The House by the Cemetery (1981)
The House by the Cemetery (aka: Quella villa accanto al cimitero) is an Italian occult horror film from 1981 directed by Lucio Fulci. Starring Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco, Ania Pieroni, Giovanni Frezza, Silvia Collatina and Dagmar Lassander. This movie was the third part of Lucio Fulci’s “Gates of hell” trilogy also including City of the Living Dead (1980) and The Beyond (1981).
Plot
The House by the Cemetery starts in New York where Dr. Norman Boyle researches a suicice of a fellow Doctor Petersen and the killing of his mistress. Norman heads to Boston with his wife Lucy (Catriona MacColl)
and their son Bobby for the research. They decide to relocate to the former house of Dr. Petersen, an isolated house in the woods. When they meet a local girl, she warns them to leave the house because there is danger living there. The parents hire a strange babysitter named Ann to take care of Bobby. 
Then mysterious things start to happen in and around the house. Lucy discovers a hidden basement. 
When Bobby goes to the basement, his parents discover the secret of the house.
Notable scenes
The discovery in the basement.
Making of The House by the Cemetery
British actress Catriona MacColl features in all three of Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” films, including City of The Living Dead (1980) and The Beyond (1981); although here she is credited as ‘Katherine’ MacColl
Although most of the dialogue was done in English, the movie was nonetheless dubbed in post-production.
Paolo Malco kept one of of the mechanical bats that was used in the sequence in which a bat bites his hand.
The House by the Cemetary uses music from the spaghetti western Django’s Cut Price Corpses.
Giovanni Frezza was only eight years old when he was cast as Bobby in this movie.
Catriona MacColl overcame her aversion to bats as a direct result of acting in this film.
The trailers for the US release of this film were narrated by Theodore Gottlieb.
Lucio Fulci has a cameo in the film as Professor Mueller, who talks to Norman Boyle on the New York City street.
Our view on House by the Cemetery
The House by the Cemetery is one of the goriest movies of the trilogy Gates of Hell from the master Lucio Fulci. 
There is lots of tension as the family relocate to the mysterious house in Boston and there are some good jumpscares. Lucio Fulci is known for his realistic gore effects as he was a medical student in his early days. The finale in the basement is a classic. Exploitflix must see if you like Italian exploitation horror!
