The House by the Cemetery

As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, director Lucio Fulci (Don't Torture a Duckling, City of the Living Dead) increasingly specialised in the dark, ultraviolent horror movies which would earn him the affectionate moniker 'the Godfather of Gore'. The third and final instalment in his 'Gates of Hell' trilogy, 1981's The House by the Cemetery showcases the malevolent maestro at his blood-drenched best. The Boyles - Lucy (Catriona MacColl, The Beyond), Norman (Paolo Malco, The New York Ripper) and their young son Bob (Giovanni Frezza, Demons) - relocate from New York City to an ageing house in rural New England. But the evil force which lurks in its basement has already claimed the previous occupant and now has its sights set on the new owners. Soon, the unsuspecting family will become only too familiar with the dark secret of the monstrous Dr Freudstein... Featuring a cast of Italian horror royalty, including Ania Pieroni (Tenebrae) and Dagmar Lassander (Fulci's The Black Cat), sumptuous widescreen cinematography by long-term Fulci collaborator Sergio Salvati (Zombie Flesh Eaters) and a nerve-jangling soundtrack by Walter Rizzati (1990: Bronx Warriors).