Hello horror fans and welcome to another entry in the Vault of Doom, this week I will be discussing Lucio Fulci's supernatural gore fest, House by the Cemetery. Fulci is known for his excessive use of gore in his films ever since Don't Torture a Duckling and this film has no exception as it is as gore filled as his others, gaining it a spot on Britain's video nasty list in the 1980's. Now I'm a big fan of Fulci, I can stomach the gore and can deal with the ludicrous plots that make little sense, but of course this won't appeal to everyone so he's a bit of an acquired taste. This post will look at the films strong and weak points while again, incorporating my own personal thoughts on it, so please sit back and enjoy.
I first watched House by the Cemetery one summers evening after a friend recommended it to me when I told him I had recently watched another Fulci film, Zombi 2. I had no idea what this film was about or if I would enjoy it or not, but I decided to watch it seeing as I loved Zombi 2. Little did I know I was getting more than I bargained for as the film is now one of my favourites of Fulci's and something that I can happily watch over and over again. However, it is not without its flaws, in fact to the non-horror fan it is probably one big flaw, but when you're used to Fulci you can look past that. The film follows the Boyle family moving into the formidable Freudstein House (by the cemetery) so that Dr. Norman Boyle (Paolo Malco) can continue his collegues research on the house after his apparent suicide. Along with Norman is his wife Lucy, portrayed by frequent Fulci collaborator Catriona MacColl and their son Bob (Giovanni Frezza), a character who you will grow to hate more than the films antagonist. First of all, who names their child Bob? Secondly, why oh why is he such an annoying little shit? Aside from being horribly dubbed by what sounds like a middle aged woman, Bob takes every opportunity he has to turn you off this film for good. Whenever he speaks it sounds so unnaturally annoying that it really freaks you out, and when he isn't speaking he's making these weird sounds while playing with his toys, like shut up PLEASE.
Another thing about this film that I don't understand is the character of Ann the babysitter played by Ania Pieroni, or eyebrow girl from Inferno. When we first meet Ann it isn't exactly Ann, it is a freaky shop window mannequin that looks like Ann seen by the films ghost girl Mae (Silvia Collatina). This hyper-realistic mannequin freaked me out when I saw it, despite not having much relevance to the plot it is the first of many things in the film that made me feel uneasy. Later when Ann finally does make her entrance it is practically drilled into our heads that she resembles the mannequin as it cuts back an forth between shots of her and shots of the dummy. Ann gets up to some strange stuff such as exchanging strange glances with Norman, acting suspiciously around the basement and oh yeah, cleaning up the blood of one of the creatures victims. So what is her significance? Well, nothing really. Ann dies at the hands of the creature while Bob is acting the bollocks in the kitchen, her suspicious behaviour is never explained and her disappearance is quickly dismissed by Lucy. now I have read some theories that Ann was in fact Norman's mistress, which explains her suspicious behaviour around him, but does not explain why she was cleaning up the blood of an unsuspecting victim.
Like all Fulci films, the death scenes in House by the Cemetery are dragged out and memorable, not a bad thing mind you. On the surface, they are sheer exploitation and Fulci's way of shoving as much violence into one death scene, one scene had to be cut down for being too long and graphic. However, they are suspenseful as hell, particularly Ann's as we see her being pursued helplessly by the mysterious creature. Similarly, the POV death scene of the realtor is just as memorable and as she almost gets away, her foot is caught in a crack in the tomb on the floor (that's right) and she meets her grizzly demise. The film is extremely suspenseful in fact, it has multiple tense sequences that will have you almost falling from the edge of your seat, they really display Fulci's talent of building suspense and that there is more to him than just gore. One of the films most intense scenes is when the creature (finally) comes after Bob and there is a great bit where Bob's head is pressed against the door while his parents on the other side chop through it with an axe. Unfortunately Bob survives and is in fact the only Boyle to survive by the end of the film.
I am also a fan of the films monster, that was eventually revealed to be the sinister Dr. Freudstein (Giovanni De Nava), the original owner of the house. Throughout the film his presence is teased, from the death scenes to the terrifying pair of eyes in the cellar, we are left waiting in anticipation for the creatures reveal. Visually, the Doctor looks very zombie-like with rotting features, a tattered labcoat and no eyes (which does not explain the eyes in the cellar), he is a horrible looking creature and exactly what you'd want from a horror film antagonist. He kills both of Bob's parents and in the end he is never stopped, Bob is whisked away by ghost girl Mae and some Victorian lady and they wander off into the netherworld. The motivation behind Freudstein was that he used the dead bodies to help regenerate his cells to keep him alive for years which, in fairness to the movies somewhat ludicrous plot, does explain why he was killing and does give him purpose (Not like Ann or Bob).
By the time House by the Cemetery ended I was left with many questions, what was Ann's purpose? Whose eyes were staring out from the cellar? What the hell did that quote mean at the end? It does leave several questions unanswered and leaves many ploy holes unfilled. However, it managed to scare me and at the end of the day isn't that the true purpose of horror? It is extremely suspenseful and had my heart racing, it had many moments that left me uneasy (like that mannequin scene) and the gore is some of the best you'll get from the time it was made. House by the Cemetery is a film that can scare you while you simultaneously laugh at how bizzare it is. It is scary and entertaining and although it has its plot holes, some questionable dubbing and Bob, it is an enjoyable film and one of Fulci's best in my opinion. This has been another entry in the Vault of Doom, thank you for reading.
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