PopHorror Let's Get Scared
More standalone Blu-ray releases of The Houses of Doom set, this time it’s a fun, crazy, two-fer from Italian schlockmeister Umberto Lenzi (Nightmare City)! Originally slated for European television, these long lost films are finally seeing the light of day courtesy of Cauldron Films.
The House of Lost Souls
Synopsis
“A group of people stay at a run down hotel, unknown to them the hotel has a dodgy past with the landlord.”
Okay, you’re a young geology student, traveling back from an expedition with a group of fellow students, and you need a place to rest for the night because a landslide had, conveniently, blocked your route home. Why, stop at the Hermit Hotel of course! It’s only closed, full of spider webs, and inhabited by a creepy-ass old guy, what’s the worst that could happen?
In a nutshell, that is the premise of The House of Lost Souls. Kids stay in creepy place, kids get dead, right? Oh no, not in this little slice of trashy madeness!! The group of kids: Kevin (Joseph Allan Johnson; Slumber Party Massacre), Mary (Laurentina Guidotti; Daydreams), Carla (Stefania Orsola Garello; King Arthur), Massimo (Matteo Gazzolo; Body Puzzle), Guido (Gianluigi Fogacci; Yuki), Daria (Licia Colo; Le Finte Bionde) and the omnipresent annoying child, Gianluca (Constantino Meloni; Women of Wonders) find themselves in a horrifying tempest of crazy visuals, and strange hauntings via some decidedly unrestful spirits hanging around after a past massacre at the establishment.
While the cast may seem unfamiliar to genre fans (not a ton of horror credits among them), the music will make you feel right at home, as, in addition to the Claudio Simonetti (Goblin) originals, there’s also some musical cues recycled here from his work in Demons and Opera. With the usual suspect visual effects, there’s some excellent splattery make-up effects (again, courtesy of Elio Terribili) to temper things.
And, wow! Are there some moments in this flick! You’re treated to: a hatcheted Budda, bear traps, skeletons in wheelchairs, tarantulas, and, yes, menacing appliances (a clothes dryer decapitation, an evil freezer, and bleeding light fixtures)! Add in some suspect translations (“The doctors gave you a reasonable explanation, you have psychic powers” ) and The House of Lost Souls, while not making a whole lot of sense, or treading any new ground, absolutely makes for a fun filled view!
The House of Witchcraft
Synopsis
“A man has dreams of a house and a witch, his girlfriend suggests a break and and head for her family home unbeknown to him the house is the same as in his dreams.”
As done by many of his contemporaries (especially his counterpart in this series, Lucio Fulci), Lenzi favors atmospherics over plot in The House of Witchcraft.
A troubled journalist Luke (Andy Forest; Lambada) just needs a break from his recurring nightmare of a decrepit witch (the unfortunately named Maria Quasimodo; The Commander) boiling his noggin in a pot. An isolated house in the country, which also happens to be the exact one in his dreams, is the perfect choice to make, right?
Owned by a blind pianist (Paul Muller; Lady Frankenstein) who likes to intimately touch faces, things take a further turn for the worse with the arrival of Luke’s wife Martha (Sonia Petrovna; Indian Summer), and daughter Debra (Maria Musy; Frivolous Lola). His sister-in-law/psychiatrist Elsa (Susanna Martinkova; Who Wants To Kill Jessie?) is little help as the house’s dark secrets reveal themselves, Martha’s occult facinations come with a price, and Luke’s sanity begins to erode quickly.
With an impossibly slow pace, and lackluster gore scenes, The House of Witchcraft is easily the weakest of the Houses of Doom series. While there’s a few inspired moments, they’re negated by the outright absurdity of some of the set pieces: a huge cook fire in the kitchen, mysterious wounds that are never explained, a sus cat, and a promising occult plot device that goes nowhere are just a few of the chinks in the plotline armor.
Unintentional humor abounds too: an electrical problem with the lights (this is almost ALWAYS demons!), and Debra’s doomed boyfriend (Alberto Frasca; Maramao) looks as if Napoleon Dynamite and Screech from Saved By The Bell had a love child, and these things, while entertaining to be sure, ultimately serve to take you out of the film proper. Cool visuals somewhat make up for the large “misses” by Lenzi here, but as a whole, The House of Witchcraft is a failed attempt at the ubiquitous “ambiguiously plotted occult Euro shocker” that so many other directors have done much better.
Visually, both films’ transfers look great, with cool new box art, and the interviews and commentaries, specific to the films, that are normally included.
While both films have some fun moments to offer, The House of Lost Souls is the clear winner here, with it’s kooky plot, comely cast, and bizarre violence. The House of Witchcraft almost seems like “Lenzi doing Fulci” and fails at that lofty goal.
If you’re a fan on 80’s Italio-splatter, and really who isn’t? Definitely check out the entire series. Just watch out when you’re doing laundry, dryers can be dangerous!!
Cauldron Films’ Blu-ray releases of The House of Lost Souls and The House of Witchcraft are available now from fine retailers.
