I had been a Fulci fan from watching Zombi, but I had never seen this title before. I saw the trailer on another DVD and thought it looked good. But, unfortunately, the trailer is better than the movie. It also gives away a lot of the gore.
The basic plot: There is a really strange couple living in a big mansion filled with clocks and the bodies of their niece and nephew that are rotting in an odd chapel room. We soon discover that the maid has found the bodies and is so creeped out, she decides to leave. But she never makes it as the old woman kills her. And we find out she was maid number three. So right way, we know this couple is not what they appear to be.
Then we have three con artist thieves who come along hoping to steal from the house. And that's when things get interesting. They kill the couple and their handyman only to find that no one ever really dies in that house.
I thought a lot of the plot was good. Some of it was awful. There's one scene I just hated where the thieves suffocate a cat. And I found that to be irredeemable for this film, even though Fulci tries to make up for it at the end with an "undead cat's revenge" scene. I still hated it. And felt that was a real faulty script area. The entire ending seemed tacked on.
The gore is excellent. And it's interesting that this was a made for TV movie in Europe in 1980 since it would never have made it past the US censors. We don't even get anything near as gory today. That alone is reason to watch this film.
The creepiness of the house and the old couple was very good. The thieves were badly cast, stupid and inept.
If you're curious about Fulci's other works, I would say watch it for that. I wouldn't really go so far as to call it an old gem, but it will keep you amused for awhile.
I would like to see this remade at some point, updated. I think it has a lot of potential.
The basic plot: There is a really strange couple living in a big mansion filled with clocks and the bodies of their niece and nephew that are rotting in an odd chapel room. We soon discover that the maid has found the bodies and is so creeped out, she decides to leave. But she never makes it as the old woman kills her. And we find out she was maid number three. So right way, we know this couple is not what they appear to be.
Then we have three con artist thieves who come along hoping to steal from the house. And that's when things get interesting. They kill the couple and their handyman only to find that no one ever really dies in that house.
I thought a lot of the plot was good. Some of it was awful. There's one scene I just hated where the thieves suffocate a cat. And I found that to be irredeemable for this film, even though Fulci tries to make up for it at the end with an "undead cat's revenge" scene. I still hated it. And felt that was a real faulty script area. The entire ending seemed tacked on.
The gore is excellent. And it's interesting that this was a made for TV movie in Europe in 1980 since it would never have made it past the US censors. We don't even get anything near as gory today. That alone is reason to watch this film.
The creepiness of the house and the old couple was very good. The thieves were badly cast, stupid and inept.
If you're curious about Fulci's other works, I would say watch it for that. I wouldn't really go so far as to call it an old gem, but it will keep you amused for awhile.
I would like to see this remade at some point, updated. I think it has a lot of potential.