The House by the Cemetery

"You may have just mortgaged your life."

1981 1h 27m IT

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 456

Horror

Synopsis

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After a doctor kills his mistress and himself while researching the mysterious previous owner of his Boston home, his colleague, Dr. Norman Boyle, takes over his studies and moves his family into the Boston mansion. Soon after, Boyle's young son Bob becomes plagued by visions of a young girl, who warns him of the danger within the house.

“You may have just mortgaged your life.”

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Cast

Catriona MacColl
Lucy Boyle
Paolo Malco
Dr. Norman Boyle
Ania Pieroni
Ann, the Babysitter
Giovanni Frezza
Bob Boyle
Silvia Collatina
Mae Freudstein
Dagmar Lassander
Laura Gittleson
Giovanni De Nava
Dr. Freudstein
Gianpaolo Saccarola
Daniel Douglas

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lucio Fulci
Writers: Dardano Sacchetti, Lucio Fulci, Giorgio Mariuzzo
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lucio Fulci, shot by Sergio Salvati. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Walter Rizzati. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Vincenzo Tomassi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Catriona MacColl and Paolo Malco and Ania Pieroni carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You may have just mortgaged your life.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lucio Fulci directs. Sergio Salvati behind the camera. Walter Rizzati scores. Vincenzo Tomassi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
345 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Lucio Fulci, shot by Sergio Salvati. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Walter Rizzati. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Vincenzo Tomassi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Catriona MacColl and Paolo Malco and Ania Pieroni carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "You may have just mortgaged your life.".
9IMDB entry: tt0082966 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "haunted house", "gore", "mad scientist", "slasher".
11Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sergio Salvati
Original score: Walter Rizzati
Editing: Vincenzo Tomassi
Production design: Massimo Lentini
Costume design: Massimo Lentini
Makeup / hair: Giannetto De Rossi
Stunt coordinator: Nazzareno Cardinali
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $785,000
Box office: $1,845,819
Return: 235% of budget
Original language: IT
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The House by the Cemetery (1981)

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Lucio Fulci

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb179960752017-02-14
★ 8/10
If I have to be objective, I would say that I can understand why some people criticize "The House by the Cemetery" for being a film that lacks of logical explanations all the way through. As a matter of fact, regardless of how much I love this film and how biased I can be, I admit that it is overflowing with nonsensical and misleading sequences that only add a little bit of confusion. This is not the only occasion in which Mr. Fulci is accused of being ambiguous and practically senile for developing such random and unsystematic states of affairs in one his films. However, it is not the only time in which the results are unquestionably effective and unforgettable either. I think we ought to accept by now that several Italian horror movies, let alone the ones directed by Mr. Fulci, are not exactly to be praised because of their plot and exceedingly appropriate logic. The high point in "The House by the Cemetery", along with many other films directed by Lucio Fulci, is without doubt the atmosphere and pleasant demonstration of fear-provoking imagery. In "The House by the Cemetery", Dr. Boyle moves to the countryside in New England with his wife, Lucy and his obnoxious little son, Bobby. His purpose is to continue an unfinished research and finding out what happened to his colleague, who killed himself and slaughtered his mistress for no apparent reason. Dr. Boyle, who is pretty excited about the research and the fact that he's going to earn five thousand dollars extra, tries to cope with the constant ranting coming from his wife and little Bob, who claims he sees a little girl who says they shouldn't go to the house. Despite the consequences, Dr. Boyle prepares for his research, without even considering that Bobby's so-called hallucinations and lies should be taken seriously. In the cellar of the house, there's something waiting for them. Something that is beyond anyone's nightmare and the Boyles are about to find out what it is. Like I said before, it seems that many people were deeply offended by the lack of logic and while I'm not saying that this is untrue, personally, I don't think it's a blameworthy feature. Building up an extremely sensible story, obviously wasn't Lucio Fulci's strongest suit. However, what this film lacks of logic is surpassed with other things, for instance, Dr. Freudstein, who is definitely one of the most horrendous baddies and his bone-chilling appearance throughout the last minutes. The sequence in which we see the family trying to fight against this outlandish creature, taken from Mr. Fulci's worst nightmares, is by far one of the most shocking and professionally made scenes I have witnessed in a horror movie. Not to mention that there's also a nice share of gore as a bonus for those who are always in the mood for brutal murders and guts all over the place. It seems like I may be one of the few who enjoyed the nonsensical succession, like for example, the flash-back in which little Mae sees mannequin losing her head, or the eyes close-up or the arrival of Ann to the house. Those were some of the most criticized and somehow far-fetched little details that I personally enjoyed, for contributing to develop Mr. Fulci's nightmarish atmosphere, which is somehow his trademark. The music is also one of the things I really enjoyed about this film, although it seems like not many people noticed that little nicety. It's quite melancholic and beautiful. The same music is used from the beginning until the end, which somehow helps to create a less fearful atmosphere in the right moments. I think "The House by the Cemetery" is one of those films that only pleases horror fans who can appreciate Mr. Fulci's movies for what they are, instead of focusing on the ambiguity and the lack of logic. This movie is enjoyable for its atmosphere and nightmarish sequences and frankly...I wouldn't want it any other way.
JPV8522020-01-14
★ 4/10
Not a big fan of Lucio Fulci but I did enjoy Zombie. However, The House by the Cemetery is a mess of a horror film with mysterious elements, like how Professor Norman had been to this town before, goes nowhere (not to mention the mystery surrounding Ann, the babysitter) and despite a short running time, feels really tedious. Beyond that, in Fulci form, and most Italian horror, the dubbing is pretty bad and characters make dumb decisions. On the positive side, at least the gore effects weren't bad and there were a few creepy moments, even Fraudstein's prosthetics effects weren't bad, but everything else supersedes anything good. 2.0/5