Product Description

The Ultimate Gorehound House Party From The Director Of ZOMBIE And THE BEYOND

A young family moves from their cramped New York City apartment to a spacious new home in New England. But this is no ordinary house in the country: the previous owner was the deranged Dr. Freudstein, whose monstrous human experiments have left a legacy of bloody mayhem. Now, someone - or something - is alive in the basement, and home sweet home is about to become a horrific hell on earth.

Catriona MacColl (CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD), Paolo Malco (THE NEW YORK RIPPER), Ania Pieroni (TENEBRE) and Dagmar Lassander (FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION) star in this outrageous Italian shocker from Lucio Fulci, `The Godfather of Gore.' Considered to be one of the master's last great films, THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY is presented complete and uncut, featuring a mind-blowing onslaught of throat-ripping, skull-knifing, maggot-spewing and more!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57946 in DVD
• Brand: Ryko Distribution
• Released on: 2007-04-24
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 87 minutes

Mondo Digital
"Fulci Really Shines... Some Of His Finest Work!"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic Ending More Than Makes Up For Any Flaws
Sometimes I get in the mood for a good old fashioned blood bash. I don't mean something as pasturized as the latest "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remakes. I don't want something loaded down with CGI effects like "300". I want good old latex and red-corn-syrup blood-letting. Something that could only have come out of Italy in the 1980's. Usually when I'm in this mood I will turn to Fulci's "Gates of Hell", (blood by the bucketful) but I've worn that flick out in recent years so I turned to "House by the Cemetery". The movie starts right out with a great splatter of the red stuff and we are off and runnin'! The first thing you will notice about this movie is the haunting score. It's fantastic, one of the best elements of the film. The second thing you will notice is the lousy vocal dub for "Bob"??? Not sure who or what is providing that voice....but it is pretty jarring when first heard to say the least. Finally you will notice that "House" actually serves up more suspense than oozing red stuff as it plays out. There are some pretty chilling scenes sprinkled throughout the film, and the final 15 minutes is fantastic! The blood does flow, don't get me wrong, there are several scenes to satisfy the gorehound, but the emphasis on suspense and the creepiness the underlies the entire film really make the gore secondary. If you can get past "Bob", then you will really enjoy this film.

A Not Unsuccessful Lovecraftian Tribute
This is the third in a loose trilogy of films by Italian master of the macabre Lucio Fulci set in New England that evoke the uncanny and cosmic terrors of H.P. Lovecraft. The other two films "City of the Living Dead" and "The Beyond" are quite a bit better than "House by the Cemetery", but that doesn't mean this film is totally without merit. At times Fulci succeeds very well in creating an atmosphere of dread and fear, and the film is not without some subtle moments of terror, due mainly to an eerie soundtrack and a couple of creepy kids. But fans of Fulci and Italian horror cinema in general are not interested in the type of subtle scares one might find in English ghost stories; instead his films are marked by unusual levels of graphic violence. Although this film is not without its moments (throats ripped out, maggot ridden bodies and decapitation), the violence seems quite muted compared to other Fulci films. Fulci is perhaps aiming too strongly for the atmosphere of Lovecraft, and subsequently forgets to invest in his film the graphic and absurdly violent scenes which have afforded his work a cult following. The film as is usually the case with Fulci makes little sense and is full of continuity errors, its difficult to know whether this is down to bad editing, or an intentional effort to create an uncanny world in which time and space are confused, personally I prefer the latter possibility. There has always been something dream like and hallucinatory about Italian horror cinema and this film doesn't disappoint on that level. By combing Freud and Frankenstein in the name of the films ostensible monster/zombie, the rotting cadaver of the once great scientist Dr. Freudstein provides an interesting connection between psychoanalysis and the scientist playing god. In light of Fulci's career post "House by the Cemetery", this has to be considered one of his last decent efforts.

This DVD re-issue is by Blue Underground, who seem to have acquired some of the titles of Anchor Bay's back catalogue for re-issue. My only main grumble is with the audio, which is particularly tinny, other than that this is a good reasonably priced package.

Flawed but enjoyable overall!
A family takes up residence in a New England home haunted by a horrifying secret. Strange occurrences and violent deaths lead the new residents on a search for the truth as their small son's relationship with a mysterious girl only he seems to see grows more bizarre. Undeveloped/unexplained plot points abound, yet it is still pretty decent for Italian horror, despite the awful voices chosen for the dubbing of certain characters. In the end, the viewer will likely find this Fulci classic to be a fun bit of moody ghost story/horror entertainment, though with quite a few questions left unanswered or ideas left open to interpretation. Get set for some over-the-top gore moments and a few goofy ones too, but I've seen much worse on both counts. Worth picking up if you are into Fulci, mystery/ghost stories, or Italian horror in general.

The Blue Underground DVD has some nice extras with this widescreen presentation. The audio doesn't sound quite perfect though. You get a U.S. and an International theatrical trailer, a TV spot, a short gallery in the much appreciated and underused thumbsaving slideshow format, and text bios of the filmmakers. You may be left a little confused by "House by the Cemetery", or maybe not if you don't mind a shortage of plot exposition, but you will probably still have fun watching it.