PopHorror Let's Get Scared
If you aren’t aware of Lucio Fulci, I would take this time to suck in every movie you can. Envelop this genius of early 80’s gore. Folks rally around the “Fulci Lives!” slogan. There is a reason, and House by the Cemetery is one of them. I started on Fulci movies really early, from movies like ZOMBIE and House by the Cemetery.
Let’s jump in!
Synopsis
A New England home is terrorized by a series of murders, unbeknownst to the guests that a gruesome secret is hiding in the basement.
The Rundown
One famous talking point of any Fulci movie is the horrible dubbing. The stuff that sounds like an AI voice of today. It honestly made the films that much scarier. I was always amused and uncomfortable listening to these voices that slipped into your head. Then you realize that, in each movie, it’s the same people dubbing it over. House by the Cemetery was no different; it carried the same moments when you wonder whether to look away. Each kill is mesmerizing, and asking “did they go too far here?” Although the film is tame compared to today’s horror films. In the early 80’s, some moments would get the entire world in an uproar. House by the Cemetery helped usher in some of the best schlock films we know today.
Raising Me Right
House by the Cemetery delivered a gut punch to the groin, or it almost feels like it after watching the first kill. Each murder becomes more menacing and leaves you on the edge of your seat, just in case you have to hit fast forward. House by the Cemetery highlighted Fulci’s best work outside of his films that raised the dead. House by the Cemetery still stands strong for that very reason. Fulci knew how to turn a stomach, and he delivered it slowly, making one dread each inch coming closer and closer in tense kill scenes. The film delivered each hit slowly, keeping you on the edge of your seat, even when the kill begins. However, the death scenes were not that dramatic or slow.
I have been a fan of this film for a very long time, and watching it today still hits me the same way as it did in my younger years. Is that too young for horror movies? Believe me, I saw a lot more in the films that brought me to horror in general. The problem comes with the punishment that horror was taboo for children; the film was one of the many movies that made my extended family cringe. I watched the people I love stop talking to me because of movies. It wasn’t weird or violent. I just liked monsters, and as I grew into my teenage years, I saw movies that would deem House by the Cemetery as silliness.
In The End
In the end, I am always going to refer to this film as one of the defining moments in making me a gorehound. I knew of slashers, but they were pretty basic to my 11-year-old standard. I wanted more out of the films. like creativity instead of the same story with a few words changed. House by the Cemetery was a story that made me clutch my My Pet Monster to protect me, even though I wasn’t truly scared; it was just a safety mechanism that I still rely on today.
