During the 1980s, the Italian film industry began to wind down. But TV reached out to three directors- Lamberto Bava (Demons) (who eventually had to bow out), Lucio Fulci (The Beyond) and Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferrox) to create made-for-TV horror films about haunted homes under the title: Houses of Doom. Well, what was turned in by the directors was deemed way too violent for TV and the shows were shelved until the home video market caused some of them to finally see the light of day. Included in this box set from Cauldron is the four rarities from Fulci and Lenzi, digitally remastered from their 16mm negatives and ready to be re-evaluated by fans of these two iconic Italian genre directors.
The Sweet House of Horrors. When a wealthy couple is brutally murdered by a burglar in their mansion, their young son and daughter return to the house with their Uncle (Jean-Christophe Bretigniere/Rats: Night of Terror) and Aunt (Cinzia Monreale/The Beyond). But the spirits of their dead parents appear to the children (often in two floating flames) and wreak bloody havoc on anyone trying to interfere like the greedy, overweight real estate agent (Franco Diogene) or the untrustworthy handyman (Lino Salemme). Lucio Fulci borrows elements from early films but the script meanders all over the place. There are some fun moments though. The extras include a delightful new interview with Cinzia Monreale– who is even more beautiful today. Also with FX expert Elio Terribili and an archival interview with Lino Salemme (who has that amazing face and played villains in many Italian films like Demons and Demonia). There is audio commentary by Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth and it also includes the CD of the soundtrack by Vince Tempera.
The House of Clocks. Three freewheeling thieves decide to invade the villa of a seemingly kindly old couple who live in a house filled with ticking time pieces. When the home invasion turns deadly the clocks begin to spin backwards bringing the dead back to life. Unable to leave the house because of guard dogs growling outside, the three young punks fight to stay alive from the vengeful corpses in the house. There’s something genuinely creepy about this Lucio Fulci film, especially with all the time-twisting logic and gory killings. Al Cliver (The Beyond) plays the weird, one-eyed, gardener. Filmed with soft focus lenses there’s an eerie, dream-like quality about it. The extras include a new interview with cinematographer Nino Celeste on how he came to work with Fulci; an interview with the composer Vince Tempera; a conversation with first AD Michele De Angelis and archival interviews and audio commentary by Eugenio Ercolani, Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. Also included is a CD of the soundtrack by Vince Tempera.
The House of Witchcraft. Luke (Andy J. Forest), a journalist, has had a series of recurring nightmares about running through the woods and arriving at a house where he finds an old witch cackling over a bubbling cauldron as she places his own head in the pot. His wife Martha (Sonia Petrovna) suggests they take a trip to the country to heal their fractured marriage (her obsession with all things occult has damaged their relationship). To Luke’s horror the place she has rented is the house of his dreams. Also, staying in the sprawling home (which also includes a greenhouse of sumptuous plants) lives a blind musician (Paul Muller) and his visiting niece Sharon (Marina Giulia Cavalli). Soon Martha is sleepwalking and a series of violent murders begin to occur. Director Umberto Lenzi’s film is beautifully shot, and the art direction in the house conjures a spooky backdrop for this grisly gothic horror tale. The extras include a featurette: “Artisans of Mayhem” with FX artist Elio Terribili and an interview with cinematographer Nino Celeste. The audio commentary is with Eugenio Ercolani, Nathaniel Thompson (Mondo-Digital) and Troy Howarth, who has written a sensational book about the director of this film (Make Them Die Slowly: The Kinetic Cinema of Umberto Lenzi).
The House of Lost Souls. Geology students on a road trip doing research for Rome University are sidelined by road closures due to landslides. So, they stop at the seemingly shuttered ”Hermit Hotel,” where a strange man wordlessly lets them in and gives them the keys to three rooms. That’s when all these weird hauntings begin. One girl gets locked in a freezer with dead bodies hanging on hooks. A little boy watches in horror as huge spiders crawl across his bed and the overhead chandelier drips blood. A girl has psychic visions of a man hacking at a small boy with an axe. “There’s something sinister about this hotel,” a student exclaims. Well, duh…This gory, supernatural tale by Umberto Lenzi is enjoyably cracked. An extra “The House of Rock” is an interview with former Goblin composer Claudio Simonetti; an hour-long examination of the career of Umberto Lenzi (shot in 2001) and two audio commentaries.