Sensività

Going by the title, I expected Enzo G. Castellari's House by the Edge of the Lake to be some kind of trashy Italian Last House on the Left rip-off.

I should be so lucky.

What I actually got was a thoroughly incomprehensible supernatural head-scratcher, a film so packed full of random characters and events that it makes one wonder whether the whole thing was completely made up on the fly.

Although undeniably atmospheric at times, largely thanks to its rural medieval town location, the film made no sense to me whatsoever; in fact, if it hadn't been for the regular bouts of sex featuring the gorgeous Leonora Fani (from sleaze classics Naked Massacre and Giallo a Venezia), I would have ranked this right alongside the very worst efforts of Jess Franco, Jean Rollin and Joe D'amato. Fani being a total babe and regularly stripping off just about makes the film worthwhile. Just about.