La casa 3 (1988)

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Sheila Goldberg (dialogue)
Umberto Lenzi (story)
(more)

Release Date:

1989 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Death holds the mortgage, and if you move in...they'll be Hell to pay.

Plot:

Visions of a deceased girl and her doll bring doom to the visitors of a deserted house. |

Plot Keywords:

Doll | Dead Child | Pitchfork | Hanging | Burning Corpse

Cast

Lara Wendel	...	Martha
Greg Scott	...	Paul
Mary Sellers	...	Susan
Ron Houck	...	Mark
Martin Jay	...	Jim
Kate Silver	...	Tina
Donald O'Brien	...	Valkos (as Donald O'Brian)
Kristen Fougerousse	...	Henrietta Baker
Willy M. Moon	...	Pepe
Susan Muller	...	Mrs. Baker
Alain Smith	...	Sam Baker
William J. Devany	...	Lieutenant
Ralph Morse	...	Coroner
Robert Champagne	...	Mortician
Hernest Mc. Kimnoro	...	Cemetary Custodian
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Al Pereira	...	Man in town

Directed by
Umberto Lenzi		(as Humphrey Humbert)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sheila Goldberg		dialogue
Umberto Lenzi		story (as Humphrey Humbert)
Cinthia McGavin		writer

Produced by
Tony Hood	....	supervising producer
Mary Noolite	....	assistant producer
John Therrien	....	assistant producer
Joe D'Amato	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Piero Montanari

Cinematography by
Franco Delli Colli

Film Editing by
Kathleen Stratton

Art Direction by
Alex Colby		(as Alexander Colby)

Set Decoration by
Roberto Granieri

Makeup Department
Pietro Tenoglio	....	makeup artist (as Peter Moor)
Paula White	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Claudio Lattanzi	....	assistant director (as Clay Millicamp)

Art Department
Rubina Rockett	....	assistant art director (as Rubina Rocket)

Sound Department
David Lee	....	sound
Hubrecht Nijhuis	....	sound engineer (as Hubrecht Nijhus)
Larry Revene	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Robert Gould	....	special effects
Dan Maklansky	....	special effects (as Dan Maklasky)
Roland Park	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Saul Barry	....	electrician
Mark Caruso	....	grip
Carlo Alberto Cocchi	....	still photographer (as Jeff Hest)
Albert Ellis	....	grip
Jeff Herbert	....	electrician
Daniele Massaccesi	....	assistant camera (as Daniel Kalehof)
Silver Murray	....	generator operator
Bob Siegel	....	electrician
Brian Taitt	....	grip
Sam Winston	....	grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kou Ami	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Henry Robinson	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Sheila Goldberg	....	dialogue coach
Vivi Levitt	....	continuity (as Vivy Levitt)
Charles Wallach	....	paymaster

Production Companies

• Filmirage

Distributors

• Imperial Entertainment (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Jef Films International (2003) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Moviecam 2000  titles and opticals
• Studio Sound  sound effects
• Telecolor  color timing

Also Known As:

Evil Dead 3 (Italy) (informal alternative title)
Ghosthouse (USA)

Runtime:

Canada:95 min | Germany:91 min | Netherlands:90 min | USA:95 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:18 | France:-12 | West Germany:18 | Australia:R (censored) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Filmirage

Trivia:

According to producer 'Joe d'Amato', the film was a commercial success mainly because of Achille Manzotti's idea to change the title from "Ghosthouse" to "La Casa 3" ("La Casa 1" and "2" being the Italian titles for Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987)).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Martha is going through the toy trunk, she takes out the photo. There are three dolls and a bag left in the trunk, on top of the clown doll. In the next shot she only takes one doll and the bag out, and the other two dolls have just vanished.

Movie Connections:

Followed by La casa 5 (1990)

Cheesy but creepy fun, like cheddar and spiders.

I liked this one, for all its flaws. The haunted house in it is pretty thoroughly haunted, and director Humphrey Humbert, a.k.a. Umberto Lenzi gets a good deal of mileage from its occupants, a very creepy little girl and her doll. There are a fair amount of cheesy eighties special effects, which sometimes work nicely and sometimes don't, and occasional gore, which is equally variable, but occasionally quite fun. The acting and writing isn't great by any means, but the story is good, and there are some chilling moments as well as a pleasing anything can happen atmosphere. The general cheesiness does detract, and the scenes that take place away from the house are certainly not as engaging. Also, the whole crazy guy subplot doesn't seem to have much point to it, as it doesn't bring anything terribly exciting or surprising to the movie, but then it never gets boring and it is fun in a kind of gonzo eighties way. So, this is probably one for the real b horror addicts, who should get some good times, rather than those looking for anything serious, who'll probably just think its dumb.