The House By The Cemetery

Rating:
Summary: regarding [price] version
Review: First of all, good movie. Much gore, okay plot. Typical Amnityville storyline: good people + bad house = goretastic thills and bloody spills.

Now, about the d.v.d. Problems were constant freezing throughout earlier part of movie. My d.v.d. player is almost two years, and I've never had a problem like this before where the counter was erased and disc was unable to be ejected. As it got into the movie, problems slowly went away; but back to the menu, problems occured again.

Other than that the picture and sound were a 10. Definately worth the money if you can find a d.v.d. that doesn't have the curse. For the money, I'm sure a good 1 out of 3 probably have this problem. Is it worth getting the [price]. version? I don't think so, unless you have a passion for Fulci.

But beware of the cheaper [price] version. Keep your receipt and buy it somewhere where it's easy to return.

Rating:
Summary: Oh boy.
Review: Let's start by saying I am a huge fan of City of the Living Dead and the Beyond. So even thought I have never seen this movie, I bought it...mistake. This does not have a fraction of the atmosphere as the for mentioned films. And while I don't mind the thing we overlook in a Fulci movie (lack of concrete plot, bad acting, awful dubbing) where was the monster(s)? It's like watching a Godzilla movie where the monsters are only in the last five minutes of the film after watching an hour and a half of nonsense! And the DVD.... While the print is clean I have to say that Anchor Bay's job is a shadow of what they did on the films I mention above. The sound is 2.0! I was going to pre-order Anchor Bay's Demons/Demons 2, but after the job they did on this...no way.

Rating:
Summary: God Help Me I Bought the Anchor Bay DVD
Review: Despite the snickering warnings of one reviewer, I did purchase the Anchor Bay DVD of this Lucio Fulci celluloid mayhem. I am not quite sure whether the Anchor Bay edition is the "definitive" uncut version (Sure looks like it) but it does include trailers and biographical info on Fulci and the screenwriter, Dardano Sacchetti. As for the film itself, I have little to add to what has been said in other reviews, except that one of the suggested descriptions, a "cheapskate version of THE SHINING," is right on the target. It even features a scene where the Freudstein crypt overflows with blood. It IS an effective horror film; there are a decent number of set-pieces that are shocking and audacious, including that "ax-blade coming through the door" sequence. But there is a general tone of shoddiness that suffuses a Fulci film like miasma, that unfortunately hinders me from appreciating his works to the fullest. For me, HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY totally breaks down in the last 20 minutes or so. It becomes just unbelievably grimy and scuzzy, with puddles of blood and fake body parts everywhere, and I could not help but thinking how uncomfortable it must have been for the actors to endure all this. The parts I like best are the early scenes that hint at the premonitions of terrible things to come, such as when the boy (Yes, his dubbed voice is truly annoying, like a 40-year-old woman trying to sound like a chirping infant) first notices the little girl in a photograph of the Freudstein mansion, or when the girl sees a vision of how a character is going to die from decapitation. Once "Dr. Freudstein" shows up for real, dressed in a Mao jacket with huge buttons, it is all downhill from there, to the outright foolish ending, with (how's this for pretension?) an epigram from Henry James! Ah well, it could have been worse. I would still prefer HOUSE BY... to many better-known horror films, such as HALLOWEEN or SCREAM. The best Fulci film I have seen, BTW, is DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Fulci at its best
Review: Made when Fulci was healthy and on a roll, the House by the Cemetery is one of his best hands down. If you loved Zombies 2, the Gates of Hell, or the Beyond, you will go nuts for this hilarious gore drenched masterpiece. Fulci returns to America to shoot one of his bloodiest (not too much gore, just blood) shockers and comes away beaming. A great buy for anyone who is mesmorized by the godfather of gore or hardcore Italian horror from the 1980's. Not as upscale as the Beyond, House by the Cemetery is something to own. Don't call yourself a Fulci fan unless you own and love this film. THis is what it's all about!!! Just look at the intro, the best out of any Fulci film [....]

Rating:
Summary: Classic (with a reservation for newbies)
Review: Another one of the vaguely Lovecraftian italian horrors from Lucio Fulci (see also Gates of Hell and The Beyond). The format has evolved from his previous outings of hordes of zombies to a spookier, phsychic-ghost story instead. In fact, it's kind of a cheap-skate version of The Shining.

To really appreciate this film (or any of Fulci's horror films) you have to be prepared to forgive a lot of cinematic badness. Dubbing, dialogue, plot coherence, the occasional dodgy special effect (not so bad in this film - no one can forgive the toy spiders in The Beyond) ... as a matter of fact, you may wonder what's so great about this film at all. Well, I'll tell you ... Fulci is a master cinematographic "painter". Scenes look gorgeous, and they really suit the feel of this gothic film. Also, Fulci has a habit of pulling something really shocking out of the hat at a moment's notice (you'll know it when you see it - let's just say in this film it involved a child's head, a door and an axe). But what really turns on the legion of Fulci fans out there is the gore. Set piece, outrageous gore scenes pop up ever fifteen to twenty minutes as minor characters walk on only to get bumped off in various splattery ways. House isn't as gory as his earlier zombie films but it's still pretty hard. (BTW - although the case says Rated: R, this is the uncut version of the film.)

Oh yeah, and Catriona MacColl is in it.

You either "get" Fulci films or you don't. If you're prepared to willfully ignore the technically bad aspects of the film, you'll be rewarded with a rich, bloody, gothic horror classic. Films like this will never be made again.

Rating:
Summary: Side Splitting Laughs
Review: Do yourself a favor & buy the 7.99 edition, it's letterboxed, good picture & sound, Don't waste your money & pay over (...) bucks for this hilarious-trying to be scary-movie. If you a lover of bad movies this is a must have. Not scary @ all (the bat scene was very funny) ok gore effects. What u have to do is get a bunch of friends over, pop in this dvd & let the laughs begin. The reason this movie is so funny is the dubbing & dialog. The little boy is hysterical("mommy bring me back some can-dy!) it's just has to be heard to be believed ("damned tombstone")The little boy looks like the love child of Angelina Jolie & Ann Jillian, I still think it is a little girl. Don't believe any reviewer who tells you this movie is scary, it should be listed as a comedy but like I said earlier it's well worth the money if you are a lover of really BAD movies. give this a try it will make you smile.

Rating:
Summary: Forget features. I loved this film
Review: For me this is definately my favourite Fulci film after Zombie. Its a bit more conventional as a pose to his usual outrageous horror. The dubbing is dodgy for the two children but all of his films have pretty bad dubbing. The one thing that this film has that some of his other films dont is tension. Especially in the scene when the celler door gets open. It also in my opinion contains some of his most controversial graphic violence from any of his films. For the money that I paid for this I was very happy as this is the most uncut english language translation with all of the gore intact. Allot of people moan about different running times in these italian horrors. Particulary Tenebrae and phenomena. The scenes that werent included in tenebrae where never even recorded in english. Diamond have transferred the japanese laserdisk very well and the colors are good throughout. My only complaints are that the film is in mono and that its only split into four chapters. Anchor bays version will probably be a better print with a 5.1 soundtrack but ill stick with my plain jane version.

Rating:
Summary: My Name is BOB!!!!
Review: This movie is wonderful with a touch of cheesiness I look for in movies of this genre. The child actors are much more disturbing than the movie itself, but that has to be seen to be believed...

Rating:
Summary: One of Fulci's best
Review: This has all the great things that make a great Fulcimovie. Blood, gore, convoluted plot, and the cutie Catriona Maccoll. Amust have and part of the Big Four Fulci movies.

Rating:
Summary: Great Transfer for the price
Review: This version of "House by the Cemetary" is the uncut version, copied by Diamond Entertainment from the Japanese Laserdisc. It is a reasonably good looking transfer except for the occasional greyscaling and evidence of filmgrain. It is one of Lucio's best combining elements of "The Shining" and "Hellraiser" with a truly creepy feel. The earlier video release from Vestron video had reels 2 and 3 out of order. They have been put back correctly making the story all the more interesting. A great buy if you're a collecter. If not you may want to wait for Anchor Bay's version coming April 24th. This film scared me as a child and still retains a lot of it's eerie feel that time and many other horror films have ruined with less stylistic displays of the same idea. PS - If you wait long enough after the film ends, you see 5 seconds of the end of the trailer and "Laserdisc stop side B" will appear.