house by the cemetery

If you’re interested you can follow Fulci’s trail of blood right on into The House by the Cemetery. Released just a year after The Shining, Fulci’s film lifts many of the same spook house ingredients: blank-faced kid with psychic visions, creepy ghost girls, and (due to budgetary constraints, I’m sure) a small stream of blood rather than a service elevator. I’ll try for a synopsis, but early ‘80s Italian horror paid about as much attention to their plots as a five-year-old in advanced algebra class. It’s not that narrative logic was beyond him, but Fulci seemed to be competing toe-to-toe with rival Dario Argento (Suspiria) to see who could make the most non-sensical horror film. House comes awful close to winning the prize; blending ghosts, zombies and mad-scientists with several set-piece gross out effects. An over-the-top bat attack shows exactly how entertaining poor dubbing, rubber wings and gallons of fake blood can be! Blue Underground’s new Blu-ray edition is so scrubbed and squeaky clean, it looks as good as a film released last week. Extras includes all new HD interviews with the stars, writers and effects artists, plus the spooky TV spots that scared the crap out of me when I was a kid.