Year: 1981
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Quella villa accanto al cimitero
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Moving to a new house in the countryside, a family comes to believe their sons' claims that someone else is living in the house with them and realize a deformed serial killer indeed living in their basement conducting gruesome experiments forcing them to fight him off to get away alive.
Review:
While this is decidedly on the lower end of the spectrum, it's still a wholly enjoyable effort from Fulci. What really makes this one so enjoyable is the atmosphere here within the house as this setting gives the film a really creepy vibe that's quite suspenseful. From the woodlands creeping around the entire property, the generally decrepit and disused look washing over the house just in the condition it's left in as well as the basement laboratory where he goes through his experiments, this all comes together so well with the Gothic locations and wooden outlines it does make for a wholly creepy place to launch the atmospheric proceedings throughout here.
That also plays rather nicely into the other great ploy here in that the over-the-top bloodshed comes off in really fun, gruesome moments. These all come from the rather enjoyable stalking scenes that occur here as they pack a decided punch with some great, classic scenes including the opening attack on the copulating teens who break into the house to great kills each, the attack on the realtor sneaking up on her and getting an absolutely crazy kill as a result while the most suspenseful scene involves the babysitter which occurs down in the basement lair and sets off the rousing, charged finale.
That also plays rather nicely into the other great ploy here in that the over-the-top bloodshed comes off in really fun, gruesome moments. These all come from the rather enjoyable stalking scenes that occur here as they pack a decided punch with some great, classic scenes including the opening attack on the copulating teens who break into the house to great kills each, the attack on the realtor sneaking up on her and getting an absolutely crazy kill as a result while the most suspenseful scene involves the babysitter which occurs down in the basement lair and sets off the rousing, charged finale.
Again using the Gothic basement to full effect while also getting in some more in-depth work showing off the other mangled bodies strewn out on the table or hanging up on hooks ready to be utilized later on for his own use in the experiments which all manage to make the film’s final positive in its thrilling final half. Another great example is the way the killer is concealed, showing only a small portion of his appearance being shown a little at a time. Usually, all we get is an arm or a quick shot of his hand or his leg, and all these images combine together in our mind since he won't show us the complete form, and what we imagine is much more grotesque. Armed with great action carried out over its creepy locations, the big brawling against the killer all makes for a wholly enjoyable and entertaining effort.
There’s not a whole lot really wrong here with this one, but what does stick out here is the fact that the storyline to this one is so utterly confusing and scattershot that it doesn’t make any sense or even follows any kind of logic by leaving so many unanswered questions it’s mind-boggling how much is unexplored here. From the hinted-at yet never -explored marital affair between the two that’s never even brought up, the need to clarify the relationship between the boy and the girl based on the ending which itself is a wholly confusing matter, the manner in which he goes all the years undergoing experiments and killing in that house yet is simply thought of as an urban legend, this one raises so many questions yet never answers any of them at all in a thoroughly confusing storyline. Thankfully, it’s the only one present here.
There’s not a whole lot really wrong here with this one, but what does stick out here is the fact that the storyline to this one is so utterly confusing and scattershot that it doesn’t make any sense or even follows any kind of logic by leaving so many unanswered questions it’s mind-boggling how much is unexplored here. From the hinted-at yet never -explored marital affair between the two that’s never even brought up, the need to clarify the relationship between the boy and the girl based on the ending which itself is a wholly confusing matter, the manner in which he goes all the years undergoing experiments and killing in that house yet is simply thought of as an urban legend, this one raises so many questions yet never answers any of them at all in a thoroughly confusing storyline. Thankfully, it’s the only one present here.
Overview: ****/5
Because it trades in gore for suspense, this is a hit-or-miss entry among Fulci fans. The suspense does pull it up, but a lack of gore and a maddeningly slow first half of the film are reasons for concern among Fulci fans. Give it a shot if you like his movies or appreciate the flaws, but definitely don't start here as there are far better ones to introduce you to his work.
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