Jen
Rotting Corpse
Reged: 09/07/06
Posts: 704
Loc: At the gates of hell
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Me and the little brother just picked it up for 4 bucks from the local video store. How is it? And how good of a buy was that?
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She's got date at midnight with Nosferatu, oh baby, Lilly Munster ain't got nothing on you....
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ghoul
Rotting Corpse
Reged: 02/25/08
Posts: 364
Loc: Florida/US
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House by the Cemetary is probably my second favorite Fulci film. It's weird, creepy, gory and makes little sense at times but is very cool and enjoyable halloween film.
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Purveyors of Obscure Schlock, Sleaze and Gore Horror films from around the world
www.strictlysplatter.com
"When the sh*t hits the fan, we clean up the mess ! "
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Savage
Zombie
Reged: 09/25/03
Posts: 4538
Loc: West Virginia
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Quote:
It's weird, creepy, gory and makes little sense at times
That sums up pretty much all of Fulci's work.
I've come to understand that Fulci's work is more visual than anything else. If you go into one of his movies expecting a deep/meaningful story that progresses from point A to B in a straight line you're going to be let down.
If you keep the nature, atmosphere, and overall creepiness of Fulci's work in mind you're going to love his movies...
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I can't seem to face up to the facts. I'm tense and nervous, and I can't relax. I can't sleep cause my bed's on fire. Don't touch me I'm a real live wire...
Edited by DanielSavage (10/17/08 04:56 PM)
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Knifey
Zombie
Reged: 06/20/04
Posts: 3771
Loc: Massachusetts
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I like Fulci and this film. Though it has perhaps the most annoyingly goofy kid ever to grace the screen in it. And you have to love the little tike's English voiceovers, obviously done by an adult woman. All adds to the charm of the film however.
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"You're a gentleman," they used to say to him. "You shouldn't have gone murdering people with a hatchet; that's no occupation for a gentleman."
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DVDfanatic9
Risen from the Grave
Reged: 04/23/07
Posts: 78
Loc: California
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It's overrated by some, underrated by others. The atmosphere works very well. The music is great. I kind of liked the children in the movie. But the adults were very boring. The babysitter sub-plot went absolutely nowhere but sure looked like it was going to deliver- so that was disappointing. The blood and gore effects aren't very good either.
Kind of a toss-up. And by cheap, I hope that means you got yourself the Anchor Bay or Blue Underground versions. If you're region-1, those are the only DVDs to own of this movie.
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She knows she's a winner
She couldn't be thinner
Now she goes in the bathroom
and vomits up dinner
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EdgarAllen
Living Dead
Reged: 09/16/00
Posts: 3585
Loc: Star City
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** Minor Spoilers **
The House by the Cemetery was one big contradiction for me. Have been looking forward to this one for awhile now as I really liked City of the Living Dead. House by the Cemetery and The Beyond are sometimes lumped together as a trilogy much like Carpenter's End of the World films The Thing, Prince of Darkness and Mouth of Madness. So I had high hopes.
I agree with some of the comments here. It's certainly atmospheric. Maybe too atmospheric. I kinda feel like I have more patience for slower movies compared to some others that like horror. But each scene, especially each money scene, is drawn out at least two and three times as long as you might normally be use to. It felt like I was trying to drive home but was stuck behind an old lady going 10mph. Drove me crazy, and this timing gets more pronounced as the film progresses. Also, that music drove me batty, I hated it. I realize the music is influenced by the era it was made, and I usually allow for when viewing horror, but I struggled with it here.
And, yeah, noted immediately above, what was up with that babysitter thread? Goofy. There's lots of goofy in here. The last death in the film is extremely goofy and hilariously funny. And WTF was up with that bat? God, effects that poor haven't been acceptable since the 50s. I can only imagine the howls of laughter that got in the theater.
There are some pros tho. The gore is old school and this movie is bloody, when it manages to get around to showing us one of the kills. The story centers around a young kid. Usually, as you might be use to, kids are normally shielded from seeing gore or being directly involved in that type of scene. Not here, young Bob, gets bat blood splattered on him and watches a decapitated head rolling around and all kinds of shit like that. So in that way this film definitely pushed boundaries. Especially for the era it was made. Also, my Blue Underground disc had an amazingly crisp picture quality. This is the clearest and most professional looking old school Eurohorror I've ever viewed.
I'm not a schooled Fulci viewer, but overall I didn't care for this and struggled to get thru the whole movie.
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"We all have our appetites."
- The Devil's Nightmare
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FulciLives
Rotting Corpse
Reged: 08/14/10
Posts: 561
Loc: California
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"House By The Cemetery" is the third entry in Fulci's unofficial (Gates Of Hell) trilogy. "City Of The Living Dead" being first, followed by "The Beyond", which is my favorite of the bunch. I personally prefer to think of it as a trilogy, and taken as so I believe House is the weakest of the 3 films.
Like you said it has good amounts of Fulci gore when it gets around to it. And also like you said the children not being shielded from it adds a nice touch of menace to the movie, but it definitely gets slow at points. I think maybe more than usual Fulci was trying to let atmosphere drive the film, which as others here have pointed out he was quite fond of doing to some extant in all of his films, and that might be why it lingers like it does.
Its still a good movie though, at least I think it is. That bat scene is pretty odd though isn't it?
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"When there's no more room in HELL, the dead will walk the EARTH".
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EdgarAllen
Living Dead
Reged: 09/16/00
Posts: 3585
Loc: Star City
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Quote:
Its still a good movie though, at least I think it is. That bat scene is pretty odd though isn't it?
Holy cow that was hilarious. Your basic 99 cent rubber bat on quite visible fishing line. Straight out of Dracula '31, although they did a better job with it in Dracula.
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"We all have our appetites."
- The Devil's Nightmare
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Knifey
Zombie
Reged: 06/20/04
Posts: 3771
Loc: Massachusetts
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Good movie, hate that kid though.  Want to punch him in the face. Again good movie, but my least fave of the Fulci Trilogy.
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"You're a gentleman," they used to say to him. "You shouldn't have gone murdering people with a hatchet; that's no occupation for a gentleman."
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EK20
Rotting Corpse
Reged: 05/14/10
Posts: 579
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I am eagerly awaiting the Blu Ray released on October 24th.
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Howler
Zombie
Reged: 11/26/01
Posts: 4924
Loc: N.B. Canada
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Yeah, not Fulci's best that's for sure. I still enjoy it for all it's cheesy goodness though.
And Bob is definitely one of, if not the most annoying kid in the history of film. I blame the voice. Drives me nuts.
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"We have a dead body in the house and your first idea is to sexually assault it!"
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HAMMERoftheGODS
Rotting Corpse
Reged: 06/19/07
Posts: 656
Loc: CA
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I watched this one once and did not like it. I like Fulci, but this one sucks.
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Resist all the urges that make you wanna go out and kill
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CREEPMASTER
Living Dead
Reged: 07/10/01
Posts: 5278
Loc: England
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Well you won't hear me slagging HBTC off. I love the thing. Pointless elaborating as I feel it will fall on deaf ears.
But I ask you, we watch horror films and complain of lack of atmosphere and the spooky element. Ok this may be a silly and clunky film. But has the Beyond got atmosphere and spookyness ? Or is it just a load of gore scenes thrown together in a hodge-podge of a film ????
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