PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Few directors of the ’70s and ’80s era of Italian horror are held in such high regard as Lucio Fulci. With gruesome titles like The House by the Cemetery and City of the Living Dead, it’s safe to say that this horror legend had his own refined style of goretastic thrills, chills and mystery, often centering around unworldly damnation. One Fulci classic in particular is The Beyond, to which indie director Todd Sheets (Bonehill Road – read our review here, Zombie Bloodbath) pays tribute in his haunting paranormal feature, House of Forbidden Secrets.
After suffering through a series of misfortunes, Jacob Hunt (Antwoine Steele: Bonehill Road, Sleepless Nights) finally catches a break, landing a job as the overnight security guard at the Shadow View Manor. However, appearances can be deceiving as his luck is about to go from bad to worse. While night begins to fall on the Manor, the new guard is accompanied on a tour by the building’s maintenance manager, Jackson Kincade (Bryan Davis), who run into documentarians Wayne Harris (Brad Westmar) and Tamera Davis (Millie Milan: Bonehill Road). Jacob and Jackson join the filmmakers who are attending a séance lead by psychic Cassie Traxler (Nicole Santorella) and her assistant, Hanna Martin (Michaela Paxton Tarbell).
Unbeknownst to the séance attendees, the Manor has a dark past, which spells disaster for this group’s attempt at contacting the dead. After a disembodied voice emerges from Cassie calling for blood, a shock wave of energy blasts through the circle, breaking the psychic connection to the spirit world. With it being the anniversary of a grisly mass murder long since forgotten, this is only the beginning as angry, tormented souls, lead by a deranged priest, bleed through the dimensions, threatening the lives of Jacob and his newfound friends.
Initially released in 2013, House of Forbidden Secrets was re-released by Unearthed Films last November. Anyone familiar with Unearthed Films has an idea of the horror that they dip their fingers into. Although this film is much tamer than the distribution company’s infamous American Guinea Pig series, there are outright grotesque moments throughout, along with a touch of blasphemy that makes this title worthy of the Unearthed stamp of approval.
Speaking of guts and gore, House of Forbidden Secrets opens with a death scene featuring a terrified women, several ghouls and a string of large intestine. While this scene is purposefully placed to grab your attention, I felt House of Forbidden Secrets had the potential to showcase something more twisted and provocative to serve the intended purpose. After all, there is no shortage of blood-soaked imagery in this feature.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to dig this low-budget feature with its rough beginning. Perhaps due to an overabundance of unnecessary characters being introduced with little or no backstory, a clear focus seemed to be missing… that is, until the séance. As the group closes its circle, a developing plot manifests. A few of the scenes leading up to the séance may have been better left out of the film’s final cut, jumping from the opening scene straight into Jacob’s tour, a sequence that may have also been helped along with unseen flashback apparitions from the building’s dark past momentarily appearing as Jacob and Jackson move from room to room.
Once the séance commences and the Manor’s secrets begin to seep through the veil, House of Forbidden Secrets gains ghostly momentum. Steele, Santorella, Milan and Tarbell start to fall into their roles, becoming much more likable, while Davis and Westmar offer a touch of comic relief. However, the story really kicks into gear when the murder that haunts the Manor is revealed, and the screen is stolen by the devilish performance of Lew Temple (The Devil’s Rejects, 31, The Walking Dead) as Elias Solomon, a vile priest with a warped moral compass.
Despite the slow and shaky beginning, Todd Sheets captures the overall tone that fits Fulci’s style. Utilizing similar hellish practical effects and a soundtrack composition by Fabio Frizzi – whom some will know as Fulci’s composer for The Beyond – Sheets’ endows thought and passion into this classic throwback. Combining fun cameos by Ari Lehman (Friday the 13th, The Barn) and Troma Entertainment’s Lloyd Kaufman, a compelling story and an unforeseeable Fulci-esque twist ending, House of Forbidden Secrets is an indie homage to the late Italian filmmaker, while also remaining a work of its own. This is one indie feature for fans missing the days of classic paranormal horror.
