Ghosthouse (1989)

An Exercise In Nonsense

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

A programming engineer in Boston picks up what sounds like a murder on his CB radio. He and his girlfriend trace the disturbing recording to an abandoned house where they find a group of young people camped out at; unbeknownst to them, a young girl and her clown doll haunt the home, killing anyone who dares enter.Released in Italy as "La casa 3" and marketed as an unlicensed sequel to the "Evil Dead" franchise (which makes zero sense), "Ghosthouse" is an under-appreciated gem among the supernatural schlocky horror of the late eighties. Directed and co-written by Umberto Lenzi under the pseudonym "Humphrey Humbert," the film was shot in the same location as Lucio Fulci's "The House by the Cemetery," and has a similar feel with Lenzi's own spins. Yes, it's campy at times, but it also manages to be compelling and boast a genuinely spooky atmosphere.The cinematography is very professional and the movie is surprisingly well shot; the editing leaves a bit to be desired and results in some clunky transitions and parallel editing, but given the type of film this is, it's completely forgivable. The house and surrounding forest create a lush and unsettling atmosphere, which is exacerbated by bizarre encounters with the silent spot-lit ghost girl and her bizarre clown doll inside the house. There are some inventive and shocking murder scenes that are well-handled and convincing.Perhaps the most memorable thing about the film, as many have said, is the bizarre nursery tune that plays during the characters' encounters with the supernatural. It's difficult to describe and has to be heard to be understood, but it adds a sufficiently creepy flair to what could have been otherwise flat or hokey scare scenes. The acting is a mishmash of decent performances and wooden ones, but overall the characters are likable and the actors good enough. I'd say if the film has a singular weakness, it'd be some of the poorly-delivered lines; aside from that, this is actually a fairly class-act haunted house movie.Overall, "Ghosthouse" is an incredibly entertaining haunted house flick— nothing more, nothing less. If the idea of killer clown dolls, a big creepy house, and a possessed little girl in a white dress sound like a good time, then this is the prime late eighties flick for it. It's well shot and incredibly atmospheric, and features some creative and fun scare scenes— the "House by the Cemetery" location link just provides another amusing bonus for genre fans. 8/10.

Italian goremeister Umberto Lenzi (under the hilarious almost Nabokovian pseudonym of 'Henry Humbert'!) takes on the well-worn haunted house sub-genre with effective results in this neglected little chiller from 1988, marketed as an 'Evil Dead' sequel in Italy.A ham radio DJ and his girlfriend team up with another interested party to investigate strange goings-on at an Old Dark House, the scene of strange murders 20 years earlier, after intercepting a radio distress call from their own future. Some great shock and gore moments follow (check out the falling guillotine scene!), along with a creepily atmospheric haunting theme tune for the evil clown doll. Yes, a clown doll: truly the stuff of nightmares!The thing that stood out for me the most, though, was hot thoroughly steeped in the 1980s the films fashions are! From the hero Paul, dressed as 'Back to the Future' Marty McFly complete with "life preserver", through Mark (played by Eddie Redmayne masquerading as a "Run to You" - era Bryan Adams), to Susan (styling by The Bangles) and Tina (charmingly described on the UK DVD box as a 'teenager with a face like a slapped arse'!) who looks like Molly Ringwald gone wrong. Truly a product of its time!

"Ghosthouse" is about a group of obnoxious teenagers trapped in a haunted house where terrible crime took place years ago.A ghostly little girl in white and her creepy clown doll are causing all the terror.A radio operator and his girlfriend trace the source of a weird,scary signal that keeps interrupting his radio.They trace it to an old,abandoned house where they meet a group of teenagers staying in it.The script is half-assed and the acting sucks,but "Ghosthouse" provides plenty of good bloody fun.The evil doll clown looks creepy and the nursery theme is haunting.If you are into late 80's Italian horror give this one a chance.7 out of 10.

Hiding behind the ridiculous soubriquet Humphrey Humbert, Umberto Lenzi (of Cannibal Ferox fame) directed this lame late 80s Italian/US co-production that starts off bad, and then rapidly goes downhill.The film is a mish-mash of dumb, illogical, spooky (and sometimes deadly) happenings which occur to a group of teens staying at a deserted house. The cause of these supernatural events: the tormented spirit of a girl who is cursed to haunt the building because her father, a funeral director, gave her a clown-doll which he stole from the coffin of a dead child (what a great father: bringing home his daughter an ugly-as-sin present lifted from a corpse!).Also mixed-up in the strange occurrences are a young couple who have followed a mysterious signal that they picked up on their ham radio set; they arrive at the house just as the weird and grisly deaths begin.Lenzi's film is totally devoid of suspense, has plenty of elements which make no sense whatsoever (including a disappearing Doberman and a killer caretaker with a limp), features lousy acting, some dreadful special FX and some even worse examples of 80s fashion, and completely rips off the Tobe Hooper/Spielberg hit Poltergeist for several scenes (however, with a much smaller budget and a less talented crew, the results are laughable).Lenzi's next film, Le Porte dell'inferno, was further proof—as if we really needed it—that the director's best days behind the camera had long since gone.