Video Nasty #3
The House By The Cemetery
1981
READ THE FINE PRINT. YOU MAY HAVE JUST MORTGAGED YOUR LIFE.
Original Italian Title: Quella Villa Accanto al Cimitero
NTSC Running Time: 86:22
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Story by Elisa Livia Briganti (Mrs. Dardano Sacchetti)
Screenplay by Dardano Sacchetti, Giorgio Marruzzo and Lucio Fulci
Produced by Fabrizio DeAngelis
Starring: Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco, Giovanni Frezza, Ania Pieroni, Dagmar Lassander, Daniela Doria
Body Count: 6ish, plus a bat and a mannequin (Trust me, the mannequin counts.)
Availability: Uncut DVD available from Blue Underground,
BBFC Status
Why it's a Nasty: In your face GORE as only Lucio Fulci could bring it.
What was cut: Over a minute was cut when first submitted for cinema classification in December, 1981. 4 minutes 11 seconds were cut for the first formal video submission in March, 1988. For these releases, information on what exactly was shorn was unavailable, but it's safe to say that the murders of the realtor and babysitter were the primary targets. On April 3, 2001, 33 seconds were cut from the aforementioned sequences, and the film was awarded an 18 certificate.
Current BBFC Status: The uncut version was finally awarded an 18 certificate on February 11, 2009. Available on DVD from Arrow Film Distributors, Ltd.
The House By The Cemetery was successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, making it one of the DPP39.
Cobwebbed halls, forgotten tombs, a mysterious little girl...and an ageless monster picking off all who enter. In 1981, Lucio Fulci released the third of his Gothic horror films set in the then-present-day United States. The first, Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi was set in Dunwich, Massachusetts, stomping ground of H.P. Lovecraft (although it was filmed in Savannah, GA). The second, E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore...L'Aldila made stunning use of its' Louisiana locations. L'Aldila (better known as The Beyond) also made the Nasties list. It is the best of the Fulci Gothics, and some would argue that it is Fulci's most accomplished work. The last was Quella Villa Accanto al Cimitero, taking place and filmed in Massachusetts. The exteriors of the House of the title is the Ellis Estate House in Scituate, MA and it is frockin' creepy, friends, but the interior was filmed in good old Rome, Italy. The three films all share a twisted sense of dreamlogic that makes for an ethereal viewing experience. No person, place or thing behaves as it should, throwing you off completely, putting you in the perfect position to be shocked by the violence that receives pride of place.
The violence is why we're here, of course. The House By The Cemetery is more than your average Nasty, it's a piece of art. However, the two scariest moments are due not to the violence, but the editing. The violence is the message.
"Violence is Italian art!" ~ Lucio Fulci.
The film opens with shots of the house at night. Inside we find Daniela Doria, the perpetual victim, buttoning her shirt and calling out to her boyfriend. She finds him beaten to death and hanging behind a door. Her scream is cut short when a hand attached to who-knows-what plunges a butcher knife into her occipital plate, the tip of the knife exiting out her mouth. And then she's dragged away.
Roll the opening credits.
In a nutshell: Family (Father, Mother, Son) moves into the house for six months while the father (Paolo Malco as Norman Boyle) carries on the research into suicide left behind by his colleague...who committed suicide after murdering his mistress. The wife (Catriona MacColl as Lucy Boyle) has anxiety issues. The son (Giovanni Frezza as Bob Boyle) has made friends with an odd little girl named Mae. A babysitter (Ania Pieroni as Anne) appears from nowhere (she says the realtor sent her, but there's never any proof of that), people in town seem to think that Norman has been there before, and a name keeps coming up: Freudstein.
I hate spoilers, so I don't want to say any more...but I don't know how much there is to spoil, as the type of "answers" one normally expects from a film do not apply here. The House By The Cemetery is not interested in reality, it doesn't care what you want, and it doesn't want you to feel safe at any time. Example: the unseen monster that lurks in the house does away with a supporting character in spectacular fashion forty-five minutes in, stabbing her in the chest twice with a fireplace poker, then going for the throat in a blood-drenched effect that really delivers. However, the real shock comes after the butchery. Anne is cleaning the large spill of gore and brains. A freshly awoken Lucy comes in and speaks with Anne as if it were a normal morning. Anne's only response is "I made coffee" as she wrings out a bloody rag. Lucy goes to Norman and mentions how odd Anne is. The viewer, meanwhile, is screaming at the screen, wondering why no one is asking about the foul stench of death.
The film is chock full of Fulci trademarks: children in peril, gut-busting violence, and extreme closeups of the actor's eyes, particularly those of Malco and Pieroni, both of whom have arresting eyes to begin with. In House their eyes are almost seperate performers, called upon to fill the screen and express the inner feelings and thoughts of the characters with no help from any of the performer's other features, and it works! Not many filmmakers would have the stones to even attempt such a cinematic feat; Lucio Fulci did it in every film. No wonder I'm so fond of his work.
Needless to say, I recommend The House By The Cemetery to anyone who appreciates weird cinema with a healthy dollop of blood and guts. If you're the type who demands rationality, realism or resolution in your movies, you'll probably be disappointed and you should go rent a Spielberg picture instead. Me? I'll be right here waiting for that copy of Mardi Gras Massacre that El Presidente just shipped out. Can't go anywhere, cuz what if the mail comes while I'm gone? That wouldn't be in line with how I roll. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
What was cut: Over a minute was cut when first submitted for cinema classification in December, 1981. 4 minutes 11 seconds were cut for the first formal video submission in March, 1988. For these releases, information on what exactly was shorn was unavailable, but it's safe to say that the murders of the realtor and babysitter were the primary targets. On April 3, 2001, 33 seconds were cut from the aforementioned sequences, and the film was awarded an 18 certificate.
Current BBFC Status: The uncut version was finally awarded an 18 certificate on February 11, 2009. Available on DVD from Arrow Film Distributors, Ltd.
The House By The Cemetery was successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, making it one of the DPP39.
Cobwebbed halls, forgotten tombs, a mysterious little girl...and an ageless monster picking off all who enter. In 1981, Lucio Fulci released the third of his Gothic horror films set in the then-present-day United States. The first, Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi was set in Dunwich, Massachusetts, stomping ground of H.P. Lovecraft (although it was filmed in Savannah, GA). The second, E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore...L'Aldila made stunning use of its' Louisiana locations. L'Aldila (better known as The Beyond) also made the Nasties list. It is the best of the Fulci Gothics, and some would argue that it is Fulci's most accomplished work. The last was Quella Villa Accanto al Cimitero, taking place and filmed in Massachusetts. The exteriors of the House of the title is the Ellis Estate House in Scituate, MA and it is frockin' creepy, friends, but the interior was filmed in good old Rome, Italy. The three films all share a twisted sense of dreamlogic that makes for an ethereal viewing experience. No person, place or thing behaves as it should, throwing you off completely, putting you in the perfect position to be shocked by the violence that receives pride of place.
The violence is why we're here, of course. The House By The Cemetery is more than your average Nasty, it's a piece of art. However, the two scariest moments are due not to the violence, but the editing. The violence is the message.
"Violence is Italian art!" ~ Lucio Fulci.
The film opens with shots of the house at night. Inside we find Daniela Doria, the perpetual victim, buttoning her shirt and calling out to her boyfriend. She finds him beaten to death and hanging behind a door. Her scream is cut short when a hand attached to who-knows-what plunges a butcher knife into her occipital plate, the tip of the knife exiting out her mouth. And then she's dragged away.
Roll the opening credits.
In a nutshell: Family (Father, Mother, Son) moves into the house for six months while the father (Paolo Malco as Norman Boyle) carries on the research into suicide left behind by his colleague...who committed suicide after murdering his mistress. The wife (Catriona MacColl as Lucy Boyle) has anxiety issues. The son (Giovanni Frezza as Bob Boyle) has made friends with an odd little girl named Mae. A babysitter (Ania Pieroni as Anne) appears from nowhere (she says the realtor sent her, but there's never any proof of that), people in town seem to think that Norman has been there before, and a name keeps coming up: Freudstein.
I hate spoilers, so I don't want to say any more...but I don't know how much there is to spoil, as the type of "answers" one normally expects from a film do not apply here. The House By The Cemetery is not interested in reality, it doesn't care what you want, and it doesn't want you to feel safe at any time. Example: the unseen monster that lurks in the house does away with a supporting character in spectacular fashion forty-five minutes in, stabbing her in the chest twice with a fireplace poker, then going for the throat in a blood-drenched effect that really delivers. However, the real shock comes after the butchery. Anne is cleaning the large spill of gore and brains. A freshly awoken Lucy comes in and speaks with Anne as if it were a normal morning. Anne's only response is "I made coffee" as she wrings out a bloody rag. Lucy goes to Norman and mentions how odd Anne is. The viewer, meanwhile, is screaming at the screen, wondering why no one is asking about the foul stench of death.
The film is chock full of Fulci trademarks: children in peril, gut-busting violence, and extreme closeups of the actor's eyes, particularly those of Malco and Pieroni, both of whom have arresting eyes to begin with. In House their eyes are almost seperate performers, called upon to fill the screen and express the inner feelings and thoughts of the characters with no help from any of the performer's other features, and it works! Not many filmmakers would have the stones to even attempt such a cinematic feat; Lucio Fulci did it in every film. No wonder I'm so fond of his work.
Needless to say, I recommend The House By The Cemetery to anyone who appreciates weird cinema with a healthy dollop of blood and guts. If you're the type who demands rationality, realism or resolution in your movies, you'll probably be disappointed and you should go rent a Spielberg picture instead. Me? I'll be right here waiting for that copy of Mardi Gras Massacre that El Presidente just shipped out. Can't go anywhere, cuz what if the mail comes while I'm gone? That wouldn't be in line with how I roll. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
No comments:
Post a Comment