Ghosthouse (1988)

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

Director:

Umberto Lenzi (as Humphrey Humbert)

Writers:

Sheila Goldberg (dialogue), Umberto Lenzi (story) (as Humphrey Humbert)

Stars:

Lara Wendel, Greg Rhodes, Mary Sellers

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lara Wendel	...	Martha
Greg Rhodes	...	Paul (as Greg Scott)
Mary Sellers	...	Susan
Ron Houck	...	Mark
Martin Jay	...	Jim
Kate Silver	...	Tina
Donald O'Brien	...	Valkos (as Donald O'Brian)
Kristen Fougerousse	...	Henriett
Willy M. Moon	...	Pepe
Susan Muller	...	Henriett's Mother
Alain Smith	...	Henriett's Father
William J. Devany	...	Lieu Tenant
Ralph Morse	...	Coroner
Robert Champagne	...	Mortician
Hernest Mc. Kimnoro	...	Cemetary Custodian

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

ham radio | stabbed in the neck | haunted house | slasher | sequel by name only | 

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Taglines:

We dare you to go inside...

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shortwave radio Jim Dalen is using is a Yaesu FT- 726 R transceiver.

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Goofs

When Henrietta is shown lying in her coffin her legs are apart, but when it cuts to a shot of Paul pouring the gasoline in her legs are crossed.

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Quotes

Pepe: You should believe in ghosts, pea-brain.

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Alternate Versions

Some VHS copies of the film remove some of Sam Baker's dialogue while he is confronting Henrietta in the cellar at the beginning of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in The Crawlers (1993)

User Reviews

Some good nostalgia value

A radio recording prompts a couple to investigate an old house, they join up with a group of teens and make the silly decision to explore the house where the spirit of a little girl reside.

Directed by Umberto Lenzi under the pseudonym of Humphry Hubert and released as La casa 3 (to cash in on The Evil Dead) it's arguably one of Lenzi's most conventional films. Unfortunately it's hampered by a clunky script, some disjointed scenes and gobbledygook elements synonymous with Italian horror exploitation films.

In the golden age of practical effects Lenzi offers a stabbing with shears, a little hammer carnage and a character being cut in half. As the group are killed off one by one there's also maggot infested knife wielding (a pre Wes Craven Scream-like cloaked) skeleton, taps spurting blood, severed heads, exploding light bulbs and jars, a Clown Doll (reminiscent of the one in Poltergeist) and also an obligatory 80s shock ending. With a possessed camper van there's all the ingredients you'd expect as the mystery unfolds and they track down the origin of the evil.

Plodding pacing aside there's some good nostalgia value in Ghost House right down to the CB radios. The house and its location are creepy (it also appears in Lucio Fulci's The House by the Cemetery) and the ghost of the girl gives a few chills.

While it's no comparable Fulci cult classic, Lenzi offers some gory kills but what will stay under your skin long after the credits is the genuinely disturbing, eerie, repetitive verse.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1988 (Italy)

Also Known As:

GhostHouse

Filming Locations:

Edward J. Gaffey & Sons Funeral Home -757 Country Way, Scituate, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmirage

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1