La casa nel tempo

Two guys and a girl decide they are going to rob an isolated mansion owned by an eccentric old couple. Naturally, things get weird as the house is filled with clocks and the trio become trapped in the place. When it comes to Lucio Fulci's '80s horror films, I've only got a handful left that I haven't seen so I've been doling them out slowly over the years. This was one of his TV films, which is surprising as it is pretty dang gory. The story isn't any great shakes, but it moves at a considerable clip and never drags during its 80 minutes. And the film is well shot and the location is impressive. Look for Al Cliver as the couple's handyman.

More engaging than I expected after watching the earlier Sodoma's Ghost but the whole thing is still a bit ridiculous. It was also made-for-tv and so that's not surprising. I really enjoyed the beginning where the rich, lavish lifestyle of the mansion owners was juxtaposed with the lives of the thieves. However, it began and to drag somewhere in the middle, and the ending just started to go over the top and became ridiculous. Overall not bad as long as you know what Fulci's 80s output is like.

After The New York Ripper in 1982, the quality of Fulci's efforts as a filmmaker drastically declined. The impenetrable dark atmosphere and genuine artistry of his previous films was definitely on the way out, as is evidenced by such unremarkable video fodder as "Daemonia", "The Ghosts of Sodom", and "The New Gladiators".

Not everything the man did after "Ripper" is entirely forgettable, however - 1983's "Conquest" retains a lot of Fulci's hyper-gory, atmospheric sensibilities, and is demented fun in it's own right. "The House of Clocks" is also a fairly accomplished piece of work, and is probably the best of his post-1982 films.

Originally made for Italian television as part of a horror series (ala Tales from the Crypt), but deemed to gory for release, "The House of Clocks" really works fairly well. It has moments of genuine creepiness; hints of the strong, evil atmosphere Fulci was so adept at creating pop up here and there. The film is quite interestingly lit (many of his later pictures have a similar, glowing-like look to them), and contains a few memorable characters - not the least of which being the demented, wizened old couple, who seem kind and hospitable one moment, and are disemboweling you with a large metal spike the next. Also, there are several moments of the kind of gut-spilling gore we've come to expect from Mr. Fulci, which is more than welcome. One of the reasons that many of his films succeed are the over-the-top, positively nightmarish gore scenes. Save for "Cat in the Brain" and "Touch of Death", many of Fulci's later-career efforts shy away from the excessive gore, which turns many of them into colossal bores. This is not the case with "House of Clocks" - while not nearly up to the violence level of "The Beyond" or "New York Ripper", there are enough violent murders and scattered entrails to please the average Fulci fan, and nauseate anyone else.

While many Fulci fans will simply overlook "The House of Clocks", being that not only was it made in Fulci's autumn years but also for television, this would be a mistake - "The House of Clocks" is well-worth seeing for any admirer of the work of Lucio Fulci. Others might wanna beware, though.

Lucio Fulci made this film for Italian TV - as part of a series called Houses of Doom and including four films, of wich he did two (this one and "La Dolce Casa degli Orrori") and Umberto Lenzi the others ("La Casa delle Anime Erranti" and "La Casa dei Sortilegi"). An old couple lives in a big house that is filled with clocks, which are the old man's hobby. But the couple is everything else than nice: Within the first minutes, the missus kills her household lady in an extremely violent way. Three young delinquents break into the couple's home and kill them, but as soon as the old man is dead, the clocks stop ticking and then start going backwards. Trouble brewing for the three youngsters...

Fulci tells a surprisingly surrealist story here and manages to establish a thrilling atmosphere right from the beginning. As soon as the clocks go backwards, the film gets more and more absurd, giving Fulci enough opportunities to imply some humoresque moments. Even though this is a made for cable production, there are plenty of gore effects, and they are all nasty and "typically Fulci", if I may write so.

Of all the films Fulci made after 1982, this one is my personal favorite. Main reason is the startling story that is neither common nor standard, but very original. Highly recommended, not only for fans of gory horror (but certainly not for the squeamish).

The only reason why this film is getting excellent review in most books is the fact that Lucio Fulci made it. If his name wasn't on it, everyone will hate it. The film is boring, flat, and low on any suspense. Don't get me wrong, I love his films, but this one is just plain dull. Two guys and a girl (one of them kills a cat) drives to a old couples home (the couple has their son & wife dead in the basement). The 2 guys and a girl kills the boring couple and their gardener (Al Cliver, who looks very ill in this film). Suddenly, the clock goes backwards and they are terrorized for an hour (more like the audience is terrorized!). Some gore might make some die hard fans happy, but this film is just flat. The photography is dark, and I could see why this film never got U.S. sales. I had to buy a Japanese video print just to see it, and it really wasn't worth the effort. Go and rent ZOMBIE (aka ZOMBIE 2) again!