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Film: The House by the Cemetery (Quella villa accanto al cimitero)
Year: 1981
Director: Lucio Fulci
Writer: Lucio Fulci, Giorgio Mariuzzo and Dardano Sacchetti
Starring: Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco and Ania Pieroni
Review:
This is a film that I didn’t learn about until getting into podcasts. It popped up time to time, usually when discussing co-writer/director Lucio Fulci and his Gates of Hell trilogy. This is the final movie to complete that set. I originally saw this to discuss on Horror Haven podcast. I’ve now given it a second watch for my Odyssey through the Ones and because it was selected by Duncan’s randomizer for his Horror Head-to-Head series on the Podcast Under the Stairs.
Synopsis: a New England home is terrorized by a series of murders, unbeknownst to the guests that a gruesome secret is hiding in the basement.
This film starts showing us a cemetery and then it goes to the nearby house. Inside we see a woman putting her shirt back on. She is played by Daniela Doria. She is looking for her boyfriend, who is missing. Something attacked him and she’s next, as she meets a violent end. We then saw her drug across the floor.
There’s an excellent transition here to show this house as a picture. The person is a boy named Bob Boyle (Giovanni Frezza). He sees a little girl in the window, which looks like she is screaming. His mother comes in, Lucy (Catriona MacColl). They’re in the process of moving so she needs him to help. She looks at the picture and it is different. After she leaves though, it goes back to the way that Bob saw it. He tries to tell his mother that they can’t move to this house.
We then see the reason they’re moving. Dr. Norman Boyle (Paolo Malco) is the husband and father. He is a doctor and he is taking his family to a remote village to do research. The person he’s replacing killed themselves so they need Norman to complete the work. His wife isn’t happy about this move, but she is still going to be stuck by him. They get there and learn that the house they were supposed to be staying in is no longer available. They are given another one though. It turns out to be the same one from the picture back in New York. During all of this, they leave Bob in the car. A little girl named Mae (Silvia Collatina) looks at a mannequin in a window. It looks oddly real. The head comes off and it is bleeding. This girl then reaches out to Bob telepathically, warning him again. He realizes she is the girl from the picture. She gives him a doll that was hers.
The family then arrives and unpacks. They are interrupted when oddly a woman shows up, saying she is a babysitter that was sent here by the realtor, Ann (Ania Peironi).
Something I should include here is that multiple people recognize Norman as having been here before with his daughter. He’s confused as he said he’s never been here before. He also gets strange looks from Ann, which it seems like Lucy catches. They also start to hear weird noises in the house, which sound like a child crying. Norman starts to look into the research his predecessor did and it turns him on to Dr. Freudstein (Giovanni De Nava). He lived in the house they now live in. It also seems like he was doing dark research of his own before he was shunned from the town. Like the synopsis said, there is a dark secret in the basement that puts all this together.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is another film in this trilogy that I’m glad I gave a rewatch to. I didn’t know enough about Fulci, the nightmare logic of Italian cinema and just the genre in general. I’ve also heard other people say that this is a movie that benefits from multiple watches. That’s something else I’d agree with here.
Now that I’ve sent that up, let me delve more into this movie. This is one that if you’re looking for a coherent story, start to finish, you will probably be disappointed. What we’re getting here is another Lovecraftian story that inspired. Like the synopsis said, we have this couple moving from New York to New England. There is an odd, cosmic and timeless feel to things here. Fulci, Giorgio Mariuzzo and Dardano Sacchetti, along with Elisa Briganti, took elements from stories by Lovecraft. This is also an interesting mash up because you could say that we have elements of the mad scientist, zombie and even slasher elements here. This is all done in a vein of the cosmic.
What works for me is the atmosphere. I love that we have this picture that hangs in this family’s home in NY. Bob is either psychic or someone is reaching out to him to warn him from coming here. Forces seem to be pushing them into this house. It is a dark creepy house. There is a history there and I appreciate that. Being set in New England, there is an old feeling since that’s the first part of the United States that were settled. Dr. Freudstein is looming. There could be almost a time loop or purgatory. It’s not fully explained, it is just this creepy feel that works.
I’ll then shift over to the best part of this film, the effects. This is where the movie shines for sure. We have ones you’d find in slasher films where our kill is stabbing people with a knife. There is a great decapitation and even someone being stabbed in the back of the head. The only thing that doesn’t look great is a reveal late. I just don’t fully understand what I’m seeing, but this is where I think it is borrowing from Lovecraft. This is what you’re coming to see and they look great.
Next then should be the rest of the film-making aspects. The cinematography and framing help here. This can be done to hide the seams which is good. Another aspect is the setting. We have this old house that is cursed. There are plot-holes there like how no one stayed here needed to go into the basement. I can digress there though. There are filters also used that make more sense the second time around. The soundtrack here is also solid, helps to build that creepy atmosphere and goes more classical in its feel. It isn’t as good as the previous two but doesn’t ruin anything either.
I’ll then finish out with acting. MacColl is once again solid here. My only issue is that we don’t flesh out the looks that are given between Lucy and Norman. There seems to be a reason, but it doesn’t go anywhere. I’d also say for a similar reason that Malco is fine for what was needed. The leads truly seem to be Frezza and Collatina. The former is dubbed poorly, it is the butt of jokes. I don’t think it’s that bad to be honest. These two kids are fine. When they’re in peril that drives tension as well as I don’t fully know if they’ll be safe. It’s interesting to see Dagmar Lassander in a cameo. She’s solid along with De Nava, Doria and the rest of the cast.
In conclusion, this is one that I’m glad that I gave a rewatch to. It was much needed. This is still my least favorite of the trilogy, but it has gotten better for me. What is great here are the practical effects, the atmosphere and the setting of this house. It is isolated and cursed. I’d say that the rest of the filmmaking is good, which includes the cinematography, framing and the soundtrack. The acting works for what was needed. This is one that I’d say just roll with what you’re seeing, don’t think too hard and enjoy the effects.
My Rating: 8 out of 10