Ghosthouse

Umberto Lenzi would be the first to tell you that he isn't a horror director. Generally working on war and adventure films, he dabbled in the seedy climes of the giallo and the cannibal film in the 70s, but that was pretty much the closest he came to horror. That is, until he was roped in by, you guessed it, the nefarious Aristide Massacessi to make an "unofficial" entry into the EVIL DEAD series (the Italian title of which was LA CASA). Although it has sweet nothing to do with Raimi's movies, it's actually quite a tight little supernatural haunted house movie, owing much to the likes of SUPERSTITION...

Critically, I can't really defend some aspects of it. The acting, script, sound track and plot are totally absurd. Although somewhat endearing, the whole "possessed doll" thing does NOT work when you are using a miniscule special effects budget. There are a few nice gore set-pieces and as the story gets increasingly ridiculous, it's surprising to see that there are some quite atmospheric moments worked in. A lot of this is owed to the fact that Massacessi managed to scrape together enough lira to justify shooting the movie in autumnal Boston, rather than on a CineCitta sound stage. Further points are scored by a typically typecast appearance from sleaze regular Donald O'Brien, who puts in the usual hilariously grizzly performance.

If nothing else, watch this movie for the absurdly Americanised pseudonyms. Lenzi chooses to call himself "Humphrey Humbert", and if that isn't ludicrous enough, one of the actors goes under the moniker of "David Champagne"! This is surely only second to Mario Bava's "John Foam" as being the most laughable pseudonym in Italian movie history.

This film has a sequel starring David Hasselhoff and Linda Blair. I haven't actually seen it and by all accounts it is spectacularly terrible, yet I still somehow feel drawn towards it. Cinematic masochism.

I really loved this movie. The first time I saw this movie, I was over my aunt's house. I still am wondering where my aunt placed this movie because I am trying to get it back to be able to watch it. The noise that the little girl's doll made was silly and funny, but overall the gore, the plot, and the scenery (of the haunted house especially) was just breathtaking. The movie may be a little boring to you at times but not a whole lot. The movie does look like it has a cheap setting because it is a foreign film, but it is a must-see and it is better than most american made gory films. My rating is 8.5 out of 10 stars.

A radio recording prompts a couple to investigate an old house, they join up with a group of teens and make the silly decision to explore the house where the spirit of a little girl reside.

Directed by Umberto Lenzi under the pseudonym of Humphry Hubert and released as La casa 3 (to cash in on The Evil Dead) it's arguably one of Lenzi's most conventional films. Unfortunately it's hampered by a clunky script, some disjointed scenes and gobbledygook elements synonymous with Italian horror exploitation films.

In the golden age of practical effects Lenzi offers a stabbing with shears, a little hammer carnage and a character being cut in half. As the group are killed off one by one there's also maggot infested knife wielding (a pre Wes Craven Scream-like cloaked) skeleton, taps spurting blood, severed heads, exploding light bulbs and jars, a Clown Doll (reminiscent of the one in Poltergeist) and also an obligatory 80s shock ending. With a possessed camper van there's all the ingredients you'd expect as the mystery unfolds and they track down the origin of the evil.

Plodding pacing aside there's some good nostalgia value in Ghost House right down to the CB radios. The house and its location are creepy (it also appears in Lucio Fulci's The House by the Cemetery) and the ghost of the girl gives a few chills.

While it's no comparable Fulci cult classic, Lenzi offers some gory kills but what will stay under your skin long after the credits is the genuinely disturbing, eerie, repetitive verse.

How can you not like this movie?! Not only was it good, but it was also good! Sure the acting isn't the best and the dubbing is a little off, but that's not what made the movie what it was anyway! The nursery song is soooo creepy! And the little girl, freaks me out every time. The beginning is the best though...

Ghosthouse is a chilling haunted house tale with twists and turns that eventually lead up to confusion and unanswered questions. However, the film when it is not incoherent, is actually very enjoyable. It has many effective scare scenes and a twisted musical hymn, that will send chills down your spine for sure. So, in short, a relatively above average haunted house tale, rather good compared to late 80's horror, but an amateurish cast and a plot that tends to jump around emphatically, almost sinks the film. Almost. Worth a look.