Blu-ray Review: House By The Cemetery

For fans of horror movies, the early 1980s were a great time. And director Lucio Fulci’s output during this time was particularly good, and included such work as City Of The Living Dead, The Beyond, The New York Ripper, and of course The House By The Cemetery. Now The House By The Cemetery has been released as a special three-disc limited edition Blu-ray set, and it looks fantastic in its new 4K restoration. The movie stars Catriona MacColl (billed as Katherine MacColl), Paolo Malco, Ania Pieroni and Giovanni Frezza, and is a frightening and spooky tale of a family that moves into what may be a haunted house in Massachusetts. This three-disc set contains a lot of special features, including the film’s soundtrack and a booklet with a piece written by Michael Gingold.

When it opens, The House By The Cemetery has the feel of a slasher film. Its first sequence takes place inside the seemingly abandoned house, which is in a state of disrepair, with cobwebs covering everything. A good spot for a romantic liaison, right? But the couple soon discover that the house isn’t completely abandoned after all. After the woman is killed, the camera focuses on her hand, which bears a ring. Then interestingly the film shifts to the killer’s hands as he grabs her legs to drag her to the cellar, and we see that his right hand is deformed. The film is masterfully shot, even this slasher sequence. And the movie, though containing a certain amount of gore, is no slasher film. The opening credits play over a shot of the house in daylight, and as the sequence comes to a close, the camera pushes in on one of the windows, where a young girl opens the curtains to look directly at us in surprise. It’s a surprise for us too. That shot then becomes a black and white still, and as the camera pulls back from it, we find that the photo hangs on the wall of a home in New York, where a child named Bob sits, looking at the girl. Lucy (Catriona MacColl), the child’s mother, does not see the girl. How is that for an intriguing opening? We are very quickly moving away from the slasher element. This wonderfully creepy vibe that is established early on is maintained well throughout the film, and works to keep us on edge.

Lucy’s husband, Norman (Paolo Malco), is taking over the research project of a colleague who went crazy and killed himself, and has decided to take Lucy and Bob up to Massachusetts for – as he says – a little vacation. People seem to recognize Norman, though he says he’s never been there before, and the little girl from the photo begins appearing to Bob. “You shouldn’t have come, Bob,” she tells him. And soon the family is making itself at home in that big house, Lucy of course a bit unnerved that it is the same house from her husband’s photo. And as Norman gets to work, following his predecessor’s research, he begins to get obsessed with the same thing that the other man became fixated on, something that is putting his entire family in grave danger. Sure, there are some similarities to The Shining, what with a husband taking his wife and young child to a remote location so that he can write, but this film has its own style, its own vibe. And there are plenty of creepy elements, such as the mysterious babysitter and the tomb in the floor, and of course the boarded up door to the basement. It’s a frightening and spooky movie, some of which was shot in Concord, Massachusetts, near where I grew up. The only thing that mars the film is the awful voice work of whoever dubs Bob.

Disc One Special Features

This three-disc set contains a whole lot of bonus material. The first disc includes a commentary track by Troy Howarth, author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci And His Films (he also provided commentary on Fulci’s The New York Ripper). Howarth talks about Fulci’s appearance in the film, and does mention the influence of The Shining. He also talks about the character of Bob, and how a lot of people hate that voice and find fault in the actor’s performance rather than the voice actor.

The first disc also includes a deleted scene, a short continuation of the bat scene, which is presented without sound, as the sound elements have been lost. There are also two trailers, a television spot, and two photo galleries featuring posters and other promotional materials.

Disc Two: Special Features

The second disc is full of bonus material, some of which was included on the 2011 video release, some of which is new. The older material includes a series of interviews with cast members. Meet The Boyles features interviews with Catriona MacColl and Paolo Malco, in which they talk about working with Lucio Fulci, about shooting in New England and about that bat scene. Catriona MacColl’s interview is conducted in English; Paolo Malco’s is in Italian. This feature is approximately fourteen minutes. Children Of The Night contains interviews with Giovanni Frezza and Silvia Collatina, who played the children in the film. Silvia mentions that her hand was used as the killer’s hand in the film. Both interviews are conducted in English. This is approximately twelve minutes. Tales Of Laura Gittleson is an interview with Dagmar Lassander, in which she talks about her film career, including an interesting anecdote about a cat. This interview is approximately nine minutes. And My Time With Terror is an interview with Carlo De Mejo, who talks about his film career, focusing on his work in horror films. This is also approximately nine minutes. Both the Dagmar Lassander and Carlo De Mejo interviews are conducted in English.

A Haunted House Story contains interviews with co-writers Dardano Sacchetti and Elisa Briganti, conducted in Italian, with English subtitles. Dardano Sacchetti mentions that death is the one thing we all have in common, though our ideas about death are different. Elisa Briganti says that the finished films are never what she imagined when writing them. They also both talk about the deliberately ambiguous ending. This feature was also from 2011, and is approximately fourteen minutes. To Build A Better Death Trap contains interviews with cinematographer Sergio Salvati, special makeup effects artist Maurizio Trani, special effects artist Gino De Rossi, and actor Giovanni De Nava. They get into some detail on several of the film’s effects. And wow, there is no way I would have been able to put that blade contraption in my mouth. They also talk about the character and look of Dr. Freudstein. These interviews are conducted in Italian. This was also included on the 2011 video release.

As for the new bonus material, House Quake is an interview with co-writer Giorgio Mariuzzo, who offers his thoughts and recollections on Lucio Fulci. Mariuzzo tells us: “Now, horror is something I make, not something I watch. I am too easily scared.” This interview was conducted in Italian, and presented with English subtitles. It is approximately fifteen minutes. Calling Dr. Freudstein is an interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Beyond Terror: The Films Of Lucio Fulci. He talks about the film, the cast, and the locations. This interview is approximately nineteen and a half minutes. The new bonus material also includes a Q&A with Catriona MacColl, which was filmed on May 10, 2014 and moderated by Calum Waddell. MacColl talks about her name being changed for the film credits, and is asked for her thoughts on the ending of the film. This feature is approximately thirty minutes.

Disc Three: Soundtrack CD

The third disc is a CD containing the film’s soundtrack. There is nearly an hour of music on it, which is surprising for a movie that is only eighty-six minutes. I didn’t realize how much music was in this film, though of course some tracks are variations on recurring themes. Most of the music was composed, arranged and conducted by Water Rizzati, with a few tracks composed, arranged and conducted by Alessandro Blonksteiner. As you might imagine, there are some good, eerie tracks, such as “Voci Dal Terrore” and “Walt Monster End.”

The House By The Cemetery was directed by Lucio Fulci. The three-disc limited edition was released on Blu-ray on  January 21, 2020 through Blue Underground.