In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Friday 14 October 2016

The House by the Cemetery (1981)

The House by the Cemetery is the final film in Lucio Fulci's unofficial Gates of Hell trilogy. Besides being filmed only a few years apart, the trio's kindred link is underground evils disrupting the living. In this case it's the mad Doctor Freudstein, an undead and homicidal surgeon bent on immortality. Cemetery is also the weakest of the three; containing a number of plot inconsistencies which render the film near incoherent. It's yet another vehicle for Fulci's penchant for gory mayhem. This seems to be the only component driving the cult status. Albeit the SFX are marginally better. At least the blood is more realistic. It does well maintain a level of suspenseful atmosphere up until the effective climax, but too many unresolved plot threads cast a fog over the entire film. 

2½ Bobs out of 5

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