VAULT ID: the-house-by-the-cemetery-1981

The House by the Cemetery

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CAST & CREW
Catriona MacColl Catriona MacColl Lucy Boyle
Paolo Malco Paolo Malco Dr. Norman Boyle
Ania Pieroni Ania Pieroni Ann, the Babysitter
Giovanni Frezza Giovanni Frezza Bob Boyle
Silvia Collatina Silvia Collatina Mae Freudstein
Dagmar Lassander Dagmar Lassander Laura Gittleson
Giovanni De Nava Giovanni De Nava Dr. Freudstein
Gianpaolo Saccarola Gianpaolo Saccarola Daniel Douglas
Carlo De Mejo Carlo De Mejo Mr. Wheatley
Kenneth A. Olsen Kenneth A. Olsen Harold
Teresa Rossi Passante Teresa Rossi Passante Mary Freudstein
Elmer Johnsson Elmer Johnsson Cemetery Caretaker
Ranieri Ferrara Ranieri Ferrara Victim
Daniela Doria Daniela Doria First Female Victim
Pino Colizzi Pino Colizzi Peterson (voice) (uncredited)
DEEP DIVE
TRIVIA
THEORIES
PLOT
  • The film was one of the UK's prosecuted 'video nasties' under the Obscene Publications Act — cut and recut versions circulated on home video for years, and it wasn't released fully uncut in Britain until 2009 (the 2001 reissue still had roughly 33 seconds trimmed).
  • The house exterior is the real Ellis Estate in Scituate, Massachusetts (also later used in 1988's Ghosthouse), while the interiors were built at the De Paolis studios in Rome to stretch the budget.
  • Catriona MacColl was cast as Lucy Boyle after previously starring in Fulci's City of the Living Dead and The Beyond, making her the unofficial lead of his 'Gates of Hell' trilogy.
  • The cellar bat that mauls Norman's hand was a rubber/mechanical prop rigged on fishing line, not a live animal — the gruesome bite was practical effects work by the film's special effects team, not an on-set accident.
  • Fulci called the film his answer to Kubrick's The Shining, saying he didn't think Kubrick's version was dark enough — though in other interviews he claimed he'd never even heard of The Shining, so take the 'homage' framing with a grain of salt.

Collector's Corner

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