The House by the Cemetery
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Gruesome supernatural slayings begin after a family moves into their new house in the final entry in Lucio Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” trilogy. The Boyle’s new house hides a horrific history of murder and torment, including a recent familicide committed by Norman Boyle’s former colleague. But as Norman tries to uncover the mystery behind the murders, he uncovers an otherworldly secret that may be closer than he thinks. Though it’s tonally less apocalyptic than CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE BEYOND, the creeping suspense and gory FX should satisfy any Fulci fan. Contains violence and gore.
Gruesome supernatural slayings begin after a family moves into their new house.
Cast: Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco, Ania Pieroni, Giovanni Frezza, Silvia Collatina
Member Reviews
Though the weakest instalment in the trilogy, The House by the Cemetery is still worth a watch. Fulci’s penchant for overly long shots, plodding pace and a painful to watch (and worse to hear) child actor (I seriously think he grows up to be Slow Ass Motherfuckin’ Jeff) are compensated for by a creative take on the zombie genre, wild plot line and the wonderful Catriona MacColl. Though a disappointing end to the Gates of Hell, the gore was surprisingly good and the dial-down from vomit and gross-out moments was a relief in comparison to the previous two. I won’t be watching it again, but I didn’t want to shove a knife through my own head.
The bat scene reminded me of a Neil Breen movie!
so overly gorey that it's hilarious, especially since most of the kills are easily avoidable 🤣
Exactly what a “haunted house horror” movie should be.
While it's certainly the weakest of Fulci's "Gates of Hell" trilogy, and at least to my mind has the fewest links to the series' over-arching themes and some very questionable dubbing (all things being relative), I think the atmosphere is on-point and still makes for an enjoyable low-key haunting experience. It feels a little like what could have been a short story that got stretched out a bit too long. Definitely better if paired with something else, rather than a solo film experience.