{"id":19826,"date":"2020-01-20T01:30:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T09:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=19826"},"modified":"2020-01-20T01:30:54","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T09:30:54","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-the-house-by-the-cemetery-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=19826","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following disc is available January 21st<\/sup> from\nBlue Underground (<\/strong>www.blue-underground.com<\/strong><\/a>\n– <\/strong>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlueUndergroundFilms\/<\/strong><\/a>)\nas a 3-Disc Limited Edition\/4K Restoration Blu-ray.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The late 1970s and early 1980s were a great time for fans of\nhorror features. They were being produced and released at such a rapid rate it\nwas difficult to keep up with them all. At this time, many enthusiasts found\nHollywood horror fare becoming a bit too familiar and started checking out\nfilms from around the globe. Italian producers certainly leapt on the genre\ntrend and produced a number of scary, bizarre and sometimes campy flicks that\nhave amassed a huge cult following. One of the filmmaking legends during this\nera was Lucio Fulci. This week, Blue Underground are releasing a Blu-ray of The\nHouse by the Cemetery<\/em>, which arrived during the gore-maestro\u2019s most\nprolific period. This 3-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray is absolutely phenomenal\nand will please any genre fan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House by the Cemetery<\/em> is a curious amalgam of\nmany popular trends in horror at the time. It certainly has haunted house\nelements similar to The Shining<\/em>, The Amityville Horror<\/em> and The\nChangeling<\/em>, as well as a staggering, undead maniac with rotting flesh reminiscent\nof Dawn of the Dead<\/em> and Fulci\u2019s own Zombie<\/em>, City of the Living\nDead<\/em> and The Beyond<\/em>. Of course, the inspirations were all filtered\nthrough the director\u2019s very unique perspective. That means the film includes\nnonsensical story elements, copious amounts of bloodshed and gore, as well as\nimpressive camera tricks including wild zooms and close-ups of eyes. The\nresults aren\u2019t high art, but the movie is stylish and gives horror fans a lot\nto appreciate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comparison with other Fulci works, the story is a bit\nmore retrained and relies more on atmosphere\u2026 well, between its incredibly graphic\nand exaggerated killings. In New York, researcher Norman Boyle (Paolo Marco)\nreceives word that a university associate has murdered their spouse and\ncommitted suicide. When asked to wrap up the doctor\u2019s research by moving his\nfamily into the Boston-area home where the deceased prof lived, Norman agrees\nwithout hesitation. His wife Lucy (Catriona MacColl) and son Bob (Giovanni\nFrezza) become uneasy soon after arriving. Perhaps it has something to do with\nthe odd behavior of their babysitter, the cemetery on their property, their boarded-up\nbasement, or a grave marker located within the house. Or maybe the fact that an\nundead Victorian surgeon Dr. Freudstein (Giovanni De Nava) still resides there,\nstalking and murdering anyone he can get his hands on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned in the opening paragraphs, these filmmakers\nwere following trends, and the extraordinary gore on display was a means of\nthese smaller Italian productions finding a way to stand out and compete with their\nHollywood competitors. There is nothing subtle about the feature, which means\nthat while there are some eye-rolling clich\u00e9s, a great many grotesque and\nhorrifyingly shocking things do<\/em> occur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewers just have to be willing to accept that a lot of the\nbehavior on display is completely irrational given the events occurring.\nActually, the oddness of it actually adds to the fun, as some of their poor\ndecisions are amusingly silly to witness and, in some respects, lighten the\nmood. Additionally, while the resolution and details of the ending aren\u2019t\nclear, it isn\u2019t a detriment to the film. One could argue that the vagueness\nadds something interpretive about all that has occurred and what it all might\nmean.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And speaking of the weird characters, the dubbing job on the\nyoung Bob is odd, with an adult-sounding, piercing voice added in. This is all\ndue to the fact that most European movies were not shot with sync-sound and\nmost of the dialogue was placed in later. Children\u2019s voices were often recorded\nby female actresses (the practice is still frequently used to this day), who were\nconsidered to have a closer timbre to that of a child than an adult male.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At least on a technical level, the film is exceptional. It\u2019s\nbeautifully shot in widescreen on impressively designed sets that include\ncolorful stained-glass window backdrops. These contrast the shadowy,\ncobweb-covered basement housing a very disfigured resident. The new 4K transfer\nis superb and stunning to take in. My memories of these films have always been\nof grainy and fuzzy images; this new picture looks so crisp and striking that\nit makes one appreciate the photography more than ever.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the murder set pieces are elaborate and disturbing, with\nincredible prosthetic and mechanical effects. Some grisly moments include a\nknife being plunged through a victim\u2019s skull and out their mouth, a poker\npiercing the jugular vein of another victim (causing blood to spray from the\nwound like a sprinkler) and a throat being ripped out by the hand of the undead\nmonster. In the end, horror fans should find it easy to overlook some of the\nItalian production eccentricities and enjoy the movie for what it is \u2013 a bloody\ngood time that will make viewers squirm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Blu-ray offers a whole lot of extra material for fans to\ndigest. All the goods from a previous release nearly a decade ago have been\nported over and cleaned up. This includes publicity materials and interviews\nwith all of the main cast members who offer their stories about the shoot. Just\nabout all mention Fulci\u2019s reputation for being gruff and blunt, but still\ndescribe him as a professional and tell amusing tales about working with him. Of\ncourse, some stories will raise eyebrows, as the cast had to perform stunts\ninvolving axes and other unpleasantries that sound potentially dangerous. Talks\nwith the screenwriters are also included, who describe how they ended up\nworking for Fulci. Some of their ideas of who came up with what story elements are\ncontradictory, but it\u2019s all entertaining to hear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a wonderful feature with the cinematographer\nand make-up effects personnel. The director of photography talks about how the\ninternational off-balance framing techniques were used to create a palpable sense\nof unease. It\u2019s also remarkable to hear about how the make-up crew designed and\ncreated the effects for those jarring murder scenes. In particular, a mouth\npiece a performer wore in their mouth that projected the end of a knife-blade coming\nout.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If that wasn\u2019t enough, you\u2019ll also get some incredible new add-ons.\nThe movie arrives with a recently recorded film historian commentary. There\u2019s a\nlot of fascinating information relayed about the director\u2019s odd working methods\nand Italian horror films of the period. The speaker also really wants you to\nknow that he doesn\u2019t consider the antagonist, Dr. Freudstein, to be a zombie. This\nreviewer disagrees, although concedes that the monster isn\u2019t a traditional,\nRomero-esque ghoul. Still, the rotting figure shuffles like one of the undead,\nhas lost all semblance of humanity, has no working organs (when he\u2019s cut open,\nhe\u2019s filled with maggots and partially liquified entrails). He isn\u2019t exactly\nconducting any experiments in that basement either, only stabbing people or\ntearing them apart with a blank expression. I suppose the debate will continue\non and viewers can define Dr. Freudstein as whatever they prefer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The set also includes over an hour of new featurettes. One\nincludes an interview with another of the writers who details their experiences\nwith the filmmaker. There\u2019s a great discussion with Stephen Thrower, the author\nof a book on the movies of Lucio Fulci. This segment is packed with information\nabout this particular period in the director\u2019s career and how the film differs\nslightly from his other features. Also exceptional is a Q&A with star\nCatriona MacColl. The actress answers excellent questions about her work experiences\nwith Fulci. She also discusses her initial reaction to the three films she starred\nin for the director, when her feelings about the pictures started to change\nfrom negative to positive, and her appreciation for a continually growing\nfanbase.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also included in the set is a fun extra in the form of a CD presenting\nthe film\u2019s complete score. The music is quite enjoyable to listen to (in fact,\nI\u2019ve had it on as I have been writing this review). It\u2019d make a great disc to\nplay in one\u2019s residence over Halloween, or as trick-or-treaters arrive at the\ndoor. These kinds of special bonuses are most welcome and appreciated.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, The Beyond<\/em> is probably still my personal favorite\nLucio Fulci effort. However, after re-watching The House by the Cemetery<\/em>,\nthis title does make an impression as a very entertaining film with plenty of\natmosphere. In fact, it actually stands among the very best pictures in his\nfilmography. The Blue Underground Blu-ray is absolutely incredible and is a\nmust-own for fans of the filmmaker, or those with a deep appreciation of\nItalian horror. Check it out – you won\u2019t be disappointed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following disc is available January 21st from Blue Underground (www.blue-underground.com – https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlueUndergroundFilms\/) as a 3-Disc Limited Edition\/4K Restoration Blu-ray. The late 1970s and early 1980s were a great time for fans of horror features. They were being produced and released at such a rapid rate it was difficult to keep up with them all. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[113,299,342,2923,2928,3067,3202,4019,8333,9319,10039,10042,12758,14197,15691,18515,21018],"class_list":["post-19826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-113","tag-4k","tag-80s","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review","tag-blu-ray","tag-blue-underground","tag-catriona-maccoll","tag-giovanni-frezza","tag-horror","tag-italian","tag-italy","tag-lucio-fulci","tag-monster-movie","tag-paolo-marco","tag-slasher","tag-the-house-by-the-cemetery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19826\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}