Fulci's Gore: House By The Cemetery

Let’s disregard the fact that here are a pair of boobs revealed for viewers within the first minute of The House by the Cemetery. Lucio Fulci, the director of this and countless other seemingly low rent Italian horror movies, isn’t necessarily known for his tact. This offering isn’t any different. But what the director does deserve deference for is the fact that he not only revels in the photographic nature of some of the shots here and in other films, but Fulci also works tremendously hard to build tension during various scenes. The fact that it seems repetitious at points is a bit disconcerting, but it’s a low rent horror flick, so deal with it.

The Boyles, which include Norman, a scientist of some repute, have secured a rented home up north of New York somewhere in New England in order to complete some research left behind by a colleague. Of course, the fact that the colleague off’d himself should be a hint at what’s to come, but the family picks up and heads off anyway.

Upon arriving, it’s clear that the house needs work. But what’s more disconcerting is the fact that Bob, the poorly named son in the film, has begun interacting with a little girl whom no one else can see. Yeah, that’s a problem. So there’s consternation on the part of Bob’s parents from the onset of the film. Despite that, though, Bob’s clandestine meetings with this girl prove indispensible by film’s end.

In shooting the house where all of the killing and what not takes place, Fulci endeavors some hand held camera stuff which results in beautiful rendering of the space as well as some early close ups of a pair of eyes. The fine camera work, which one should assumed glossed over by most viewers, isn’t the point. Tension and gore is.

So while the narrative is made up of nothing more than a few odd occurrences and some house noises, Fulci ends up trying to clench viewer’s fists in anticipation for roughly the last thirty minutes of the film. By the time viewers make it through the first third of the film, though, it becomes clear that there’s some bad ju-ju in the basement – Norman even gets attacked by an over zealous bat (reality is also not generally dealt with in Fulci features).

So when Bob gets trapped and eventually saved, it’s no surprise that the entire family winds up going up and down stairs slowly and very deliberately unlocking doors to save him. There are a few surprisingly artful shots during this portion of the film, but as Fulci is wont to do, the conclusion of the film only levies more questions on viewers then resolutions.

Bob, after both of his parents are cut up by whatever’s living down there, makes a last minute escape as he’s pulled through a whole in the basement’s ceiling. That’s sensible enough, but the fact that he’s saved by the (assumed) imaginary girl that he’s befriend and then welcomed by some elderly looking, 19^th century styled woman doesn’t exactly grant viewers any closure.