Phil's Horror Watch, Day 11: Phil watches THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981)-October 11, 2011

Welcome back my friends to Day Eleven of my horror movie marathon! Tonight I decided to visit my old friend Lucio Fulci one more time and watched another one of his classic films, THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. With Fulci, you can always count on being scared out of your mind and grossed out all at the same time!

Original Theatrical Poster (1984)

 Dr. Norman Boyle (Paolo Malco) moves his wife Lucy (Catriona MacColl) and his son (Giovanni Frezza) out of their tiny, cramped New York apartment and into a beautiful old New England home. However, unknown to the new owners, the previous owner, the deranged Dr. Jacob Freudstein (Giovanni De Nava), who has been living in the house's basement for the past 100 years, feeding on the flesh of those who found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The film was Fulci's final installment of what has been called his unofficial Gates of Hell trilogy, which also includes CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE BEYOND. The camerawork is careful, creating atmosphere as well as a sense of polish. The makeup and gore effects are also well-crafted, and the Dr. Freudstein character is fairly creepy to see. Also, there are fewer splatter scenes, and they come more out of the story than any gratuitous attempts to add gore.

Italian Movie Poster (1981)

While many have said that the film was not one of his best, the film has genuine creepiness and scares that will make you shiver. However, the film ran into censorship issues, thus the film suffered several and severe edits to. Eventually the film was restored to its original gory version when it was released in 2001 by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film was released in Italy in 1981. The film was released here in America on March 1, 1984.

THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY is a Fulci film that will forever stand the test of time as a horror classic! What's impressive that 30 years after the film's original Italian release, we are still talking about the film, and thus, keeping alive the film legacy of Lucio Fulci alive, as well as his name. This Halloween, treat yourself to this Italian shocker. I promise you that after watching the film, you will never go downstairs into a basement ever again.

THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD special editions on October 25, 2011 courtesy of Blue Underground. To pre-order your copy, visit their website at www.blue-underground.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!