well, the idea is that, as I mentioned, the plot is full of holes and idiotic happenings that are mislead and underdeveloped.
It gets worse. The father's colleague never finished this research on the demented doctor because he killed himself. And to throw salt on the wound, the father, his wife, and child decide to blindly move into the colleague's old, dirty, and disgusting house. Yes! Well you can pretty much imagine the rest. In the course of the movie a girlfriend and boyfriend, a Realtor, a hot babysitter, and the mother and the father, all meet their fate in the basement of the house our good family from NYC moved into. Their son escapes this fiasco with the help of another character whose existence and origins in this plot are highly implausible.
But I've still found a way to enjoy this movie. The music is classically synthetic 70's foreign horror film fare. The gore and violence are wonderfully done, and an art in their own right. Their is plenty of creepy atmosphere, a couple of decent jump-scares, and enough action to keep the movie well paced and reasonably entertaining. I think as this film ages, more and more people realize it's importance as an artistic piece of film making. What I'm saying is that I did like the cinematography; it en captures a lost time and place and at times is like a moving painting. Sadly, Fulci's lack of writing ability and abysmal editing in places (Whose fault that was, I don't know, probably the business end) keep this dated gem from being what it could really be.
If your the type of horror fan person that enjoys old classic horror, "House" is highly recommended. If on the other hand you enjoy much of what Hollywood has produced since 1995, stay away, you aren't going to get the importance of this movie. For me I'll take a plate of homemade Italian cuisine, red wine, and "The House By The Cemetery" any day of the week. RIP Mr. Fulci.